Idealist examples

Oprah Winfrey (ENFJ) – A Baltimore TV producer told her she was “unfit for television news.” Oprah lost her job as co-anchor of the news because she was too emotionally invested, too empathetic with victims. Donating blankets to people in need was not part of her job description. She was reprimanded for getting involved in other people’s business. Her contract hadn’t expired yet, so she was demoted and eventually placed on their morning talk show. She shined!

Six years later she moved to Chicago to host a low-rated morning talk show. Within months, the show went from last place to first place in the ratings. She even bumped Phil Donahue from his top spot. Roger Ebert persuaded her to sign a syndication deal, and The Oprah Winfrey Show was born. It was expanded to a full hour and broadcast nationally on September 8, 1986.

For 25 years she was both producer and host of the show. Empathetic with guests, attuned to her audience, and in rhythm with changing world events, Oprah connected with people around the globe.

In 1994, she changed the format of her show to emphasize uplifting and inspirational stories about overcoming adversity. This enriched the life of viewers, but also resulted in an increase in acts of altruism. A scientific study concluded that viewers of one of her uplifting scenes made them twice as helpful as people that watched a comedy or nature documentary instead.

Known as one of the most influential people in the world, her power to endorse a product is called “The Oprah Effect.” Being an Idealist, the show did not profit from the products it endorsed. Oprah simply wanted the best from life for herself and for everyone else.

Nelson Mandela (INFJ) – He sat alone in his prison cell a month before his 70th birthday while 80,000 people sang his name in unison halfway around the world. Imprisoned for more than 25 years for protesting racial segregation, discrimination, and abuse in South Africa (apartheid), the world united in 1988 to show their support by holding a “Free Nelson Mandela Concert” in London. The concert featured numerous musicians and celebrities and was broadcast to 600 million viewers in 67 countries.

With growing domestic and international pressure, and with fears of a racial civil war, Nelson Mandela was released in 1990—20 months after the concert and 27 years after he was imprisoned. The event was broadcast and celebrated throughout the world.

Once free, he sought a peaceful solution to end apartheid by encouraging world leaders to support sanctions against South Africa’s government.

A master of diplomacy, he knew when to stand firm on an issue and when to compromise. He understood the importance of respect and made sure that “opponents” had enough space to not be embarrassed, humiliated, or ridiculed.

Ashton Kutcher (ENFP) – He is much more than an actor, producer, and writer. He co-founded an international human rights organization in 2010 which later became known as “Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children.”

In 2017, he made a passionate speech to Congress about the sexual exploitation of children. He spoke of meeting victims from across the country and around the world. He went on to describe his experience with FBI raids and of seeing unspeakable things. He choked up with tears and then anger when saying: “I’ve seen video content of a child that’s the same age as mine—being raped by an American man that was a sex tourist in Cambodia.”

Thorn reached millions of people with its “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” campaign.

It also worked with CNN to produce the documentary “Nepal’s Stolen Children,” funded organizations for survivors of the ordeal, worked with the United Nations to fight human trafficking, and educated the public about the violent nature of the abuse.

Recognizing that the Internet is increasingly being used for child sex trafficking, Thorn strives to reduce the sexual abuse of children by focusing on Internet technology and the role it plays in sexual slavery and child pornography.

Pope John Paul II (INFP) – He travelled to more foreign countries than all the previous popes combined, logging enough miles to travel around the world 31 times. He was the first pope to visit the Western Wall, a Nazi concentration camp, a Jewish synagogue, an Islamic mosque, or the White House. And he was the first pope to call for Jews, Muslims, and Christians to live together in peace.

• Her book club became the single most powerful force in the American publishing industry. It became so powerful, that any book she selected sold close to a million copies and usually became an instant best-seller.

• She added an annual “Favorite Things” piece to her show. It became the most watched episode each year. Products she liked were shown and given away to audience members. Sales skyrocketed.

By the 12th season of the show, Oprah felt exhausted and considered quitting. She changed her mind when she remembered the remarkable position she was in to make a positive difference in other people’s lives.

Her authenticity attracted other people to help charitable causes she became involved with. In 1998, she created “Oprah’s Angel Network” to encourage people around the world to make a difference in the lives of others. In 2004, she went to South Africa for three weeks to help children affected by poverty and AIDS. She filmed her time there as a special episode of her show and pleaded with the audience to help those children. Viewers responded by donating $7 million. Nelson Mandela praised her for overcoming her own troublesome childhood and becoming a benefactor to others.

In 2005, she raised more than $11 million—and donated another $10 million herself—to help survivors recover from Hurricane Katrina.

In 1993, Mandela and the current president of South Africa were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.”

A year later he was elected as South Africa’s first black president. In his inauguration speech, he preached reconciliation with the white regime that had imprisoned him and oppressed black citizens. “The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.”

Wanting his country to live in harmony as one people he continued, “we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.”

Although he was criticized sometimes for his willingness to compromise, Mandela excelled at finding common ground and emphasizing unity. He encouraged black South Africans to support the predominantly white rugby team during the 1995 Rugby World Cup and calmed the fears of many white citizens when he wore a team shirt and congratulated the captain while presenting him with the trophy.

As President of South Africa, he donated a third of his income to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. When he finished serving as president of the country, he established the Nelson Mandela Foundation to build schools, ease poverty, and combat HIV/AIDS. It has since evolved into an archive of his life and times and a place to discuss critical social issues regarding human rights and democracy. Its vision is to remember its past, listen to all its voices, and pursue social justice.

Thorn created Spotlight, a web-based tool used by law enforcement to identify victims quickly. In one year alone, Spotlight identified 1,980 victimized children, and more than 6,700 traffickers and adults.

But Thorn’s best contribution is its online deterrence program. It finds predators while they hunt and communicates directly to them, stripping away the veil of anonymity and encouraging them to get professional help. So far, this program has guided more then 140,000 people to seek help for their online addiction.

As a champion of other causes, in 2006 Ashton gained awareness and cash for Habitat For Humanity by donating $1 for each of the first 50,000 MySpace users to add him as a friend. In 2008 he spent a week building homes for the disadvantaged in Central America and co-founded the non-profit organization “The Native Fund.”

He has also been a long-time advocate for teaching more people to write computer code, saying: “Computer science belongs in every public school, right next to biology, chemistry, or algebra.”

On May 13, 1981, the Pope was shot and critically wounded by a gunman.

Two years later, the Pope visited him in prison, where they spoke privately for about 20 minutes. When asked about it, he said: “What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.”

Years after John Paul II was laid to rest, the freed gunman, now a Christian, left two dozen white roses at the tomb of his friend, the pope.

In 1985, Pope John Paul II established World Youth Day to bring together many different cultures in an effort to unite them in mutual acceptance and appreciation of one another.

The next year he united world religions when he held the first World Day of Prayer for Peace. Bringing together 32 Christian organizations and 11 other world religions, the Pope led them in a day of fasting and prayer.

Promoting the need for religious tolerance, love and respect, he emphasized the beliefs and practices that religions have in common. During his visit to Sri Lanka, the Pope expressed his admiration for these values in Buddhism: loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and calmness. He also reached out to a Hindu sect and praised Mohandas Gandhi for his faith in God.

In 1999, he visited Romania in an effort to heal the rupture between the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church that took place in 1054. Romania’s leader stated, “The second millennium of Christian history began with a painful wounding of the unity of the Church; the end of this millennium has seen a real commitment to restoring Christian unity.”

In 2001, he became the first pope to visit Greece in more than a thousand years. After a private meeting, the Greek Archbishop publicly read a list of 13 offenses by the Catholic Church against the Eastern Orthodox Church, including the pillaging of Constantinople by Crusaders in 1204. The Pope apologized and asked forgiveness from God. The Pope continued on to Damascus, stating: “For all the times that Muslims and Christians have offended one another, we need to seek forgiveness from the Almighty and to offer each other forgiveness.”

During his time as Pope, he increased the number of nations who had diplomatic relations with the Catholic Church from 85 to 174 countries.