George Lucas’s only dream as a teenager was to race cars, but he went on to create the most popular films in motion picture history.  Along the way, while writing and directing Star Wars, Indiana Jones and American Graffiti, he learned life-changing lessons about humility, generosity, and the inestimable value of friendship…. as well as the secret to happiness.  A not-too-subtle hint here: it has nothing to do with fame and fortune.  *This episode was originally published in 2015.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015-2021

She is one of the most recognized, respected and admired journalists in the world. Christiane Amanpour has covered just about every war and conflict of the past four decades and she has never shied from danger.  She talks here about the forces that shaped her: an unusual childhood in Iran, and the revolution that upended her family's life.  She describes the hard work and luck that landed her a job at CNN, when it was still a fledgling network, and the circumstances that led to her becoming a foreign correspondent, at a time when there were still huge barriers for women in television news.  She tells stories of some of the most important and horrifying world events that she witnessed up close. And she explains why her mantra in journalism is "truthful, not neutral." 

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

Two decades ago, he rode into Afghanistan on a motorcycle with just three compatriots, hoping to overthrow the brutal Taliban regime. Against all odds, Hamid Karzai succeeded, and became president of his country for the next 14 years.  Just before he was formally chosen as president, he made an appearance at the Academy of Achievement's International Summit, and told the miraculous tale you'll hear here. Karzai was filled with hope and optimism for Afghanistan that day, and spoke of his vision for the country's future. Those dreams, of course, were shattered this past week, as the Taliban retook the country, and thousands flooded The Hamid Karzai International Airport, desperate to flee. 

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

James Michener was born to tell stories. He was one of the most popular and best-selling American novelists of all time… able to merge equal parts fiction, history, geography and culture into a perfect, page-turning blend. Here, he tells his own dramatic and mysterious life story, and he describes his very first venture into writing fiction, when he was stationed on an island in the Pacific during World War II. The book that came of that experience was "Tales of the South Pacific," which earned him a Pulitzer, and later became the Broadway hit and movie: “South Pacific.” Michener also describes what he calls some of the “differential experiences” in his life, like the very moment he decided he would live his life as if he were a great man. And he extols all of us to look out for unexpected opportunities and grab them. This episode originally posted in November of 2015.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015-2021

He’s a modern-day Captain Nemo - the person responsible for much of what we’ve learned about the Earth’s oceans over the past sixty years. He’s best-known as the person who discovered the Titanic and other historic shipwrecks. But his contributions to science and his dedication to exploration are what he’s proudest of. In the 1970’s Bob Ballard was one of the first people to explore the bottom of the sea in a submersible, and he was the first to begin mapping its geography. He later helped discover the existence of hydro-thermal vents, holes in the ocean floor where the water circulates through the planet’s interior. Over the decades he has pioneered new and better ways for oceanographers to explore and document - in manned vehicles and robotic ones. At 79, he continues to innovate and to educate new generations of ocean scientists. On this episode we’ll also hear from one of his proteges, Allison Fundis, who is making her own significant contributions to our understanding of the oceans that sustain us.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

These three writers used the power of their pens to expose and explore man's inhumanity to man.  You'll hear the presentations they gave at the Academy of Achievement's International Summits.  South African novelist and anti-Apartheid activist Nadine Gordimer was the author of "Burger's Daughter" and "July's People", and she received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature.  Playwright Athol Fugard, also South African and an outspoken critic of Apartheid, received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2011.  His most famous plays include "Master Harold and the Boys" and "The Blood Knot". The third writer we'll hear from is Elie Wiesel, the legendary Auschwitz survivor who wrote many novels and non-fiction books about the horrors of the Holocaust, but always with a sense of hope for humankind.  He was also an unrelenting advocate for human rights around the world, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.  All three writers speak here about their lives and give profound advice to young people about how to live a meaningful life. 

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

On the morning of May 6th, 1954, Roger Bannister achieved what most people believed was not humanly possible: he ran a mile in  under four minutes. It is considered one of the greatest athletic achievements of all time, alongside Sir Edmund Hillary's ascent of Mt. Everest. Bannister was a medical student at the time. He had already been to the Olympics, two years before.  And he had spent eight years developing his own unique approach to training - one that allowed him to very gradually improve speed, while leaving time for his studies. He talks here about his childhood in wartime England, and about daring to dream the impossible.  This episode was originally published in 2016. 

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2016-2021

These two choreographers have pushed dance in bold new directions and brought it to a much wider audience. Both Twyla Tharp and Justin Peck are classically-trained dancers who have created works for the ballet, for Broadway, and for the movies. Twyla Tharp, who is about to turn 80, is an icon of the dance world. She has spent six decades challenging ideas about how the body can move. In 1973 she created what is considered the first "crossover" piece, combining ballet and modern dance, but she says she is not interested in categories; dance is dance. Justin Peck, at 33, is still in the early days of his career, but he is already choreographer-in-residence at the New York City Ballet and choreographer for the new film version of "West Side Story," directed by Steven Spielberg (coming out in December, 2021).  They both talk here about how their childhoods shaped their intense passion for movement and music, and they both describe beautifully how it feels when they are dancing.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021

Coach K, as Mike Krzyzewski is best known, has had more wins than any other men's basketball coach in the NCAA... by a long shot.  He's also the proud owner of three Olympic Gold Medals, from his time caching the  USA Men’s National Team. Well, Coach K has announced that he is retiring, after four decades with the Duke University Blue Devils. And so we are revisiting this episode, which originally ran in 2015. 

Coach K's began developing his unbeatable recipe for leadership and inspiration when he was a kid, growing up in a working class part of Chicago. There were no little leagues in his neighborhood, so whenever groups of kids gathered on the basketball courts, he says, “somebody had to organize it, and it was always me." 

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2015-2021

What makes us human? And how did we get here? It's only human to want to know. These two renowned paleo-anthropologists have unlocked enormous gaps in our origin story. Each of them discovered some of the most significant prehistoric bones ever found in east Africa. For Donald Johanson it was Lucy. For Richard Leakey it was Turkana Boy. These skeletons helped explain how, why and when our ape ancestors evolved, grew bigger brains, and started walking on two legs. We hear the fascinating tales of their discoveries, but we also learn their personal origin stories, and what led each of them to try to solve some of humankind's greatest mysteries.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2021