Who Inspires You?

In the midst of working on a project, I was directed to the book Presentation Zen. I quickly found the website www.presentationzen.com and was drawn in by the very first article, "Who inspires you?" This is a question most people don't consider, but upon really thinking about it, the people who inspire me are always on my mind. When I come to a tough situation, I often think about the people around me and consider what they might do if given the same issue. Professionally, I think of a very dear friend of mine who taught me to:
1. Build your learning network, it will help you grow in many ways, both personally and professionally.
2. Challenge old ways of thinking and help to create new ideas in others' minds
3. Stay up to date with new ideas by researching trends in educational technology. There's always something to learn-especially in this profession.
4. Push yourself to be as good as you believe you are. Don't let fear get in the way when your heart is telling you what you need to do!
This last one is the one that is really hard for me. Still working on it, but I'm getting better and with encouragement, I'll get there one day.
So, I would like to ask everyone to think about someone that inspires you. I only mentioned a professional example in my life, but we all have many people that inspire us in many facets of life. Think about yours and share your gratitude with them.