Famous people who overcame obstacles

[Rosie]

I am looking for success stories of well-known people who have used their willpower, never giving up, and have finally reached their goals...
If you can think of someone, please pitch in...

I can name a few.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 yrs in prison. After being released, he dedicated himself to ending apartheid in South Africa, received the Nobel Peace Prize and was elected president.

Michael Jordan did not make it to his high school basketball team, later becoming the #1 basketball player in the world.

Clark Gable was told in Hollywood he would never get to play 'the leading man'. He later became known as Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.

The early works of Dr Seuss were rejected by 23 publishers. The 24th said yes.

Dr. Wayne Dyer spent his childhood in foster homes and yet he always envisioned he could get anything in life that he set his mind on. His self-help books have sold millions.

[peacefull]

John Kennedy was administered the Catholic last rites three times before becoming President of the United States.

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by Tseno

John Kennedy was administered the Catholic last rites three times before becoming President of the United States.

Tseno,

I didn't know that! Thanks for the link and for your help!

[pachiaammos]

Joanna Rowling was rejected by many publishers and when the first edition of the first Harry Potter novel was published the print run was only 1000. She was advised to disguise her feminine identity - hence the "JK", the K being an invention for the purpose.

Einstein failed his school maths exams.

[divine_gypsy]

Abraham Lincoln failed, a dozen times, to achieve some government office before becoming president. That is a story most motivational speakers love to use.


The problems is that most of these people had some kind of reliable support to encourage them to overcome their problems. The rest of us get no support, or are even ridiculed for our efforts.


There are too many beings who have completely narrow views of how life could be for everyone. I am greatly disappointed because from my earliest memories, I thought only in terms of great potentialities awaiting me, already in place amongst the peoples of the world, when I became an adult. Boy, was I wrong.

[Rosie]

Thank you, Wade and DG, you are a big help and maybe others are inspired by your posts too. I know I am.

Originally Posted by divine_gypsy

The rest of us get no support, or are even ridiculed for our efforts.

DG,
I have always loved the saying "I am grateful to all the people who said no. It is because of them that I could." I always say that it would be so easy for me to tell my lifestory as a very tragic story, but I choose to think of it and talk about it as a wonderful adventurous journey full of so much help along the way.
It is kind of like washing the elephant (Wade mentioned that story in another post) - what part am I washing? - what do I see? Much support to you!

knut hamsun was recected many times before his first book was out -and he was wery poor when he was young and lived in cristiania .to day oslo norway

[rasa]

Rosie, an article I was reading in the paper today about the Dole Foods CEO reminded me of your post. David H Murdock, now 84 years old, was a high school dropout.

[pachiaammos]

Marion Bartoli, unexpected ladies finalist at this year's Wimbledon tennis championships.

This gives the flavour well:

From http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/...OLI.php?page=2

As a child, Bartoli said, she finished last in sprints and ball-throwing competitions at school.

Recognizing that he needed to make an athlete out of her if she wanted to play tennis, her father set up targets on the court and rewarded her with candy if she hit them. If she looked bored, he switched to volleyball, to keep her mind sharp. "I believe that even when your muscles are not so fast, with the brain and with concentration , you can compensate," she said.

They are known for their grueling practices, even on the day of a match. Her father, who was once a family doctor in Retournac, a village in the Haute-Loire region of France, has attached tennis balls to the arches of her feet to force her to stay on her toes.

"A lot of time, the persons are laughing at what I am doing, but now they are starting to get interested in what I'm doing," Walter Bartoli said. "They are thinking, 'Perhaps there is another way.' "

At home in Switzerland, Bartoli's mother, Sophie, complains that this other way is taking up too much of their garage. There are homemade ball machines and short children's rackets to force Bartoli to adjust her shots.

There are multicolored balls to improve hand-eye coordination: huge green ones, tiny black ones and medium-sized brown ones. "If she can play with these balls, then perhaps she will be able to take the difficult balls that come to her in a Grand Slam someday," Walter Bartoli said.

At Wimbledon, the crowd fell in love with her. She joined them in doing the wave. She made tennis look real: her chest heaved as she struggled for breath; her serves were not smooth. But she found a way to win.

Bartoli became the U.S. Open junior champion in 2001, at 17. The French tennis federation asked Bartoli to leave her father and train with a coach who had official credentials. She refused.

"They cannot accept that a doctor can be a tennis coach and put his girl to this level; it's just too hard for their mind," she said. "I always wanted to say to those persons, 'You know, I think you are bad, and I think my dad is good, and I always knew I would be a top player. You have to be a little more respectful to a girl like me.' "



I love her story. And especially what I heard during Wimbledon about her father, Walter. They said when he decided to devote himself full time to coaching Marion he knew "sweet F.A." about tennis coaching, but he read everything he could find about it and he listened to everyone experienced at it who would talk to him. And with passion, dedication and intelligence he succeeded.

[peacefull]

Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted poliomyelitis at age 39, which crippled him, yet he won four U.S. presidential elections and led America's transformation from a depression-stricken country into a superpower.

[Delsol]

Edith Piaf - beloved French singer. Her life from the very beginning was riddled with one tragedy after another; her biography reads like a dramatic opera, and yet she managed to transmute all of that pain and passion into her art - one of the most soulful, memorable voices ever.

Wiki Edit Piaf

[peacefull]

Woodrow Wilson had to struggle with dyslexia. Despite his disability, he became President of Princeton University and the only U.S. President with a Ph.D.

[Rosie]

I find these examples of real life stories so uplifting. :-)

[oceanlvr]

Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

Dr. Johnson was a famous British poet, essayist, and lexicographer. He wrote the Dictionary of the English Language and The Lives of the Poets. Dr. Johnson's unusual movements (most likely tics) and compulsive behaviors were observed by many of his peers at the time and described in such rich detail that there is little doubt that he had Tourette's Syndrome with obsessive-compulsive features or even full-blown OCD. Dr. Johnson was also reported to suffer from depression throughout his life.

[peacefull]

I've noticed this thread is quite popular so I thought I might bump it up.