Moxie Will Awards: Bill Cunningham -

 Bill Cunningham is the very essence of creative, optimistic, courage (Moxie) and self determination (Will) - he lives his life with Character and strives to be Significant, rather than superior.

You do not have to like Fashion, or NYC, or the NY Times in order to enjoy and be inspired by this man who is in his 80's - and still works (and enjoys it)!

Bill Cunningham, New York; The Documentary

Though not a book, this is a great documentary to watch and worth trying to find. It is uplifting.

This is from a reviewer on Amazon which sums Mr. Cunningham up beautifully. Also note, I was so moved after watching the documentary, I wrote him a letter, sent it to the NY TIMES, and a few months later, I received a handwritten letter back from him, with a picture he had taken of the some boys in Central Park building a snowman. That, my friends, is true character. He is a beautiful soul. And such an Independent Spirit!


Amazon Review from D.G:

I came across this doc film clicking around on Netflix streaming late one night. At first it seemed puzzling why anyone would make a documentary about an old guy who works for the New York Times riding a bicycle around and photographing street fashions. But I quickly got drawn into the film and understood how the filmmakers had chosen this unusual man.

Bill Cunningham, now in his 80's, has worked for many years as a street photographer, riding precariously around Manhattan on his bicycle and snapping (film) photos of what people are wearing. In an age when there is so much corruption in all walks of life, what comes out in the film is Cunningham's unique sense of personal integrity. In a city obsessed with status, he seems to care nothing for status or celebrity or personalities; he is only interested in the clothes, the ideas. When he attends society and fashion functions in the evening, which he does almost every evening, he declines to accept food or drink; it would compromise his ethics. Indeed here is a man who has no apparent vices and minimal personal life. He lives frugally. He strives to be honest. He strives to do no harm. He cares little for his comfort. He has simply made a life of observing how people in New York express themselves through fashion; it is enough for him. "I have tried to play a straight game" he says about his life.

One might not be surprised to hear that a medieval monk or pure mathematician or a scholar of ancient languages had such an ascetic and, one may say, spiritually refined existence, but in the New York fashion world! And so he is a beloved fixture in New York. An inspiring documentary, which affirms how one can live in the everyday world and yet hold to an "impeccable path."

John Lee Dumas - From Devastation to Innovation

John Lee Dumas took responsibility, struggled, failed, but kept going. He's now a hugely successful pod-caster. I tune into his podcasts when I need inspiration. However, I feel as he has grown, he's becoming less authentic.
There are many guests he's had on the show that I felt were all about the spin - their agendas were strictly spinning and selling.
JLD as he calls himself now, is a great example of someone who (even though his mentors advised him against it) used creative courage (Moxie) and self-determination (Will) to become successful. And it wasn't an overnight success.
Thanks to JLD, I read Outwitting The Devil by Napoleon Hill - which (though very...uh...unique...made me realize just how much of my life I threw away due to drinking/watching TV, entertainment, etc).  It was one of those "AH HA" books. Worth a read.
JLD also mentioned, several times about the fact he was in the military. And when he was discharged and came home, he was at a loss of what to do.
He. Lacked. Purpose.
About the same time I was listening to JLD (that was 2 years ago, I don't so much anymore) I was reading Viktor Frankel's "Man's Search For Meaning." Mr. Frankel (a Holocaust Survivor)  made some observations from his time in the Nazi camps...one which was that people, in order to feel happy, satisfied, need some sort of purpose (meaning) in their life. To do something that adds positively to life.
It makes sense, and from life experience, I know the times I felt most happy, most alive, were the times I was trying to make a positive difference, when I had a purpose.
Anyway, if you're looking for something to listen to for inspiration, check out Entrepreneur on Fire.
There are a-lot of bullshitters on that show, but there are also many truly inspiring people.