We all have come across this famous quote many times. But how many of us took the pain to understand the deep meaning hidden behind this quote? We come across portfolios, interviews, pictures, videos, magazines, and whatnot featuring the people who are successful in their respective fields. As a general instinct, we rarely pay heed to the importance of hard work and consistent efforts, that played a major role in making them the successful person that they currently are. We either skip their stories without thinking twice or even if we take the pain to listen, the thought of following their example never crosses our mind. So here we are, presenting to you the success stories of a few people who overcame major atrocities and registered their names in golden letters on the pages of history. But before listening to all these stories, take a minute and think about all the times you decided to give up, to stop, or to change your path merely because you failed once. Let’s start with the Examples of Adversities.
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
Types of Adversities
Life can be cruel at times. There will be times when you will feel that nothing is going according to your plan. That will be the time your patience, persistence, consistency, fighting spirit, and zeal be put to test. And you will have to prove to the world that you are a fighter. Giving up is never the solution. You need to be brave and face your situations bravely. You should also not let the thinking of others impact you and become a barrier between you and your dreams. ‘Someone who wins is the one who thinks he can’, and that’s the quote that plays a really important role in guiding you towards your dreams. If you decide that you want something, you won’t be able to give up. You are already halfway there.
Famous stories of some people will definitely inspire you and instill that feeling of ‘I can do anything in you.
Albert Einstein
How many of us actually know that when Albert Einstein graduated at the age of 21 years, he didn’t have a single employment opportunity at hand? He had a terrible reputation at school, was always considered a bad student by his teachers, and had nearly decided to drop out of college. While he was searching for a job, he lost his father who believed that Einstein was good for nothing. Later he got a job as a patent clerk where he would sit down and analyze mathematical equations for hours. This was the turning point of his life but this was not the end of his struggles. While he was researching, his wife moved out taking his children along and he was left all alone with his research papers. To top it all, World war 2 happened and years of hard work came to a halt.
What would most of us do when faced with so many hurdles? Our primary tendency would be to give up and never try again. But can you imagine if Albert Einstein would have given up at that point? How different would things be! The world would have never known about his research, his findings and Physics and Mathematics would have been completely different. But he didn’t give up. His persistence eventually changed how scientists perceive different things. Had he decided to give up, it would have been a completely different story. The world would never know that gravity is actually not a pulling force but a pushing force.
Benjamin Franklin
As we hear this name, a lot of things strike our mind among which is the fact that he was one of the founding fathers of the United States. But do any one of us know about the struggles he went through while making his name? Most of us don’t and we don’t even care to know. He could not get a formal education for more than 2 years as his family was not able to bear the expenses. Yet he is the biggest example of how you can achieve greater things in life if you decide to ignore your shortcomings and focus on what lies ahead of you.
During his early life, he published magazines and novels but it turned out to be a huge fail. But he became a successful writer, editor, and printer of The Pennsylvania Gazette, the Pennsylvania Chronicle, and his famous edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack. After this, he proposed certain changes to the English alphabet. He came forward with the concept of photonic alphabets that would have removed certain alphabets including C, Q, and W, and added sounds like ‘sh’ and ‘th’ making the English alphabets more realistic. But, he didn’t get approval for his concept, and in the end, he completely scrapped it. It would have been the easiest way out for him if he would have decided to give up at that point and would have tagged himself as a failure. But he never did that. His consistent efforts, hard work, and the spirit of doing something different led him on the path of success and he became the Benjamin Franklin every one of us know about today.
Thomas Edison
Most of us know this person as the one who invented bulbs. But the backstory behind his inventions is not known by many. When he was a kid, his school sent a letter to his mother that read “Your son is a genius. This school and our teacher aren’t efficient enough to teach him. Please teach him yourself.” This letter was sent when he had attended school for merely 3 months. That was the turning point in his life. He began exploring different things and developed a keen interest in Physics and Mathematics. Years after his mother passed away, he stumbled upon the letter that his school had sent to his mother. It read “Your child is mentally disabled. We cannot allow him to attend classes any further. He is rusticated from the school.” He became very emotional at how his mother never spoke the truth to him about what his teacher said about him and put in the best of her efforts to make him the person he was today. Had she told him the reality, he would have definitely given up, thinking of himself as a loser. The person he currently became was possible because his mother decided to not give up on him.
In 1914, a huge fire broke out in New Jersey, USA, and 10 buildings of a factory owned by Thomas Edison turned to ashes. But, Thomas didn’t give up. He said that along with the factories all the mistakes that he once committed have burnt out and it is a fresh start for him. The next day he started his journey all over again with the same zeal and positivity. This teaches us a very important lesson. Life will be hard at times. There will be points when you will find the world around you collapsing when everything would be turned to rubble and you will not have any idea about where to start. That will be the point where your patience, enthusiasm, and zeal be tested. That will be the point where you will have to keep calm and not give up. It’s not great things that make someone great, it’s the little things in life that actually matter the most.
Oprah Winfrey
She was the only child of her single mother who worked as a housemaid. Her childhood was all about battling poverty and abuse. Her grandmother used to beat her at and she didn’t have proper clothes to wear. She wore potato sacks to cover her body. When she was 9 years old her uncle, cousin, and a family friend molested her. She suffered for many years. One day, she decided to leave her house forever. She was 13 years old at that time. When she turned 14, she realized that she was pregnant but fate had other plans. She delivered a mature baby who died after birth. Although she had a difficult time being around her grandmother, she was the one who taught her how to read and write. Afterward, when she was sent to her father, she got admission to a school and was even elected as the president there. She participated in a public speaking contest and won a scholarship which helped her in completing higher studies.
The initial period of her career was a really tough time but she became a part of a podcast show named ‘People are talking’ which helped her in earning a good reputation. After this, she was offered to be a part of a show ‘AM Chicago’ which gave her career an upstairs rise. It was such a huge hit that the show was renamed after her as ‘The Oprah Winfrey show’. She has acquired the name of ‘Queen of media’. She also owns a cable TV network called ‘OWN’ which stands for the Oprah Winfrey network. She is the richest African-American lady.
Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton loved surfing since she was a child. Her surfing board was always her best friend. A major incident happened which changed her life forever when she was 13. As she was fighting with the waves, a 14-foot long tiger shark got hold of her and bit off her left arm. She fled for her life but her arm could not be saved. Most of the people would have given up surfing if something like that would have happened to them. Coming face to face with death and merely escaping it is definitely something that leaves you scarred and gives you shivers when you think about the incident. But Bethany was different.
She returned to surfing three weeks after the incident and a year later she won her first title for national surfing. This was where her success journey kickstarted. She won many accolades, awards, and scholarships for her surfing and her autobiography became the best-selling autobiography published in the New York Times. This was made into a movie called ‘Soul surfer’. She has been a part of books, tv shows, and interviews all because of her attitude that kept her going even when adversities struck hard. She didn’t leave surfing even when she was pregnant. Two months after giving birth to her child, she returned to participate in a National event. Her story is an inspiration for every single person.
Vincent Van Gogh
Did you know that the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting throughout his life? It was only when he died that the world noticed the beauty and creativity behind his great work. During his early life, he worked as an art dealer and later worked as a missionary in Belgium. Later, when his brother influenced him, he finally decided to practice and learn Art. He faced many problems in his personal life. He went from place to place to improve his skills and took inspiration from famous artists of his time. He planned to set up an art school which didn’t happen because of problems in his personal life and his mental illness.
He committed suicide but was unsuccessful. But, succumbed to his injuries, two days later. No, this isn’t a story that gives you motivation. The motivational part comes afterward. The world came across his beautiful art pieces, post his death, they knew that he was a brilliant artist and one of a kind. Had he not killed himself, he would have been there to witness this. You need to fight through the obstacles, be consistent and believe in the fact that good things take time.
Helen Keller
We all know Helen Keller as the first deaf-blind person to graduate from a University. Do you think it would have been an easy task for her? No, it definitely wasn’t. But she never allowed her disability to get over her skills and sharp mind. That is how she became the Helen that the world knows and uses as an example.
While we get disheartened over small things, Helen tried to find solutions to her problems. When she lost her vision and hearing, she developed a sign language to communicate with her family members. She learned to figure out who walked in and out of the room by listening to the noises made. After she was united with her teacher Anne Sullivan, she accomplished greater heights in her life. At the age of 24, she became the first deaf-blind person to graduate with a Bachelor of arts degree.
She also learned to speak and convey her emotions and thoughts to the world. She learned to hear what other people said by touching and feeling the movement of their lips. She wrote several books, traveled across more than 40 countries, and primarily worked for the welfare and upliftment of the blind. She was awarded one of the highest civilian honors, the Presidential Medal of freedom. We as humans tend to get disheartened over small sufferings and give up most of the time. Helen Keller is the perfect example of why you should keep up your fighting spirit and never give up.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey, a famous stand-up comedian, and actor didn’t have an easy career. During his school days, he was shy and a loner. He struggled a lot in school due to dyslexia that remained undiagnosed for a really long time. He tried to balance out the situation with his humor and was labeled disruptive by most of his teachers. But this was where he realized that he can actually connect with people through humor. He even overcame his dyslexia by developing an amazing memory.
His dad encouraged what he did but mom used to shun him away. He practiced for hours in front of the mirror. He belonged to poor family background and had to work at a factory for as long as 8 hours to meet his needs. But when he felt that he can’t manage work and school together, he quit school at the age of 16. Something that most of us can’t even think of doing. His family then moved to Canada with absolutely no source of income. His family stayed in a yellow van for 8 months. With so much happening around, he was at times left heartbroken, but he never gave up. His hard work, consistency, and efforts paved the way for his success.
Most of us are demotivated by our shortcomings. We get disheartened and instead of trying to find a way out, we give up! But giving up is never the solution. If adversities strike, you need to be stronger than all your obstacles, and only then will you be able to stand apart from the crowd and make a name for yourself.
“Rome was not built in a day” is a famous saying that very well stated the importance of consistency to us. There are success stories of thousands of people that remain hidden from the world. We can look around ourselves and find thousands of such examples where people didn’t give up, kept their fighting spirit high, and ended up making a name for themselves. Their stories not only teach us the importance of not giving up but also tell us how never-ending efforts can prove to be a turning point in one’s life.
Everyone faces their own hardships, challenges. Everyone has their own breakdowns and shortcomings. Everyone has a hurdle in their path, blocking their way towards a successful life. But a fighter is someone who faces all the tragedies and still decides to not give up. A fighter is someone who struggles against all odds and comes out as a shining star. There will be times when life will be cruel to you, nothing makes sense, giving up would seem like the only option available to you, and you will feel that everything is meaningless. That will be the point you will have to hold yourself r, that the point when you have to scream out loud “No I am bigger than all of this.” That will be the point when you will have to take charge of the situation and prove to everyone and yourself that you are a stronger person and much bigger than all your difficulties and problems.
