Brink Thinkers are people who have learned to nurture, persist and expand their thoughts to create unparalleled results. The brink of courage, the brink of death just before life, the brink of victim turned victor, the brink of societal change, the brink of peace in the world. The secret is to take that thought, that idea, all the way to the BRINK!
“The worst thing that can happen is I fail,” says Tabitha Ellis
“I’m not sure she would have done half the things she’s done if not for her heart problem. It made her fearless,” said her father, Todd Ellis. “A lot of kids might not try something, but Tabitha Ellis always said, ‘Let’s try it – the worst thing that can happen is I fail.’” An unusual […]
10 Year Old Discovers Answer to Loneliness
She founded the organization, Kids4Seniors, when she was just 10 years old. Now at 12, Giavonna Antonucci is making a difference in the lives of seniors. Kids4Seniors is a 501c3 nonprofit that is focused on intergenerational programs that not only benefits the seniors, but also teaches the kids, kindness, compassion, empathy, and the benefits of giving […]
“We don’t know what suffering is,” Rob Fazio and the story of 9/11
“You can’t enjoy life if you don’t know what suffering is,” says Rob Fazio. It was by happenstance that I was tuned into Neil Cavuto on 9/11. Love Cavuto, I mean who doesn’t…but typically I am on radio and deadlines at that hour of the day eliminating any chance I would have of catching Cavuto. […]
Teen Pilot Makes Emergency Landing After Plane Loses Wheel
The one thing NOT to do in a crisis situation, is panic! Maggie Taraska says she might have panicked a little, “just less than most people would,” said the rookie pilot. Taraska was ready for her initial cross country solo-flight from the Beverly Regional Airport in Massachusetts. It was then that the teenage pilot had […]
Secretary Shocks Family and Friends Leaving Fortune to Students Future
She lived an incredibly modest life. Working for the same legal firm in Brooklyn, New York for 67 years, Sylvia Bloom leaves a $6.24 million donation to the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side. This was the largest single gift to the social service group in its 125-year history. How does a secretary amass a […]
A Principal With Principles; Meet Akbar Cook
How do you solve a problem of school attendance in a high school where the kids are skipping school because they are being bullied due to their smelly or dirty clothes? This is a quagmire surely requiring extraordinary thinking from someone who is willing to strategize far outside the boundaries of acceptable solutions. At West […]
Seconds To Save Family From Burning Home; Meet Sam Click
“He disregarded his personal safety to go in and save the lives of the five children and a male adult,” says Christine Wirth, Support Services Manager with the Seagoville Police Department. Officer Sam Click was patrolling the neighborhood when he was confronted with a life and death decision that would change everything. The duplex home […]
Courage Over Cancer; 4-Year-Old Joshua Salmoiraghi
Four-year-old honorary Colorado Springs Police Officer Joshua Salmoiraghi was first diagnosed with cancer at just three years old. Stage-four kidney cancer is a battle for any adult; imagine a toddler in the fight of their life at such an early age. The disease was discovered over Father’s Day weekend in June 2017. Little Joshua underwent […]
Wisdom From a 10 Year Old, After Beating Phelps Swim Record
“Always have fun and never give up on your dreams no matter what anybody says,” words of wisdom from a 10 year old. Clark Kent Apuda has done the unthinkable, he just smashed one of Michael Phelps’ longest standing swimming records. Clark finished the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:10:48; more than a second […]
May El-Khalil’s Search For Peace
“Hit by a bus one morning, I nearly died. I was in a coma, stayed at the hospital for two years and underwent 36 surgeries. I had to learn how to walk again. After the tragedy I needed something to take me out of my pain and an objective to look forward to. I didn’t […]
12 Year Old Solves Common Problems for Alzheimer Patients with App
If you have a loved one who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease you intimately know the frustrations that come with the emotionally draining journey down memory loss. Emma Yang grew restless watching her grandmother suffer and made a bold move to help her and other patients remember important dates, events, people and information by developing an […]
These days to stand on one side of an extreme is an act of blind courage. One never knows the repercussions of freely sharing their beliefs, as our nation has lost the art of appreciating different views. Tragically, Brian Ogle, a young Alabama teen was brutally bashed in the head by a pistol for sharing […]
Before Kristin Armstrong Collapsed, she asked “Did I win?”
“Did I win?” she asked. Yes at 44:26.42, Kristin Armstrong had indeed won the gold medal. And then, she fell to the ground. Beijing, London, and now Rio de Janeiro, Armstrong became the first American woman to win the gold medal three times in the same event. And at age 43, the oldest female Olympic cycling champion. It was not a perfect cycling […]
Jeni’s Wedding Day Needed Her Dad’s Heart
It’s been ten years since Jeni Stepien’s father passed away. Like every young woman – visions of walking down the aisle with her dad in hand on her big day were always in her thoughts. But how was that possible? Through the power of organ donation – Arthur Thomas was the lucky recipient of the heart from Jeni’s dad. […]
Girls Turn Lemons Into $10,000 for Dallas Officers
Often times the kids are much wiser than we give them credit for. At eleven and twelve years old, Landry Nelon and Lauren Roach knew exactly what to do with those lemons. As the saying goes, they made lemonade, and lots of it for the five police officers that were killed in Dallas. “At first we thought we would […]
Judge Lou Olivera Takes The High Road To Jail
The sound of the gavel striking against the desk in court means one of two things – the defendant is innocent of the charges, or the judge is sentencing the defendant to serve time in jail. When the gavel struck on Special Forces Sergeant Joseph Serna – he quickly realized that he’d be spending the night in jail. What he could […]
“Officers, Your bill is on me today.” Server Jessica Dunbar
Red Robin is known for it’s gourmet burgers and bottomless steak fries. It also has a knack for hiring caring and passionate servers, who are not only observant, but willing to dig deep into their own pockets to make a point. And what a point server Jessica Dunbar made when she left that note to 9 officers […]
Veteran Josh Collins Takes On PTSD, TBI, Crocs, Sharks & Life
Twenty years serving our great country in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia; Collins retired from the United States military in 2008. This was not to be just any retirement though; but one that was riddled with struggles, anger, random outbursts and frustration. Life had grown steadily more difficult for Collins as he struggled with TBI Traumatic Brain Injury […]
Leaping Life’s Emotional Barriers, Adrianne Haslet-Davis
We can only assume we know or understand what it must be like – to not only lose your leg in a tragic disaster that is reported on and televised around the globe – but to lose your ability to cope and live your life to the fullest – how could we know? At her lowest moment, perhaps […]
Books Up In Flames Ignite Movement For 8-Year-Old Heidi
When you’re eight years old and disaster strikes – it can seem like the world is falling apart. Problems are magnified and solutions don’t always come easy. In the case of eight-year-old Heidi VanSumeren – her solution came through her mailbox courtesy of authors, publishers, and librarians from across the country. Heidi and her family lost […]
“70 years on the job, and never worked a day in her life” Elena Griffing
In 1946, gas was 15 cents a gallon, the average wage was $2,500 a year, and Elena Griffing worked at the Alta Bates Community Hospital making about $120 a month. The name of the facility changed to Sutter Health Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, but Elena Griffing stayed her consistent self – never changing jobs and with an impeccable […]
Wrong Text Delights New Mom With Unexpected Visitors
We’ve all been there at one time or another – either as the recipient or sender of an unintended text. The question is – how do you react to the text in question? Do you keep your cool or do you let it rock your boat? Or might you do what brothers Deorick and Dennis Williams […]
Sean Swarner Goes From Cancer to Seven Summits
We should all have such big dreams. Like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, not one time, but a dozen times. And then there was the trek up Mount Everest. You might even decide to climb the highest peak on every continent – completing the seven summits. Now, imagine you did all this with only one lung! This […]
Ron Clark “like no other school in America”
It’s being called, “like no other school in America,” a transformative journey from middle school student to super-achiever. At the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, ‘skipping school’ is not part of the kids’ lexicon. Kim Bearden and Ron Clark, co-founders, shared an enthusiasm and love for molding kids into exemplary-beings – as proven by their early chance […]
“He fell to his knees, and he began to weep,” Pastor Wright
Staying calm under extreme pressure was the first order, the second, disarm the perpetrator – and then Pastor Larry Wright faced the challenges head on with alacrity. “I asked him, ‘Can I help you?'” asked Wright. “He said, Can you pray for me?” And with that, Wright took the rifle and passed it to a deacon. Once he […]
“I think people undervalue making people happy,” Colts Punter Pat McAfee
On the field, he’s earned a reputation as a ‘real competitor’, off the field he is a man that is dedicated to making the world a better place. Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee is known for his colorful personality – it shines through both on and off the field. ESPN states that “Colts punter Pat McAfee is a […]
‘I’ll take a bullet before you do’ Detective Jorge Lozano
It was a scene most of us will hopefully never see in our lifetime! Dozens of people leaving a Christmas party event on a beautiful afternoon – with their hands raised upward, while walking quickly through a narrow corridor in any office building in America. The police officer tasked with bringing the workers to safety […]
Is God Fact, Opinion, or Myth? 7th Grader Responds!
This is not a story about faith, although it could be. It’s not even a story about a school teacher who could be charged with ‘dereliction of duty’ – although many would argue this. This is a story about a seventh grader who stood firm on her own belief system – despite pressure from a teacher […]
Service Members Return The Favor To The ‘Hug Lady’
If the measure of success in a lifetime is – how many people you’ve impacted – then Elizabeth ‘Hug Lady’ Laird has clearly won the Nobel Peace Prize of Human Kindness! It’s estimated that over a span of twelve years she has hugged close to 500,000 troops. Every service member, whether coming home or leaving for […]
In Search of a Kidney Transplant – on Craigslist?
If you were in need of a kidney transplant would you peruse the ads on Craigslist for that kidney? Even more so – who in their right mind would place an ad on Craigslist in search of a life-saving kidney? It was the brilliant mind of Kay Saria. Kay put the ad up on Craigslist looking for […]
