- Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable . . . Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. [Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story (1957).]
Most geniuses are dedicated to their field of endeavor, partly because their enthusiasm motivates them so strongly. Dedication is not transcendent, per se, but is a frequent characterizing feature of the transcendent person.
Real
True Narratives
Marie Curie:
- Eve Curie, Madame Curie:A Biography (Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., 1937).
- Barbara Goldsmith, Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie (W.W. Norton, 2005).
- Laura Redniss, Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout (It Books, 2010).
Other dedicated people:
- Charles Slack, Noble Obsession: Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the Nineteenth Century (Hyperion, 2002).
- Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (HarperCollins Publications (2015): “ . . . Musk is brutal on himself, routinely working 100-hour weeks. He is brutal as a boss, too, often berating or summarily firing colleagues while hogging credit for others’ accomplishments. Yet he is without question a leader who pushes risky ideas forward through a combination of long-range vision and deep technical intelligence. He knows how to hire good people and how to motivate them. Most important, he never, ever gives up.”
- Rachel Cohen, Austen Years: A Memoir in Five Novels (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2020): “Cohen read Jane Austen’s work exclusively for seven years — through the death of her father and two pregnancies; her winsome, nuanced account of the experience makes clear the British novelist’s abundant consolations.”
- Tracy Kidder, Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People (Random House, 2023), “chronicles the work of Dr. Jim O’Connell, who has dedicated his career to caring for homeless patients.”
Here is a short video about a woman who carries her granddaughter to school over mountains, two hours each way, every day.
Documentary and Educational Films
- Spellbound, following eight high-level competitorsin the national spelling bee
- First Position: teens and pre-teens competefor honors and future positions as ballet dancers
- Herb and Dorothy: a married couple use their little discretionary incometo collect minimalist art works, creating a valuable collection
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi, featuring a manwidely reputed to be the world’s greatest sushi chef, the only sushi chef to be awarded Michelin’s three-star rating: he considers a day away from his work lost time
- Blindsight: a blind man climbs Mount Everest, leading six blind teenagers toward the summit with him
Imaginary
Visual Arts
- Valentin Serov, Portrait of the Composer Nikiolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1898)
- Raphael, The School of Athens (1510-11)
Film and Stage
- The Citadel, about a physician dedicatedto his patients and his profession
- Black Swan, dedicationto the art of ballet, seen from the dark side
- Lust for Life, about Vincentvan Gogh
- Whiplash, about dedication carried too far, and on someone else’s back
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Rafael Méndez (1906-81) was a Mexican-born trumpeter who transcended the limits of his instrument with lightning-fast runs that are usually inaccessible to any instrument but the violin. His long hours of practice and single-minded focus on his instrument were legendary.
- “The World's Most Versatile Trumpeter” album
- “Collección Mexico” album
- various tracks
- album with Laurindo Almeida
- Fight of the Bumble Bee; Mexican Hat Dance
- Moto Perpetuo (Paganini)
- Zigeunerweisen (Sarasate’s gypsy airs)
- Czardas
- Jota No. 2
- Tre-Mendez Polka (with his twin sons)
- Romanza (with Laurindo Almeida)
Compositions:
- Raga Shivranjani, a Carnatic raga usually performed at midnight (performances by Bismillah Khan, Chaurasia and Ali Akbar Khan)
- Raga Gauri is a Hindustani classical raag for late afternoon. “Gauri creates a mood where the listener is encouraged to strive harder in order to achieve an objective.” Linked performances are by Bhimsen Joshi, Sharafat Hussain Khan and Mallikarjun Mansur.
Fictional Narratives
Novels: