Why we tell these stories
Inspiration isn’t a feeling you wait for. It’s something you can go and find. This site is a growing collection of short profiles of people who did difficult things, so you can borrow a little of their nerve.
Every profile is written to be read in a few minutes. We focus less on the famous achievement and more on the part that’s useful to the rest of us: the setbacks, the doubts, the years of unglamorous work, and the decisions made when nobody was watching.
We currently have 804 profiles across science, the arts, activism, sport, exploration and more, and we add new people regularly.
Honest, not hagiographic
We include the failures and flaws. Real people are more inspiring than saints.
Broad by design
Scientists and sailors, painters and programmers. Inspiration doesn’t belong to one field.
Short on purpose
A few minutes of reading, one idea you can carry into your day.
Suggest someone
Know a person whose story should be here? Use the suggestion form and tell us their name and a sentence on why they inspire you.