10 Inspiring success stories of famous people
Success is something we all strive for in some way or another, but how is it defined? What is success?
There are many definitions in circulation these days, but it seems that there is one definition that is agreed upon by the majority of people about success. That is, success represents the pinnacle of persistence in the face of failure. So, this is what we hope to share with you in this article: inspiring success stories that clearly reveal the path that some people have taken to achieve great success.
We hope that by sharing several inspiring stories, we can somehow encourage you to continue striving towards your dreams, and to believe that striving to achieve the "impossible" is possible.
Here are 10 inspiring success stories that will give you the motivation to keep going and keep striving for your goals and ambitions.
1- Cristiano Ronaldo
When it comes to inspiring success stories, the story of Cristiano Ronaldo is a must-mention.
Cristiano Ronaldo grew up in a very difficult household. As a child, he had to share a room with three of his siblings due to their meager financial situation. There were times when they did not have enough money to buy a football just so he could play in the streets.
But Ronaldo did not let his environment and circumstances control his destiny. Instead, he was always finding ways to practice the sport he loved even without the ball. He would use bottles, rags, or anything he could get his hands on to make a makeshift ball just so he could play.
Those efforts paid off, as his football development began to show, and he had to make the ultimate sacrifice at the age of 11 to move away more than 500 miles from his family in order to train at a prestigious football academy.
That move was the right one, as it put him on the path to eventually becoming one of the greatest players in history. Cristiano Ronaldo is now known as the greatest Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation. He is also considered by millions of football fans around the world to be the greatest of all time.
In addition, he is the first football player in history to earn more than $1 billion, and he has one of the largest net worths among professional athletes.
2- Lionel Messi
Since we are talking about football, we must also mention the success story of Lionel Messi, which is one of the most inspiring success stories!
Here is why: at the age of 11, Messi was kicked off his football team because they thought he was too small to play. He was weak-built, due to a growth hormone deficiency that made him look smaller and younger than all the other kids his age.
Fortunately, Messi did not let that stand in his way. He challenged his weakness, and put himself on a strict training regime. Not only that, but he also injected himself with growth hormones.
He started by injecting one leg for seven days, then injecting the other leg for seven days, and he persevered with this routine for six full years.
Messi's sacrifice and perseverance paid off. He is now one of the highest-paid footballers in the world with an incredible net worth, and he is considered by many fans to be one of the greatest footballers of all time, due to winning the Ballon d'Or seven times
3- Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone has one of the most inspiring success stories. Before he achieved his meteoric rise to fame, he was an essentially impoverished artist. For many years during and after college, he worked odd jobs to pay the bills while also taking on any acting roles he could find to keep his dream alive of becoming a successful actor before he died.
It was a struggle that Stallone endured for many years, a struggle that actually lasted for seven years, during which time Stallone landed a few small roles in a few films, but never a major role that would be enough to launch his career.
During those long seven years of struggle, he was just a few steps away from filing for bankruptcy. Because of the desperation he felt from his need for money, he once had to sell his wife's jewelry. He also had to sell his dog because he couldn't feed him. He reached a point where Stallone was homeless, so he had to sleep outside for several days.
But his tough days as a struggling actor wouldn't last forever. Because after facing unimaginable hardships for more than seven years, he finally got his big break. This break came after he was able to get a script he wrote in a three-day wave of inspiration in front of two major Hollywood directors. This was the pivotal moment that would tip the scales for Sylvester Stallone, and his career flourished after he negotiated the lead role in the film known as "Rocky."
4- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Even though Arnold Schwarzenegger is an example of a self-made man, we would not dare to exclude him from the group of success stories of famous people. Because he has one of the most inspiring stories.
After being born and raised in Austria, at a time when the country was still recovering from its defeat in World War II, the odds were already stacked against Arnold. He grew up in an atmosphere of alcoholism, where defeatism was the norm, and mockery of big dreams was the norm.
But Arnold didn't care, he knew he didn't want to live the traditional Austrian life that his parents wanted for him, and he knew he wanted to move to America, the land of the free. And on this approach, he developed a plan to achieve success in bodybuilding, and then used this success to enter the movies.
He then continued to pursue his vision, becoming the youngest man to win the Mr. Universe competition, then winning five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles.
And after he achieved his primary goal and ambition to become a brilliant bodybuilder, he entered the world of acting and committed to this profession that he had always dreamed of. He starred in many popular films that grossed over $3 billion, which made him one of the richest Hollywood stars.
There is no doubt that Arnold Schwarzenegger will continue to conquer the film industry to the same degree that he conquered the world of bodybuilding.
5- J.K. Rowling
Who doesn't know the famous Harry Potter series of novels, and its films that achieved stunning success around the world?
But, few people know the most inspiring story behind the author of these books... the novelist J.K. Rowling...
J.K. Rowling had a dream of becoming a writer early on. But she had to wait for many years before her dream of becoming a published author came true.
As soon as she decided to work on writing her book, she was diverted from her path by the death of her mother. The depression that followed led Rowling to look for a job as a teacher in another country. Shortly after, she married and had a child, which delayed her aspirations for several more years.
But things did not go as Rowling had hoped, as her marriage suddenly ended after just one year, making her a single mother and unemployed, and she was barely able to meet her living requirements from unemployment benefits. However, despite all of the challenges she faced, Rowling continued to write her book, taking advantage of her child's sleep and every other free moment she had to write. Until finally the day came when she finished writing her manuscript.
Of course, even after Rowling finished her manuscript, the obstacles remained. She faced rejection from 12 different publishers, and she found herself almost ready to give up on her novel before her manuscript was finally accepted.
In that moment, life finally smiled at Rowling... and now, she is one of the most famous and best-selling authors of all time.
In fact, she is the highest-paid novelist in the world, with her books translated into over 80 different languages and selling over 500 million copies. She is undoubtedly one of a few inspiring success stories in the field of writing.
6-Steven Spielberg
Most people don't know this fact, but Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school three times. Yet he didn't let this rejection stand in his way and kept applying over and over until he was accepted.
After that he was taken in by Cal State and Long Beach on their film programs. Then he leveraged his time at University of California to get an unpaid internship at Universal Studios.
Of course it wasn't a long-term internship, but it was enough for Steven to learn how to sneak onto studio lots, observe filming and directing, and gather as much knowledge as he could about what it takes to make it in the business.
Finally the day came when he was able to put a film he made into the hands of movie executives. But first he had to overcome the multiple attempts of the film executives to make him give up. After being told the film wasn't the right size several times, and having to remake the entire pitch at the recommended sizes each time, the executives finally relented and gave his film a chance to be seen.
And then the surprise came when the film won major awards, and cemented Steven Spielberg's place as a director and writer in the movie industry.
Through his persistence, Steven gives us many inspiring lessons and stories about striving and persevering to reach big dreams and goals.
7- Michael Jordan
Most people don't know the inspiring story behind Michael Jordan's success. When he was just a sophomore in high school, he already had big dreams of becoming a phenomenal basketball player. To pursue his dream, he tried out for the varsity team. But things didn't go as expected and he got cut from the team.
This was not easy on Michael Jordan and left a huge impression on him. The rejection was so painful that after he went home and cried in his closet.
Although the rejection still bothered Jordan, he dusted himself off and went to the JV team. He trained relentlessly during off-season and grew 4 inches taller.
The next year he tried out for the varsity team again, and this time he succeeded. Not only did he succeed, he became the best player on the team, made All-American, and eventually got a college scholarship.
From there, well, you know the rest of the story. He went on to become the man who would score 32,292 points in his basketball career, collect 6 NBA championships, garner 5 MVP titles, and be considered the greatest basketball player of all time.
From this we see the importance of having huge expectations and big dreams in achieving success, as well as being highly resilient after facing rejection and failure.
8- Abraham Lincoln
9- Tom Brady
10- Paulo Coelho
