Welcome!

“A ship in harbor is safe,

but that is not what ships are
built for….”
Steps for creating:

BE I N S P I R E D!!!
 Look arou
nd
you!
Everywher
e ar e
reasons
To be insp
ired!
 When Reza shared his life’s journey with
me, I became inspired.

What’s so inspiring about him?

Did he start a million dollar company?
Can he bend a metal spoon with this mind?

Nope~
But he did have a dream…
And he made his dream come true…
 In August 1982
Reza Abedi won a gold medal at
the Military World Wrestling
Championships
 But, that wasn’t his dream..
He didn’t need a gold medal to hang
around his neck to say “Champion.”
He wanted the opportunity that
comes with freedom. The
opportunity to go to school, to
learn, to live his life as a
complete person.
In fact, a few nights after he
won his gold medal,
he wrapped his clothes
around that gold medal and
pushed it out a 4th floor
window.

Then, with the help of brave

American wrestlers, he risked
his life to escape….
And he was on his way to fulfilling
his dream… to earn a college
degree and become a teacher

In 2000, Reza
Abedi was
nominated by his
colleagues to be
the Teacher of the
Year!!!
Now, that might not sound like a big dream to you.

But,

you don’t know

the whole story…..

It is my great honor to introduce to you Mr. Reza
Abedi.
On left is Reza, his father and his coach at the Caspian Sea.
On the right is Reza’s team picture. The best of the best.
 I’m inspired…

So, now what do I do???

 Trust your gift…
 Find the method you use to create
 Many ways to write
 Photography, drawing, painting
 Playing instruments, dancing
 Building and sculpting objects
 Cooking, sewing, gardening
 Designing clothes, building, planes & parks
 What does it take to create?
To write a book, or design a clothing line or
win a championship—it takes the 3Ds:

 Dedication
 Desire
 Determination
 Dedication
 Commit hundreds of hours of research
 MAKE time to write
 Found other writers and MADE time to
meet with them weekly for critiques
 Read books about how to write
 Believe in the message of this story and
dedicate myself to develop my gift as a
writer to bring this story to others.
 Reza dedicated himself…
 To school. Attending
‘after school’ which he
walked miles to after
his regular school.
 To wrestling.
Grueling workouts
and self-starving to
make weights
 To his dream. Willing
to die for a chance to
go to college.
 Desire
 I wanted to succeed in telling Reza’s story.
 There were many, many periods of self-
doubt
 So, I surrounded myself with positive
people who could support my vision.
 People who gave me authentic feedback
on my writing, who helped me design a
website, and who taught me about Iranian
traditions.
Desire gives you the power to overcome
everything that stands between you and
your dream.
 Determination
The driving force that keeps you moving toward
achieving your dream—in spite of rejection…
 Many, many international best-selling books
received 50 or more rejection notices before a
publisher signed onto the book. Including Harry
Potter.
 Michael Jordan was cut from his high school
sophomore basketball team.
 There are examples of failure all around us…
Failure is only failure
when you quit.
 Reza’s life inspired me.
My gift was to write.
I dedicated myself to write his story through research, seeking
support and learning how to be the best writer I could possibly
be. For every 100 words I’ve written, I’ve probably kept 1.
My desire to share his story came from my belief that others
could read this story and be inspired. Some days, I couldn’t
write a single word. Others days, chapters flowed. But
everyday I committed to do one thing for the story.
My determination to see the story through has given me the
strength to push through my many, many failures and
disappointments I have and will continue to endure.
Reza’s determination set him on
the course to make his dream
come true…

 He was a scholarship wrestler for Cal State

Fullerton and well on his way to earning a
college degree and becoming a teacher.
Then one day his phone rang.

With a call to not only risk everything

he’d work so hard for….

But he had to risk his very life,

Again
 Thank you! We hope we’ve
inspired you to achieve your
dreams, to create and to inspire
others.

Iranian Roots;
American Wings

 http://iranianrootsamericanwings.blogspot.com/