I admit, I fear heights and speed combined; meaning I'm not a fan of roller coasters and especially have no interest in skydiving–no matter how exhilarating that experience may be. But I do admire those brave enough to go through it without any second thoughts. Which brings me to Felix Baumgartner. If the name sounds familiar to you, it should be because if you hadn't heard by now, this man shattered world records over the weekend for the highest and quickest freefall, highest manned balloon flight, and first person to break the speed of sound.
__Red Bull s__ponsored the stunt that had viewers on their feet as Baumgartner planned to jump from a balloon at 128,100 feet above the Earth. Despite the many dangers he could've faced, the Austrian daredevil survived and left the world stunned with his death defying act that he had been planning since 2010. He definitely proved that just about ANYTHING is possible if you put your mind to it.
Like most kids, Baumgartner had dreams of becoming an astronaut. He was so serious about it that he skydived for the first time when he was 16 and then became a member of a Special Forces demonstration team for the Austrian military. He eventually became a skydiving professional and has jumped off the tallest buildings in the world in Taiwan, Sweden, France, and skydived across the English Channel. He has even jumped from the hand of the Christ of the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janiero in Brazil—how crazy is that?!
__Read more ¿Qué más?: Nobel Prize winner's bad report card shows we should never give up!
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I'm sure living life as a daredevil isn't always all it's cracked up to be, but he proved that no dream is too big to make happen. Many children grow up wanting to be athletes, dancers or other professions of their choice, but end up not pursuing it because they're told they can't–and that shouldn't be the case! Much like the Nobel Prize winner who failed in science when he was in school, he never gave up on becoming a scientist and he ended up being awarded for his revolutionary work.
Therefore encouraging your kids to follow their dreams may be the best thing you can do as a parent because you never know how far their passion can take them. As Confucius once said,"if you choose a job you love, you never work a day in your life."
Image via Getty Images
