Man vs. Machine: Extraordinary People

This morning I received a great email from my mom. A perfect email to put me in great spirits for a busy Friday.

She found this wonderful message on one of her coworkers’, Richard, internal blogs.

Man vs. Machine

“It is said that one machine can do the work of 50 ordinary men. No machine, however, can do the work of one extraordinary man.” –Tehyi Hsieh (When I think of extraordinary men… men who did what a machine could not have done… I think of Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Sir Wilfrif Laurier, Terry Fox, etc etc etc…. but mostly I think of my Dad.) Machines lack compassion.

When I think of extraordinary women… the results are very much the same. I think of my Mom, my daughters, and my wife Nadine. Machines lack the extraordinary capacity of women to love, to create, to nurture, to forgive, …and of course to create life itself.”

When you think of extraordinary people… Who do you think of?

I find it hard to answer this question without writing a list of a thousand names. You have the generic wonders: Mozart, Martin Luther King, Terry Fox, Pierre Trudeau, Sir John A. MacDonald (Canada’s first Prime Minister), Jeanne Sauvé, etc. Personally, there are a few “regular” people in my life I consider extraordinary:

• My mom and dad: for raising my brother and I well, despite their differences. They ensured even as a divorced family, my brother and I would continue to equally have a mother and a father.
• Natalie Melanson: for sticking it out and working hard on her Masters. You are almost done sweetie!
• Cory Simpson: for refusing to compromise his values and beliefs even when it is difficult.
• Gini Dietrich: for being a powerhouse of a woman. She is truly an inspiration to all women, and proof that women can do anything with a little dedication and hard work.

And finally…

• Alain D’Arbelles: for being there for me through thick and thin, and for supporting me no matter what. I am all over the place sometimes, and he is an expert at supporting EVERYTHING I do.

What about you? When you think of extraordinary people, who do you think of? Leave me a comment and share your stories.