Author: Felis Catus
17 February 2021 13:14
Tags: stories motivation success
59174
17
When you try to search for motivational stories online, most often you come across stories of famous people about their success. Yes, such stories are very inspiring, but there are others - these are the stories of ordinary people that you may have never heard, but which are no less impressive for that. 16 people from this list are absolutely ordinary people like you!
0
Source:
See all photos in the gallery
“This idea took off and spread like wildfire.”
0
Source:
Some of your childhood's best summer memories likely involve trampolines, a great activity for kids. However, Rick Platt saw even greater potential in this entertainment: in 2004, he patented “a sports court of trampolines surrounded by walls and the sports played on this court.” Rick called his invention “Sky Zone” - he presented it to the public as a platform on which a person could fly. The playground became so popular that its use went beyond sports purposes: it was accidentally discovered that activities on the playground have a positive effect on autistic children.
×
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Almost everyone knows who Steven Spielberg is. The name of one of the greatest directors of our time, who gave humanity masterpieces like “Jurassic Park”, “Schindler’s List” and action adventure films with Indiana Jones, has long become synonymous with success and demand: if Spielberg is listed as the director on the poster, rest assured that the cinema halls will be crowded. However, before becoming famous, Stephen had to go through a streak of failures that almost put an end to his career.
When the future film genius entered the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, he did not pass the selection due to a low average score. The stubborn young man again tried to pass the exams and again he was rejected. Without losing hope, Stephen sent documents to another department and again to no avail.
Anyone else in his place would have been disappointed in cinema forever, but the young man was determined and, having entered a technical college, in his free time from studying he made a short film, which was noticed at the Universal Pictures studio... Watch the rest of the story on cinema screens.
“Age is just a number that gives most people the opportunity to be lazy and do nothing.”
0
Source:
Meet Sam Bryant Jr. Sam is a bodybuilder and is 70 years old. Yes, you read that right, and your eyes are not deceiving you! What's even more amazing is that he started training at age 44. Then Bryant was getting divorced, and he needed a break from the harsh reality - this is what brought him to the gym. 26 years later he looks younger than the year he started!
Steve Jobs
The path to success of Steve Jobs was thorny and very difficult. Soon after his birth, his parents abandoned him, and the Jobs couple became his adoptive parents, who, in fact, gave him his name. At the age of 12, Jobs plucked up the impudence and called the president of Hewlett-Packard himself to ask him for spare parts to assemble a frequency indicator for school.
As a result of this call, the boy not only received everything he needed, but also an offer to work for the company during the holidays. It was there that Jobs met Stephen Wozniak, with whom he later began the work of his life.
The success stories of Apple Corporation begin with a garage and a wooden machine, which were given to Jobs for full use by his adoptive father. Soon, Stephen and his company received an order for 50 computers, but they did not have the funds to purchase parts to assemble that many machines. Jobs found a way out of the situation and took out a loan for a month. The order was completed within 10 days. The guys worked day and night.
They soon had those who believed in the ideas and outside investments, which allowed them to expand beyond the garage and expand production. The number of orders grew every day and reached thousands. Hard work, determination and faith in success helped Steve Jobs become a great inventor and successful businessman.
Statements by Steve Jobs, full of wisdom and wit, are an indispensable attribute of the speeches of many modern lecturers. They fill the book “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, which is based on conversations with Steve himself.
“Go to a therapist or get a dog”
0
Source:
Carol Gardner was 52; She had neither a job nor an income, but she still had a lot of debts from her previous marriage. She also suffered from depression, and her friend advised her: “Go to a therapist or get a dog.” Gardner chose the latter and named the dog Zelda. Feeding a 4-month-old English bulldog wasn't cheap, so when Gardner discovered a photo contest with dog food as a prize, she was quick to enter. The photo won the competition, Gardner sent it to a postcard printing company, they accepted it and asked for new photos. Now Gardner (and Zelda, of course!) has her own business selling photo postcards.
Richard Branson
Stories of successful people, including the story of Richard Branson, add strength and inspire. Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin brand, one of the most successful entrepreneurs, whose fortune is estimated at more than four and a half billion dollars.
In one of his new books, Sir Richard Branson talks about his principles and rules of life. It’s called “My Rules.”
All that Branson had at the beginning of his journey was his ambition, determination and desire to overcome obstacles. He did very poorly at school and never graduated. He did not like to read and was poorly versed in the exact sciences, which is, in principle, unacceptable for a successful businessman. His first attempt at becoming successful was publishing a student magazine, but an accidental carelessness almost landed him in prison. In one issue of the magazine, Branson placed an advertisement that talked about a remedy against sexually transmitted diseases.
This did not stop the young entrepreneur, and he opens a chain of Virgin stores in which he sells export records, which is why he gets arrested. To resolve this problem, Richard settles all issues with English customs and pays duties and fines from the money received from the sale of the family home. Richard is an extreme sportsman and adventurer by nature. He managed to overcome all the obstacles in his path and found the huge Virgin empire, which brought him success and wealth.
"You can't be too old"
0
Source:
Betty Kalman is 87 years old and teaches yoga. She gives 11 lessons a week, and at her age this seems incredible. Since the age of 15, Betty wanted to do yoga, but she constantly did not have time due to study and work. When she got married and she and her husband opened their own hotel, she started doing yoga. “The body is an amazing instrument. It can stretch and stretch and get better over the years. Forget about age."
Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel is the founder of a fashion house and a famous female fashion designer. Chanel No. 5 perfume is still a top seller to this day, and Time magazine puts Mademoiselle in the TOP 100 most influential people in the fashion industry.
Having grown up in the strict discipline of a monastery, the girl was accustomed to breaking stereotypes. Her design imagination was nurtured in a small clothing repair shop.
Later, this skill will be useful to the fashion designer: her customized hats, women's trousers, little black dresses, and suits made from "men's" jersey, which were previously considered unacceptable, become standards of style and fashion.
This woman made herself. She literally became a fashion reformer and the founder of a brand associated with quality and respectability.
“One thing I wanted to do was feel a little like a child.”
0
Source:
Liverpool's Alistair Humphreys has always been a bit strange. His red hair makes him stand out from the rest, but it's his wanderlust that makes him a truly unique character. He set himself the goal of visiting every country in the world - and he did it on a bicycle! It took him four years, but he definitely saw more of the world than any other person on Earth.
Walt Disney
Walt Disney's childhood was not easy. His dream of becoming a cartoonist began at the age of 12. He persistently offered his “masterpieces” to all publishing houses and magazines, but he was rejected everywhere, never seeing real talent in the young illustrator.
Only at eighteen he was lucky enough to get a job as a cartoonist, from where he was soon kicked out in disgrace, arguing that he was professionally unsuitable. This failure gave Walt the idea of starting his own business. He realized this idea together with his best friend. The business generated $135 in revenue before failing.
Disney took up his old ways again - he drew illustrations for cartoons in the garage. But his first work, Alice in Wonderland, was a failure. Shortly thereafter, Walt created a completely new character that became profitable: Oswald the Rabbit. And this idea was stolen by an insidious attacker.
Despite all the unsuccessful attempts to achieve success, Walt did not stop moving towards his goal, working persistently and persistently in this direction. As a result, Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse were “born”, who conquered the whole world and became the beginning of the company’s success story. One of the fascinating books about the biography of Walt Disney is called: “It All Was Started by One Mouse.” As soon as things started to go up, competitors deprived him of his friend and companion, luring him to their side, which was a strong blow for Walt. And he broke down. He went on a drinking binge and even attempted suicide.
He was rescued and Walt began to slowly but surely climb out of this hole, struggling with depression and financial collapse. He distributed souvenirs with images of his cartoon characters, thanks to which he raised the necessary amount for “Snow White”. Overcoming obstacle after obstacle, step by step Disney moved towards his goal, and he achieved it.
“I felt that now I would find her”
0
Source:
If the dictionary entry for the word "hero" were illustrated with photographs, it would definitely include a photo of Temar Boggs. When a five-year-old girl disappeared in his area, Temar and his friends volunteered to look for her in parallel with the police search. The day was approaching evening, and the team began to fear that they would not have time to find the girl before dark. Around 6:30 p.m., Temar noticed an unfamiliar car in the area and his intuition began to fly like a bird in a cage. He chased the car for 15 minutes until the car spun and the girl was thrown out of it. Temar is a hero, and his example proves that you should listen to your intuition.
Success stories of Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971 in Pretoria (South Africa). The thirst for new knowledge was largely laid down by his father, who was a pilot and engineer. At the age of 10, his father gave Ilan a computer, and at the age of 12 the boy mastered programming. Even then, a young boy created his first game Blastar and sold it for $500. At the age of 17, he moved to Canada, where he earned his living through hard labor in agricultural work and a sawmill. At 21, Elon Musk enters Stanford University. This is where his entrepreneurial activity begins. He seriously studied physics and simultaneously attended business school. The scale of his ambitions exceeded the standard knowledge of the university. He voraciously absorbed all information about new technologies and read a lot. While studying physics, Musk said: “I want to know. how the universe works." While studying economics he added: “and I want to know how to make a lot out of it.”
Elon Musk's first serious projects
Large-scale ambitions, acquired knowledge and first entrepreneurial experience became the basis for the creation of the first large projects. At the age of 24, together with his brother Elon, he created the company ZIP 2 to develop software for online publications. Subsequently, the company was sold for $301 million. Funds, of course. were invested in the next idea.
PayPal
The next big idea was the first online bank. The company was named X.com. Now it is known as Pay Pal. But complete mutual understanding was not achieved between the co-founders. In 2002, it was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.
Elon Musk and Space X
By this time, Ilan was no longer driven by money, but by some irrepressible energy of global innovative solutions. He formulated his life goal as follows: “to take actions that will extend the life of civilization and reduce the possibility of returning to the “dark ages.” The object of his study was space. This is how the company Spase X appeared. Elon Musk invested $100 million in it. The main idea was to reduce the costs of spacecraft launches. This was achieved by developing reusable rockets. The global goal is the colonization of Mars. And it's not a joke.
Tesla is the trend of the future
Another famous project of the innovator is Tesla motors. The company could not reach its planned targets for a long time. But with the support of the US Department of Energy and investments from the sale of other assets, Elon Musk was able to develop the company and set a trend in the car manufacturer market. All leading brands. such as BMW, Mercedes, etc. were forced to start developing, if not pure electric cars, then at least hybrid cars.
New ideas of Elon Musk
But his rapid innovative activity did not stop there, continuing the success stories. Now Elon and his team are actively developing projects such as a high-speed tunnel train, reaching speeds of up to 1200 km/h. His SolarCity project involves building a plant three times the size of the largest plants in America. And another project for the benefit of humanity—a device for curing brain diseases, Neuralink.
This is certainly an inspiring story of the life of a successful man, which, by the way, he would like to end on Mars.
Journalist Ashley Vance managed to get first-hand information about the unique path of this brilliant man. His book “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Road to the Future” is a bestseller and is extremely popular.
“Finally I reached the slaughterhouse and decided to try my luck there.”
0
Source:
Wang Yan was a successful Chinese businessman. When he came home, he was greeted by his faithful friend, his beloved dog. When the dog disappeared, Yan searched everything until a friend suggested that his last resort was to check the knacker. The 29-year-old businessman never found the dog, but the conditions he saw at the slaughterhouse seemed so pathetic to him that he bought it and turned it into a shelter for 2,000 dogs.
Bill Gates
Everyone associates the name of this man with the famous Microsoft brand, but Gates’ very first invention was traffic meters. For their development and production, Bill and a group of friends created a company called “Traf-0-Data”. The young entrepreneurs wanted to sell their invention to local authorities, but at the very first presentation of the product they were expected to fail, since the device did not meet the stated capabilities and did not work as expected. Despite the loud fiasco of Bill Gates, this event pushed him to invent software for computer equipment, as a result of which the world famous company Microsoft was founded. A popular audiobook about the biography and secrets of success of Bill Gates is now used as a teaching aid.
“At first the villagers laughed at me.”
0
Source:
Dashrath Manjhi worked all his life to alleviate the lot of all the sick of his village, in contrast to the lot that befell his wife. Dashrath Manjha's wife died without receiving timely medical care, since the road from their village to the nearest city where this help could be provided bypassed an extensive mountain formation and was more than 70 km long. Not wanting anyone else to share his wife's fate, Dashrath single-handedly cut a 110 m long passage through the rock formation, working every day for 22 years (from 1960 to 1982), reducing the road between the areas to one kilometer.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is a TV presenter and the only black woman included in the list of the richest people in America. Her “The Oprah Winfrey Show” broke all known ratings records and brought the star a fortune.
Her credo: “You only need you to succeed” is very clearly illustrated by Winfrey’s life itself. A difficult childhood, sexual abuse, a colony - her father’s education and faith brought her out of the abyss of emotional death.
At the age of 16, she wins a public speaking competition and the right to study at the University of Tennessee, where, thanks to her efforts, she becomes one of the best students.
“The meaning of life is precisely to develop into the person you should be.”
In South Africa, Oprah opened a school for girls from poor families. He is a representative of the charitable organization Angel Network.
“I wanted to read the Holy Scriptures myself.”
0
Source:
At 84, Kenyan Kimani Maruge's main desire was to start attending school - something his family could not afford as a child. He began his studies in first grade, much to the surprise of his teachers and mentors. It took time to get used to, but over time the school got used to the idea of being the oldest primary school student. The story of Maruge was made into a film in 2011.
Marilyn Monroe
The success story of Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jeane Mortenson in life) began with the wanderings of a little girl in orphanages, shelters, boarding schools and foster families. Her own mother could not provide her daughter with care and love. A difficult childhood led to Marilyn hastily getting married at the age of sixteen. She decided to take this step in order to avoid another boarding school.
When the girl was twenty years old, she was lucky enough to be offered a role as an extra in a film by the world famous film studio 20th Century Fox. This can be considered the beginning of a success story. During this period, Norma became Marilyn Monroe. The first role was not the most successful, but soon the aspiring actress signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, cooperation with which did not last long, since its employees considered Monroe a mediocre and mediocre girl.
The desire to become a famous actress and get the main role helped Marilyn not to give up everything halfway to recognition, and with diligence and zeal she played minor supporting roles many times until she was finally noticed and her dream came true. Monroe became a true legend, and even after her death people still talk about her. Her image became the standard of femininity and the personification of sex appeal, but few know that she had the deepest intelligence and insight, which is perfectly confirmed by the sensational book “Marilyn Monroe. Passion, told by herself" This book overturns all previous ideas about the "main blonde of Hollywood."
“Work hard, believe in yourself, never give up, and even at 70 you can achieve your goal.”
0
Source:
Sometimes life does not go exactly as usual, but in a somewhat chaotic order. Usually people finish school first, then get married, build a family and a career. For this man named Thap Van Kieu, things happened differently: at the age of 70, he graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in the company of people old enough to be his grandchildren. It's never too late!
Wise advice from successful people
Having overcome all the obstacles that stood in their way, fighting against obstacles and competitors, each time they made new stories of success, fame, and recognition. And only from their mistakes were they able to learn to achieve goals and achieve what they wanted.
Advice from great people on how to become successful in life:
- Live here and now. Many losers cannot break the vicious circle and escape from the clutches of poverty and misery, because they live in the past, worry, and regret something. There is no point in regretting what happened in the past. What we have today determines what tomorrow will be like.
- Don't get hung up on all the little things. Any problem over time seems like a mere trifle. You shouldn’t waste precious time, energy and your own nerves on some trifle if you can do something more useful and significant.
- Don't look for someone to blame for your failure. It depends only on the person how his life will turn out, on the direction of his thoughts and specific actions, on the decisions made. If a person still lives in poverty and dreams of wealth, then this was his decision - to remain inactive and wait for success to fall right on his head. It doesn't happen that way.
- Never complain about your own failures. By pouring out his indignation at fate, a person angers it even more, thereby attracting even more negativity and problems. Only positive-minded people have luck and success. Be optimistic.
- Don't be afraid to try. You cannot achieve success until a person finds his calling. And you can do this when you try your hand in different directions.
- Don't hide from problems, learn to solve them. The problem will not solve itself if a person hides from it. It will only get worse. It is better to solve problems immediately, without putting them off for later.
- Believe in yourself, in your strengths and abilities, believe in success. Only faith fills a person with strength and inspires him to take decisive and courageous actions.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't be shy to accept it. Successful entrepreneurs know how to rationally use their potential, as well as time and energy. They wouldn't have achieved what they have if they did everything alone.
- Don't wait for the right moment, it will never come. The right moment can only be now, in this moment. Do not hesitate and put off the implementation of your plans and ideas. Time flies, so appreciate every second.
Pavel Durov
Pavel Durov graduated from the philological department of St. Petersburg State University. In 2007, on his social network VKontakte, he shared how the creation of this network happened. According to Durov, his first projects were durov.com (answers to exams in the humanities) and spbgu.ru - a university community.
Pavel saw the problem that everyone uses nicknames and it is not clear what kind of people are hiding behind them. Soon Pavel’s friend returned from the USA and told him about the social network Facebook. So on October 10, 2006, the social network VKontakte appeared.
Another 7 years later, Pavel sold his share of VKontakte, and subsequently the social network was bought by the Internet holding Mail.ru.
As a result, Durov decided to create something new. On August 14, 2013, Telegram appeared for devices on the iOS platform. Subsequently, the messenger became available for Android devices. Pavel took the idea from his Western colleagues; Telegram is an analogue of the messenger that Facebook bought for $19 billion.
The total number of users who use Telegram worldwide has reached 500 million. Durov’s second project turned out to be even more popular than the social network VKontakte. According to some reports, it has 460 million registered users.
Stephen King
Stephen King
When it comes to literature in the horror genre, someone will certainly think of Stephen King - the writer’s name has long become synonymous with the fear that the brilliant American managed to evoke in readers simply by arranging words and sentences in a certain sequence. His works, such as “Misery”, “The Shining” and “The Stand” are recognized as masterpieces, and King himself is respectfully referred to by the public and critics as the “King of Horror”, while the “King’s” road to the “throne” was quite thorny.
Fans of the writer will probably remember that King's first book cleared for publication was Carrie, the story of a teenage girl with telekinetic powers. A lesser-known fact is that the publishers “wrapped” “Carrie” not once, not twice, and not even 27 times, as in the case of Dr. Seuss, but as many as 30! After the thirtieth refusal, King became disillusioned with the work and threw the manuscript into the trash, but the writer’s wife found it there, who consoled her brilliant but unrecognized husband and encouraged him not to give up. Stephen heeded his wife’s requests and again sent “Carrie” to one of the publishing houses. As it turned out, the wife’s words became prophetic - the editors liked the book and decided to publish it, after which it was no longer possible to stop the triumphant march of King’s horror across the planet.
Be future-oriented
Rich people set long-term goals rather than expecting massive immediate gains. Brian Tracy in his book “100 Absolute Laws of Business Success” notes that in order to achieve great achievements, you must clearly decide what heights you want to achieve. The more clearly you understand your true motives, the faster you will achieve your goal.
Jeff Bezos, who today ranks first among the richest people in the world, says that an entrepreneur must think 2-3 years ahead and make quality decisions that would contribute to the systematic development of each project and the company as a whole. Bezos notes that his current success was planned and thought out three years ago.
