A picture paints a thousand words. We know that, right? And in fact some pictures are even clueless to what truly lies beneath its plain surface.

              Take a look at these pictures. Perhaps you think they’re just two ordinary men. But if you know who they really are, perhaps you could say these pictures are worth more than a thousand words.

Michael Phelps is one of the world’s greatest swimmers of all time. He has won 54 career medals in major international competitions including the Olympics. Michael Phelps is a sports hero, he’s a sports icon.

Mark Zuckerberg is one of the world’s youngest billionaires to date. He is the president and one of the co-founders of Facebook. He is one of the most influential people in Times 100 magazine. Mark Zuckerberg is a social networking hero; he’s a social networking icon.

Michael Phelps and Mark Zuckerberg both are world icons.

What about this picture?

This picture must be familiar to you. This is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta or simply Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga is a 23 year old artist. But she is no ordinary artist. To date, her songs and her albums have reached over millions of dollars in sales worldwide. She has won various music awards, she tops the music charts, she’s outrageous and she’s the number 1 influential entertainer of the world according to the Times100 Magazine in 2010. This is Lady Gaga – a phenomenal artist, a phenomenal icon.

This is Emmanuel Pacquiao, Jr or simply Manny Pacquiao.

He’s named as “The Fighter of the Decade”. He holds 7 different boxing titles. He’s one of world’s best boxers of all time. Manny Pacquaio is definitely a champion, a boxing icon.

This is Maam Jennifer Retuya – the one and only Jenny Retuya.

She is a member of Ormoc Percolators Toastmasters Club – our mother club. She is the recent speech champion in the Humorous category during the District Convention. And she’s been collecting more than a dozen gold trophies for speech contests since 1998. This is Jennifer Retuya – a speech champion, an inspiration.