These 10 people come from all walks of life. But they share one characteristic in common — the commitment to their own success. Read about their stories, and maybe it will fuel yours.
Colonel Harland David Sanders was fired from many jobs before founding KFC.
He traveled across the United States looking for someone to sell his fried chicken. KFC is now one of the most recognizable franchises in the world, with over 18,000 locations.
R.H. Macy had a series of failed ventures throughout his early life.
At the age of 36, Macy launched R.H. Macy & Co., which grew to become Macy’s, one of the largest department store chains in the world.
Oprah Winfrey was publicly fired from her first T.V. job as an anchor in Baltimore.
Oprah Winfrey rebounded and became the queen of television talk shows. Today she is worth $3 billion, according to Forbes.
Steve Maraboli was a decorated military veteran and on the brink of bankruptcy in 1997.
Today, Steve Maraboli is a branded business leader and Behavioral Scientist labeled “Most Quoted Man Alive” by Inc. He is valued at 18 million, according to Forbes.
Lady Gaga got dropped by her record label, Island Def Jam, after 3 months.
Now, Stefani Germanotta is a pop icon, the winner of six Grammy awards and a Songwriters Hall of Fame award. She is worth $59 million, according to Forbes.
Stephen King threw away the entire early draft of the novel “Carrie”.
Stephen King’s wife found the manuscript in the trash and took it out. “Carrie” became a hit and launched his career. His novels have since sold over 350 million copies. He is worth $400 million dollars, according to Forbes.
Sir James Dyson went through 5,126 failed prototypes and his savings over 15 years.
But the 5,127th prototype worked, and the Dyson brand became the best-selling vacuum brand in the United States. He is now worth an estimated $4.9 billion, according to Forbes.
J.K. Rowling was a single mom living off welfare when she began writing the first “Harry Potter” novel.
J.K Rowling is now internationally renowned for her seven-book Harry Potter series and became the first billionaire author in 2004.
Sara Blakely founded Spanx in 2000 — with $5000 and an idea.
Sara Blakely spent 7 years selling fax machines before realizing her dream of being more. After bootstrapping everything from her early prototypes and patent applications to fulfilling orders from her apartment in Atlanta and selling from booths in department stores — she got featured on Oprah: launching her career. She is now worth an estimated 1 billion dollars according to Forbes
Jay-Z couldn’t get any record label to sign him.
Now, the musician — who’s also an investor and entrepreneur — is worth $550 million, according to Forbes.
