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“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.“ -–C.S. Lewis
Every now and then we hear stories about people who overcame great obstacles to ultimately find great success in life.
Some of history’s greatest achievers started out under circumstances that would cause many to lose hope and not even try to succeed in life. Here are just a few examples:
1 – Abraham Lincoln
Considered by many to be the greatest U.S. President, Lincoln didn’t have much in the way of formal education. In fact, he had to teach himself how to read. But he was determined to succeed in life and he worked hard to make it happen. And happen it did.
2 – Harriet Tubman
Born into slavery, this historic figure not only managed to escape to freedom, but she went on to help numerous other slaves do the same.
3 – Ludwig van Beethoven
Although he was already a well renowned composer, Beethoven went on to create some of the world’s most famous musical masterpieces after becoming completely deaf.
4 – Colonel Harland Sanders
If there was ever a person who fit the description of “late bloomer” it would be Harland Sanders. Throughout most of his life he suffered from one setback and personal failure after another, but he never lost his intense desire to succeed.
Well, succeed he did. At age 65 he began franchising his now-famous recipe for fried chicken, and today KFC is the most popular friend chicken restaurant chain in the world.
5 – Albert Einstein
As a child, Einstein had difficulty learning. In fact, he didn’t even begin to speak until he was three years old. Once he started attending school it was quickly determined by his teachers that he had a severe learning disability.
But despite these early obstacles, this intellectual giant would eventually go on to develop scientific theories and understandings that would change the world of physics – and life on planet Earth – forever.
6 – Vincent van Gogh
Throughout his lifetime van Gogh suffered with severe mental health issues, causing the art world of the day to completely ignore his obvious gift for painting.
He lived much of his life in poverty and at the time of his death he had only sold one painting, but he never gave up on his dream or stopped creating new works of art.
Today van Gogh is considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time.
7 – Elvis Presley
This must surely be one of the most apt “rags to riches” stories ever.
Born into extreme poverty, Presley would later struggle to make it as a successful singer and musician despite his obvious talents. His first performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville ended with a chorus of boos. As he made his way off stage someone whispered something along the lines of “Don’t quit your day job. You’ll never make it in the music business”.
Well, to say he “made it in the music business” would be the understatement of the century.
I guess the takeaway here is most obstacles and setbacks can be overcome by sheer will-power, the desire to succeed and an abject refusal to give up. And as Colonel Sanders proved, even advanced age isn’t necessarily an obstacle that one cannot overcome.
To finish up, here’s a fantastic short video that showcases some of Albert Einstein’s incredible achievements.
If you know someone who is struggling to overcome setbacks and obstacles of their own, here’s a great resource that can help. (#ad)