9
Famous People Whose Inspirational Stories Will Motivate You Today
1. Oprah Winfrey
Noted
as one of the most influential women in the world and a multi-billionaire,
Oprah has certainly done well for herself.
With
her success on the Oprah Winfrey Show, autobiographies, radio shows, and
involvement in the weight loss industry, it’s hard to imagine that her life was
anything but perfect.
But
she had plenty of overcome as a young girl.
She
was born to a poor single mother, lived in poverty, and was sexually abused on
multiple occasions.
2. Stephen King
Most
of us know Stephen King as the twisted writer who almost always sets his horror
stories in Maine.
To
date, he has produced and sold upwards of 350M copies of his
novels.
But
being an author is not always easy because it comes with a lot of competition.
Unbelievably,
King’s first novel was rejected a total of 30
times before a firm would publish it. He even threw the book (Carrie) in the
bin, giving up.
Luckily
for us, his wife fished it out of the bin and the rest is history.
3. J.K. Rowling
This
British native’s success is no secret to anyone, whether you’re a fan of Harry
Potter or not. The Harry Potter empire is valued at
about $15 billion (yes, you read that correctly).
What
many people don’t know about Rowling is that she went through a very tough time just
prior to the advent of her books.
She
married, suffered abuse, had a daughter, and then divorced her husband. She
lost her mom to MS and had to put herself on welfare just to get by.
What’s
more, the first Harry Potter book was also rejected by all of
the major British publishing houses. Once one finally said yes, the franchise
took off immediately.
4. Bill Gates
Yes,
it was only a matter of time before Bill showed up on the list.
He’s
best known for Microsoft and being incredibly wealthy because of it.
Despite
his aptitude for business and incredible intellect, his first business venture
failed.
This
venture, also technology related, wouldn’t even operate during a presentation
to potential buyers.
Thank
goodness Bill didn’t give up after
this initial failure, or all of our lives would probably look a lot different
right now.
5. Bethany Hamilton
Bethany
Hamilton is an extremely talented professional surfer who won her division of
the NSSA National Championship.
The
kicker?
She had a near-death experience at 13 years old when her left arm was bitten
completely off by a shark.
For
those in the sporting realm looking for some inspiration, look no further than
this truly brave soul who was back on the surfboard only a month later.
6.
Jim Carrey
Overly-enthusiastic,
high-energy extraordinaire Jim Carrey was not always a comedic success.
While
he was in his early teens, his family became so poor that they resorted to
living in a van.
Young
Jim even dropped out of school to try to help support the family.
After
years of going from comedy club to comedy club to do stand-up, Carrey was
finally recognized as a great comedic talent and is now one of the biggest
stars in the industry.
7. Vera
Wang
Vera
is one of the biggest names in the fashion industry today after having gotten
her start designing wedding dresses at age 40.
She
is a great example of someone who didn’t find their true calling until a bit
later in life. Vera started out as an athlete but failed to qualify for the
1968 Olympic figure-skating team.
When
sports didn’t work out as she’d hoped, she worked at Vogue but
never rose to the top.
Today,
she is huge in the fashion realm with a business worth over one billion
dollars.
She
even successfully broke into the jewelry designing industry!
8.
Walt Disney
As
just about everyone knows, the Disney Corporation is one of the most lucrative
companies in existence, with high standards of quality and a never-ending
stream of innovations.
Walt
himself was fired from a newspaper job early in life because he “lacked
imagination.”
After
a few failed businesses, Disney’s upbeat attitude was
clearly what kept him going forward.
He’s
been quoted saying that “a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world
for you.”
Once
his first movie Snow White premiered of course, the rest
became history.
9.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn
may not be everyone’s idea of the perfect role model, but there’s no denying
she was outrageously successful in her field.
She
is responsible for one of the most iconic American photographs in the pop
culture sphere.
The
crazy part? She was advised early on by a modeling agency that it wasn’t going
to happen for her, and that she may wanted to be a secretary instead.
She,
of course, thought differently.
Summary.
Life
is hard.
Especially
when you’re not exactly sure what you want to do, or where you’re heading…
But
power through, struggle on and you will reap the rewards.
I
do hope I helped to inspire you today.
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