See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The John Schneider Story.
Life Lesson #94 – If You Don’t Like It, Change It.
Life was hard for the Norris family in the 1940s. They were very poor, and even as a small boy, Carlos Norris had to work hard to help his mother take care of the family. In spite of the fact that his family moved from Oklahoma to California and then to Arizona, Carlos still made good grades in school. It was not easy for him, though. He had to work really hard. He also had a problem with some bullies at school that didn’t like him very much.
After high school, Carlos Norris joined the United States Air Force. While he was in Korea, he started studying karate. At first he was not very good at it, but he worked and worked and worked at it until he became exceptionally good. The best in the world in fact! He won the world championship six years in a row! Nobody before that had even won it two years in a row. It was about that time that he began going by his nickname, “Chuck” instead of Carlos.
Eventually Chuck Norris became a movie star, and he had his own TV show called Walker Texas Ranger. But through all of this, he spent a great deal of time teaching karate to young people and even more importantly, teaching them how to have successful lives through self discipline, respect, hard work, honor, and truth. He wanted to start a program in schools where kids are taught about karate and about how to have really good lives. Today his program is called KickStart and Chuck Norris now works harder than ever to HELP kids.
Yes, it was that little boy named Carlos from Oklahoma who worked hard to help his mother raise a family when times were very difficult. That same little boy grew up to be one of the toughest men on the planet. But he uses his talents and his abilities and most of all, his kind and helpful spirit to help change so many people’s lives for the better. And for that, Chuck Norris truly became a HERO!
– Jim Lord