Fred Smith

He didn't just walk normally again.

He became his high school star athlete at Memphis University School, earning varsity letters in basketball and football.

Consider what that took.

A kid who couldn't walk properly for years became a varsity athlete.

As Fred would later say, fear of failure must never be a reason for not trying something.

The lesson here matters for everything that came after.

Fred learned early that accepting a diagnosis isn't the same thing as accepting defeat.

When everyone said overnight delivery was impossible, he'd remember the doctors who said he'd never play sports.

Flying came next.

At 15, Fred earned his pilot's license, the youngest age legally allowed.

While his classmates were getting driver's license, Fred was learning to fly.

He'd spend hours and hours at Memphis airport watching cargo planes load and unload, already noticing how inefficient the whole process seemed.

If you're wondering who does this at 15, here's how his sister described him as a 15-year-old.

If you met Fred then, you would have been dazzled by him.

The man was charming, articulate, and just winning.

You would follow him anywhere as a leader.

He would start waving his hands around and conjure up these images and your checkbook would just bounce in your head and you are ready to follow him over the next hill and wherever.

He was a terrific salesman who made fantasies come alive.

He also started his first real business in high school.

Fred and two friends launched Ardent Record Company from a garage recording local Memphis musicians.