Wilbur was a three-sport athlete. He enjoyed football, skating and gymnastics. He also was a very good student and had his sights on attending Yale.

One day, while playing hockey on a lake in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, the 18-year-old was struck in the mouth with a stick wielded by another boy several years younger but much larger. It may have been an accident, but the boy was known as a bully. Years later, that same boy was executed for the murders of his mother, father and brother.

The hockey injury caused weeks of excruciating mouth and jaw pain for Wilbur. Several front teeth were lost and replaced by the crude dentistry of the day. This led to digestive complications, heart palpitations and depression. Wilbur remained a recluse for three years, ending his pursuit of a Yale education. During that time, though, he initiated what became a passion for reading and learning. He read about everything and had a specific fascination for history.

Wilbur was close to his younger brother, who had started a print shop that issued a town newspaper and then began publishing a variety of reading material. They worked together in the printing business and then they became involved in the growing bicycle craze that had swept the nation. Since they both enjoyed mechanics, the brothers opened a shop that sold and repaired bicycles.

When the younger brother was diagnosed with typhoid, he spent more than a month in bed. As he recovered, Wilbur read to him. Together, they became fascinated about the discoveries of Otto Lilienthal, a German glider enthusiast who had studied the flight motions of birds.

The brothers were excited about Lilienthal’s experiments and they never stopped learning. After several years of planning, they decided to use their mechanics ingenuity and their interest in the flight of birds to build several flying machines. They tested their creations at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, changed history. The setback for Wilbur while playing hockey was just one of many catalysts in their lives that led to the collaboration that taught the world how to fly.

He doesn’t recall their names. But, he does remember the impact they had on his life.

David Simon attended Herricks High School in New Hyde Park during the 1980s. For 10th grade, though, he had to attend Robert Louis Stevenson High School in Manhattan. He was sent there after he became rebellious following the breakup of his family and when his father walked out of his life.

David had played several sports as a kid. But, after the family dissolved, he spent more time with other kids were who directionless. The consequences sometimes were catastrophic. One kid was stabbed to death. Another, who was drunk, was killed by a train. Another died from an overdose.

One day, as David explained it, two black kids invited him, a white dude, to play pickup basketball at the playground near Stevenson. Their praise made him think. After they saw him play, they told him “you’ve got game.” That’s when David realized that he had a choice – continue on the road he was traveling or apply the brakes.

Though just a kid, David thought about having his own family one day. He thought that he wanted to be a great father, but first he had to change a few things.

Back at Herricks for his junior year, David played JV basketball. He also worked on his game outside of school and refused to let the street control his life. He played varsity during his senior year, leading the division in rebounds.

Basketball became David’s sanctuary. He played a year in college before joining the family business. He enrolled in night classes to obtain a diploma. He continued to play basketball, earning a contract with a team in the International Basketball Association. He touched it and then moved on. He now has four children who have been successful in sports and have made many good friends along the way.

Looking back, David feels life is more than just sports. Life is all about community. It’s also about the will to succeed by creating a plan and developing a work ethic. He often wonders what would have been different in his life had those two guys not invited him to play basketball at the playground. David also wonders if their lives have turned out as well.

When times get tough, a tennis player has been known to fire a coach. It is rare, though, that a coach fires a player. But, that was the case earlier this year when Simona Halep’s coach stepped away from the Romanian player.

The coach, Australian Darren Cahill, has an outstanding reputation. He coached Andre Agassi. When he agreed to coach Halep, Cahill was not aware of her complex personality.

Halep’s game did not cause any issues. It was her mental attitude. Yes, she is passionate, intense and downright demanding of herself. All of this, however, is a bad mix for tennis.

About 15 months into their partnership, Halep’s pessimism became too much for Cahill. At one competition, she called Cahill to the court for a pep talk, but she spent much of the time belittling herself.

Halep lost. Cahill pulled out, claiming her bad attitude was unacceptable and he needed to take a break from their coaching arrangement. The tough-love strategy changed the dynamic.

Halep realized she needed to reform. She pushed out the negativity and rushed in the positive thoughts. Cahill watched from afar. When, on her own with her new attitude, Halep reached the semifinals in a tournament, she placed a call to Cahill to ask him to return.

Working together again with Cahill, Halep defended her Madrid title and became a finalist in the Italian Open. She claims she now is confident and composed, indicating that her new attitude helps her see the game better. She plays relaxed and with a positive outlook.

Similar to a tennis player, each of us in business must perform, at times, a personal mental evaluation. We must shake off any negative attitude and rework our game plan. Whenever we do this, our foresight becomes a bit clearer, we become more relaxed and we are able to approach each day, each meeting and each roadblock with a positive outlook.

Few have heard about Adolph Kiefer. He passed away last month but he left a considerable mark in competitive swimming and with the U.S. Navy.

Adolph was a celebrated swimming champion who won gold with a world-record time as a teenager at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He reached his peak several years later, and he could have been one of America’s greatest Olympic swimmers. But, World War II took over the world and canceled the 1940 and 1944 Olympics. The war, though, provided Adolph with his greatest satisfaction. His work saved the lives of many U.S. sailors.

Adolph entered the service during 1942 as a naval officer specialist in the physical fitness and swimming division. He quickly was appalled at the number of sailors whose deaths were attributed to drowning. More men died by drowning than gunfire.

With the approval of superiors, Adolph organized swimming and lifesaving instruction for every sailor. No one was permitted to board a ship without taking the 21-hour course. Adolph also helped design lifesaving equipment and created the victory backstroke—with arms extended over the head to form a “V”—that many sailors adopted when they found themselves in the water.

Ironically, Adolph’s career began with a near-drowning accident. He fell into an ice-cold Chicago drainage canal as a child. He did not swim, so he rolled on his back and began kicking his feet until he reached land. Immediately, he enrolled for swimming lessons at the Y.M.C.A. He became devoted to the sport and a champion backstroke swimmer.

A newspaper reporter at the Berlin Olympics wrote that no one who saw him swim could deny that Adolph was the greatest backstroke swimmer. About a decade ago, another sportswriter indicated that Adolph was to the backstroke what Pablo Casals was to the cello.

The cello, as far as I know, never saved a person’s life. The dedication of Adolph Kiefer, however, saved the lives of many American sailors. He faced a challenge as a child and learned from it. His path to fame was blocked by war, but he turned that obstacle into what he cconsidered his “greatest thrill.”

Karen Newsman is a world-class triathlete, dietitian, wife and mother of three boys. When the secrets of her eating disorders again controlled her and filled her with shame, she gravitated into a career as a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in clinical nutrition.

Soon after, she begged God to end it all. As she continued to battle the eating issues, Karen was diagnosed with advanced, aggressive, stage-3 breast cancer. Despite the diagnosis, she finished the World Triathlon Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, just days after receiving her fourth chemotherapy treatment.

Karen went on to become a seven-time All-American Triathlete and Team USA World Competitor. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Triathlon Age Group World Championships in New Zealand. A year later, Karen won four gold medals and broke the Huntsman Senior Games World Triathlon record. She has become a triathlon coach, and she has educated and encouraged people in health matters and on the track. While facing grueling treatment for the cancer, Karen has inspired thousands, drawing more than 25,000 to her “caring” blog.

Karen has received the USA Triathlon’s Most Inspirational Comeback Award, the Connecticut Sportswriters Association’s Courage Award and she was named American Cancer Society’s Determination Champion for her tireless charitable contributions.

Karen still competes and she has found another career as a motivational speaker. Her mission is to inspire others to find opportunity through their own trials, and to help people realize that they are loved, worthy, vital and never too far away or two broken to be healed.

A remarkable athlete, wife, mother and career woman!

He was abandoned in Jamaica, Queens. He was just three months old. Today, he responds with a “not really” when asked about any relationship with his biological parents.

Jason Craig Bromley, Jr.’s mother was a drug addict. He arrived as a crack baby. His father was in prison for manslaughter and unlawful imprisonment. Jason was rescued by his aunt, his father’s sister, who already had three young daughters and was in the midst of studies to become a nurse.

Though family came to his rescue, growing up, at times, was tough for Jason. He went through an angry stage and constantly got into fights. When he was a teenager, Jason’s aunt shipped him out of the neighborhood each day for his own good to ensure he received an education at Flushing High School. The aunt recalled that free time never was an option. It could only lead to trouble.

Football filled some of the time. His high school coach recently remembered Jason as a sloppy kid, chubby and with more fat than muscle, but that he had raw talent for such a big guy.

Jason found his niche and worked at it. He didn’t cause any further trouble and he didn’t drink. He concentrated on preparing properly to compete on the field and court (he played basketball in high school, too). He then played football as a star defensive tackle at Syracuse University.

All that work now has paid dividends. Jason, who is just 22, soon may become a household name in New York sports circles. He was chosen by the New York Giants as the 74th player selected in the most recent NFL draft.

From a doorstep and an uncertain future to one of the best franchises in the National Football League, Jason has found the strength to overcome obstacles. Jason is clear and honest with himself when he states that a person never forgets his background. These include all the experiences and what a person has seen while growing up. All of it, the good and bad, he said, helps shape the adult—the person Jason is today and the one he will be in the future.

Jim