PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT AGAINST ALL ODDS AND CAME OUT STRONG

next time you feel like giving up on your dreams because great things never happen to people like you, take a look at these stories of successful people who hit rock bottom before soaring to the top of their game.


Walt Disney. Walt Disney was fired from his first job because he was told that he lacked imagination. He also had to endure numerous difficulties and challenges while setting up his dream business and ending up with bankruptcy even. He kept up with his persistence. Today, his entire set-up – including moves, merchandise and theme parks – is worth billions.

“To some people, I am kind of a Merlin who takes lots of crazy chances, but rarely makes mistakes. I’ve made some bad ones, but, fortunately, the successes have come along fast enough to cover up the mistakes. When you go to bat as many times as I do, you’re bound to get a good average.”
– Walt Disney


Christopher Reeve. It is ironic that the actor who played Superman famously would eventually become physically handicapped. The world was shocked when he became paralyzed as a result of a riding accident when he fell on his head. The fall broke his spinal cord.

The former Superman admitted that he cried every day dealing with the reality of being in a wheelchair. “In the morning, I need twenty minutes to cry,” he said. “To wake up and make that shift, you know, and to just say, “This really sucks”…to really allow yourself the feeling of loss…still needs to be acknowledged.”

But after his long, hard cry each day, he would tell himself, “And now, forward!”

Despite his handicap, Reeve was an exemplary model of courage. He continued to travel, gave public appearances, raised funds, became a director and served as a voice for the quadriplegics in the United States.



1.Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a property magnet, author and television personality. He is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as having engineered the biggest financial turnaround in history.

“In the early 1990s, I owed billions of dollars and many people thought I was finished,” says Trump. “I refused to give in to the negative circumstances and I never lost faith in myself. I didn’t believe I was finished even when the newspapers were saying so. I refused to give up. Defeat is not in my vocabulary.”



2.Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin’s act was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs. They felt that it was too nonsensical to ever sell. Chaplin obviously had the last laugh.

He did not grow up in the best of circumstances. Chaplin came from a broken family. His parents divorced before he was three. His father was an alcoholic and had little contact with the son. His mother became mentally ill after her singing career faltered when her voice failed.

Well, Chaplin went on to providing the gift of comedy through World War I, the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler. He is now known one of the most creative and influential personalities of the silent-film era.

3.Ludwig van Beethoven. His teachers thought that he was hopeless and that he would never succeed as a composer or at the violin. Well, Beethoven kept up with his passion. He eventually composed some of the best loved symphonies of all time. Five of these were composed when he was completely deaf.



4.Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is known as the greatest basketball player of all time. His persistence paid off after he failed to make it for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year. At 5’11” (1.80 m) back then, he was deemed too short to play at that level.

“Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan said, “and that usually got me going again.”
Instead of pouting or making excuses over failure, Jordan practiced hard at perfecting his game. His burning desire to win, coupled with his utter refusal to quit made him a legend in his time.


5. Stephen King: Stephen was yet another author that faced numerous rejections in his manuscripts before actually becoming successful. In fact, in his first novel that he developed called, “Carrie” he ended up throwing it in the trash until his wife told him to not quit on the novel he had developed. Fortunately for Stephen’s wife’s encouragement on his first novel to despite being rejected countless times, he continued searching until someone would accept his manuscript. From his first novel that started it all, Stephen would become an all-time best seller multiple times and now after hundreds of published books, is a legend in today’s book world.

Here are other notable famous people who succeeded against all odds with what they had to deal with in their lives. Enjoy!


Despite whatever rejection or difficultly we may have, we have the ability to overcome it because we are not only incredible individuals, but there have been many examples of famous people facing similar challenges and still became successful. Don’t let your problems be the outcome of your life, take life as it comes, and continue the game plan you’ve set for yourself to complete your goal.

Failure is a thing in the past,
Although many may differ,
There are ones who succeeded,
Despite what’s around us,
Success is everywhere,
When you see failure,
It’s a obstacle to be defeated,
We cannot allow what’s in front of us,
To be the defining factor of who we are,
We can all achieve success,
Everyone can do that.