Success simply means "The achievement of one's aim or goal". The road to success is not always plain, most times it's very rough. If at first you try and failed, keep on trying.
Here are 5 people who overcame challenges to achieve their goals.
1. Oprah Winfrey:
She’s one of the richest, if not richest,
people in showbiz today. Oprah didn’t
always have it easy – she was abused by
her uncle, family friend and cousin when
she was just 9 years old.
The queen of all media ran away from
home at a tender age. She fell pregnant
and gave birth to a baby boy (who shortly
died after) at age 14.
Despite the odds stacked against her, she
managed to turn her life around and
become who and what she is today.
Inspirational!
Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29,
1954) is an American media proprietor ,
talk show host, actress, producer, and
philanthropist . Winfrey is best known
for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey
Show , which was the highest-rated
program of its kind in history and was
nationally syndicated from 1986 to
2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All
Media", she has been ranked the
richest African-American of the 20th
century, the greatest black
philanthropist in American history,
and is currently (2015) North America's
only black billionaire. Several
assessments regard her as the most
influential woman in the world.
In 2013, she was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom by
President Barack Obama and
honorary doctorate degrees from Duke
and Harvard .
2.Charlize Theron:
The South African-born beauty queen
witnessed her mother kill her father. Talk
of being scared for life!
At age 15, Charlize witnessed her mother
kill her intoxicated dad in act of self-
defence. Instead of letting the status quo
immobilise or ruin her life, she channelled
her energies into achieving her dreams.
She has eventually become one of the
most respected actresses in the world
right now.
She is a South African and
American actress, producer and fashion
model. She has starred in several
Hollywood films , such as The Devil's
Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young
(1998), The Cider House Rules (1999)
and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
Theron received critical acclaim for her
portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos
in Monster (2003), for which she won
the Academy Award , Silver Bear , Golden
Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild
Award for Best Actress among several
other accolades, becoming the first
South African to win an Academy Award
in a major acting category. She received
further Academy Award and Golden
Globe Award nominations for her
performance in the sexual harassment-
themed drama North Country in 2005 and
a Golden Globe Award nomination for
her performance in Jason Reitman 's
2011 comedy-drama Young Adult.
Theron became a U.S. citizen in 2007,
while retaining her South African
citizenship. In the late 2000s, she
moved into the field of producing, both
in television and film. In 2006, she
produced the documentary East of
Havana . She had producing credits on
the films The Burning Plain (2008) and
Dark Places (2015), both of which she
starred in. In 2012, she played Queen
Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman
and Meredith Vickers in Prometheus,
both of which were box office
successes.
3. Jay-z:
He is one of the most financially
successful hip hop artists and
entrepreneurs in the world. In 2014,
Forbes magazine estimated his net worth
at nearly $520 million. Staggering, right?
Hold one sec… Jay didn’t always have it
easy. He came from one of the toughest
neighbourhoods in the States. Despite the
ambition to make it big a rapper, no
record label could sign him.
Guess what? That didn’t stop him from
turning Roc-A-Fella records, his record
label, into the insanely lucrative business
that it is today.
He's an American rapper, record producer, andentrepreneur. He is one of the most
financially successful hip hop artists
and entrepreneurs in America. In 2014,
Forbes estimated Jay Z's net worth at
nearly $520 million. [6][7] He is one of
the world's best-selling artists of all
time , having sold more than 100 million
records, while receiving 21 Grammy
Awards for his musical work, and
numerous additional nominations. [8][9]
[10] Consistently ranked as one of the
greatest rappers ever, he was ranked
number one by MTV in their list of The
Greatest MCs of All-Time in 2006. [11]
Three of his albums, Reasonable Doubt
(1996), The Blueprint (2001), and The
Black Album (2003), are considered
landmarks in the genre with all of them
featured in Rolling Stone 's list of the
500 greatest albums of all time . [12][13]
[14]
As an entrepreneur and investor , Jay Z
co-owns the 40/40 Club , and is the co-
creator of the clothing line Rocawear .
[15] He is the former president of Def
Jam Recordings , co-founder of Roc-A-
Fella Records , and the founder of Roc
Nation. He also founded the sports
agency Roc Nation Sports and is a
certified NBA and MLB sports agent . [16]
As an artist, he holds the record for
most number one albums by a solo
artist on the Billboard 200 with 13. [17]
[18] Jay Z also has had four number
ones on the Billboard Hot 100 , one as
lead artist. On December 11, 2009, Jay
Z was ranked as the tenth-most
successful artist of the 2000s by
Billboard as well as the fifth top solo
male artist and fourth top rapper behind
Eminem , Nelly , and 50 Cent . [19] He was
also ranked the 88th greatest artist of
all time by Rolling Stone . [20]
Jay Z married American R&B singer
Beyoncé in 2008. [21] They have a
daughter named Blue Ivy Carter, born
January 7, 2012.
4. Rihanna
The Barbadian songstress is no stranger
to abuse and domestic violence. She was
abused by former boyfriend, Chris Brizzy.
The singing sensation also had a tough
upbringing, selling clothes with her father
in a stall on the street. Besides that, her
childhood was deeply affected by her
father’s addiction to drugs.
All that said, she focused on what she
wanted to do and she is a household
name today.
She is a Barbadian singer, songwriter, fashion
designer, and occasional actress. Born
in Saint Michael, Barbados , her career
began upon meeting record producer
Evan Rogers in late 2003 through
mutual friends; she recorded demo
tapes with his guidance. Her tape was
sent to several record labels, and she
subsequently signed a contract with Def
Jam Recordings after auditioning for its
then-president, hip-hop producer and
rapper Jay-Z . Both her debut album,
Music of the Sun (2005) and its follow-up
A Girl Like Me (2006) peaked in the top
ten on the US Billboard 200 ; the former
featured the commercially successful
song "Pon de Replay " while the latter
produced her first Billboard Hot 100
number-one single, " SOS".
She rose to widespread prominence and
became a household name with the
release of her third studio album, Good
Girl Gone Bad (2007), and its chart-
topping lead single " Umbrella." The
album and its 2008 Reloaded re-release
were nominated for nine Grammy
Awards, winning Best Rap/Sung
Collaboration for "Umbrella". From 2009
to 2012, following a highly publicized
altercation with then-boyfriend,
entertainer Chris Brown , she annually
released four Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) platinum
certified albums: Rated R (2009), Loud
(2010), Talk That Talk (2011), and her
first Billboard 200 number one album
Unapologetic (2012). The same year, she
appeared in her first theatrical feature
film, Battleship .
Rihanna has sold over 41 million
albums and 150 million songs
worldwide, making her one of the best-
selling artists of all time. [5] Many of
her songs rank among the world's best-
selling singles of all time, such as
"Umbrella", " Take a Bow", " Disturbia ",
"Only Girl (In the World) ", "S&M ", "We
Found Love", "Diamonds " and "Stay ". In
addition to her solo work, Rihanna has
collaborated with other artists and was
featured on the worldwide hits "Can't
Remember to Forget You" (with Shakira),
"Live Your Life" (with T.I. ), " Run This
Town " (with Jay-Z and Kanye West ),
"Love the Way You Lie " and "The
Monster " (both with Eminem ). She has
achieved thirteen number-one singles on
the Billboard Hot 100 chart , becoming
the youngest and fastest solo artist to
accomplish this record. Billboard named
her the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s
decade and the top Hot 100 artist of the
2010s decade. [6][7][8]
Rihanna is known for frequently
reinventing her style and image, most
notably since Good Girl Gone Bad. [9][10]
Her work has earned her numerous
awards and accolades, including eight
Grammy Awards, [1] eight American
Music Awards, 23 Billboard Music
Awards, and two BRIT Awards. In 2012,
Forbes ranked her the fourth most
powerful celebrity of the year, with
earnings of $53 million between May
2011 and May 2012. The same year,
Time named Rihanna one of the 100
Most Influential People in the World. At
the American Music Awards of 2013 ,
she received the first ever Icon Award .
On June 2, 2014, Rihanna received the
Fashion Icon lifetime achievement
award from the Council of Fashion
Designers of America (CFDA).
5.Thomas Edison:
The precise numbers of tries before his success are debated up to today, but it’s safe to say that
Thomas Edison tried and failed a lot of
times before successfully inventing the
light bulb.
This was his response to his repeated failures “I
have not failed. I’ve just found 10 000
ways that won’t work.”
He was an American inventor and businessman.
He developed many devices that greatly
influenced life around the world,
including the phonograph , the motion
picture camera , and a long-lasting,
practical electric light bulb. Dubbed "The
Wizard of Menlo Park", [3] he was one of
the first inventors to apply the principles
of mass production and large-scale
teamwork to the process of invention,
and because of that, he is often credited
with the creation of the first industrial
research laboratory . [4]
Edison was a prolific inventor , holding
1,093 US patents in his name, as well
as many patents in the United Kingdom,
France, and Germany. More significant
than the number of Edison's patents
was the widespread impact of his
inventions: electric light and power
utilities , sound recording, and motion
pictures all established major new
industries world-wide. Edison's
inventions contributed to mass
communication and, in particular,
telecommunications. These included a
stock ticker, a mechanical vote recorder,
a battery for an electric car, electrical
power, recorded music and motion
pictures.
His advanced work in these fields was
an outgrowth of his early career as a
telegraph operator. Edison developed a
system of electric-power generation and
distribution [5] to homes, businesses,
and factories – a crucial development in
the modern industrialized world. His
first power station was on Pearl Street
in Manhattan , New York.
These are life lessons for all of us; we
should never give up because of the
colour of our skin, upbringing, current
circumstances, etc. NEVER GIVE UP!
Reference:
Wikipedia,
Besmart
