Inspiring Stories of Entrepreneurs Who Succeeded Despite Difficulties

 Inspiring Stories of Entrepreneurs Who Succeeded Despite Difficulties

The word "bad circumstances" always tops our sentences; as a main justification for most of our failures. If we fail to achieve something - anything - we must automatically justify this failure by cursing the circumstances, and referring to a long series of problems that we face in life, and preventing us from achieving anything of value.

We are all - in one way or another - familiar with the usual motivational literature that deals with the epic story of "Abraham Lincoln" that qualified him to reach this position after a continuous series of failures in his life. The story of "Edison" who was able to invent the light bulb after 999 failed attempts, and the story of "Einstein" who was accused of stupidity by everyone almost his entire life.

Not to mention memorizing dozens of inspiring quotes that state that failure is the first step to success, and that failure is the first rule on which all one's achievements are built in the subsequent stages. However; readings and quotes always remain within the realm of theoretical knowledge.  It's completely different when you're tested, and face failure, or difficult, stressful, painful circumstances that always seem to be the end.

The world of entrepreneurship in particular - from my point of view - is the world that provides you with the most real, realistic examples of success in circumstances that most of us cannot imagine (just imagine) any success behind them..

Success in life, and achieving great accomplishments, is very likely, and it is possible to achieve it for whoever wants it, no matter how bad, shameful or tragic the circumstances are.. It's all the same, as long as there is the will.. In fact, some people use these bad circumstances and crises as a starting point to reach success, fame and wealth.. Want some examples?

The beginning of the journey begins at the age of six

"Farrah Gray" had very bad circumstances, and he was still 6 years old. A black child, living in a very poor neighborhood, his mother is sick with a heart condition, and supports a family of 3 brothers, he is the fourth.. There is almost no way out for a normal life under these circumstances. He had no choice but to work a modest job at this young age, so he started selling skin creams for a dollar and a half, and distributed them to neighbors and residents of the area; where he used to buy them in bulk, and sell them by the piece.

What caught attention to him was that he was very polite, and could convince customers to buy quickly, and even gain their approval from his way of communicating. At the age of nine, and with his family moving to another city (Las Vegas), the opportunity came to Farrah Gray; by speaking on a radio program in a way that caught everyone's attention, he received an offer to work as an assistant broadcaster on a program followed by 12 million listeners.

He started making money;  He invested it in a food startup in New York, and made his "first million" at the age of 14. The following year, he founded a company that sold phone cards, produced a radio program for teenagers, invested in a magazine, founded a charity in his name, and produced a comedy program!

When he turned 15, he received a scholarship (to compensate for the years he wasted away from education), was received by the US President himself with a delegation from Congress, and was granted honorary membership in several American business councils. Bad circumstances made him start early (too early, if you want to be precise), and he achieved all his desired accomplishments at the age of 15.

The Youngest Entrepreneur in the World

In 2009, the family of the child "Corey Nieves" decided to move from New York State and settle in New Jersey. "Corey" was five years old, and he noticed - at this early age - that his family had real financial problems that prevented them from buying a small car. Despite his young age, he felt that it was necessary to help his family with the burdens of life; so he prepared a small wooden cart, and began making cocoa, and selling it to passersby hot and fresh, along with lemonade.

He attracted the attention of almost all passersby, and everyone would pass by him to buy the drinks he offered; either out of amazement, encouragement, or compliments; so he was able to make good profits, and then decided to expand in preparing and selling "cakes" and sweets on his wooden cart..

In the same way;  The cakes he offers were admired by passersby, in addition to his personality as a young child who works by himself to earn his daily bread, so the child began to search for outlets to sell his distinctive products, and was actually able to contract with more than one market within the city and the state; until his products began to spread noticeably, until they reached the markets of the neighboring state of New York as well!

Over time, and the spread of the foods he offers, the young boy decided to establish a private company, "Mr. Cory's Cookies", which started to achieve huge profits; due to the quality of the sweets on the one hand, and to highlight him as a model for the youngest entrepreneur in the whole world.

"Neves" is now not yet a teenager, and he has a "private office" in America, and his company has an official website and social media, and offers a variety of sweets at different prices.

From Prison to Wealth

Despite the strangeness of the idea, it appealed to him greatly, and he actually began to design the new game from his imagination, and used some papers, and even began to imagine and put the rules of the game (social media)

"Clyde Paisley", a criminal who spent 11 full years in prison, on numerous charges including possession and use of drugs, and many other shameful crimes.. One night in prison, he spent his day watching the final match of the golf game that he loved watching passionately, and it was his bad luck that the match did not continue, and was canceled in the middle due to bad weather conditions.. This interruption made an amazing idea jump into his head, why is there no miniature version of the game of golf, that can be played on the back of a wide table, similar to the game of table tennis; which is considered an embodiment of the game of tennis.. and is a mixture of golf and billiards?!

 Despite the strangeness of the idea, he was very attracted to it, and he actually started to design the new game from his imagination, and used some papers, and even the rules of the game he started to imagine and put in place, from the area of ​​the table and its borders, and other details. After 11 years spent in prison, "Beasley" went out and headed to the nearest store that sells tools and equipment, and bought everything he had drawn and planned to implement his idea; then he returned with his spoils to his home, and spent long nights making a model of this imaginary game..

Days later, "Beasley" was able to actually make his model, and tried it several times; and even called his friends to examine the game and try it, and discover any loopholes in it or in its rules.. Everyone expressed their great admiration for it. Then the stage of marketing the product began, which was met with rejection from most stores; until one of the design companies was impressed by the game in 2003 and adopted it, bought it and designed it.

 After two years, the sales of the game designed by "the prisoner" exceeded five million dollars, and "Beasley" became a businessman (millionaire) who adopted a new approach in his life, and traveled all over the United States reviewing his life, and giving motivational lectures to young people.

Thanks to whoever fired me from work

"Wallace Johnson" spent almost his entire life working in a wood shop.. This craft was his only source of income.. He got married, settled down, and built his entire personal life on this job that he had been accustomed to since he was young, until he reached the age of forty. Then he was fired from work.. Just like that, his manager at work informed him that he was permanently fired from the small factory where he spent most of his time, until he reached forty.

He has a family, he has children, and he is not good at any other profession in life other than working in this field. An unenviable position, perhaps considered a fatal blow for many of us. He had no choice but to start a small business with great risks, so he mortgaged the small house in which he lives with his family, in exchange for building two other small houses in which he put all his design experience. Indeed, the two houses were sold and he recovered the value of the bet.

And he gained something else more important than the value of the bet: the admiration of the contractors.  Offers began pouring in to build more houses in different styles and designs. After 5 years of being fired from his job, and working in building small houses, Johnson became a specialist in this field, and earned a lot of money that qualified him to decide to build his first hotel, which he named (Holiday Inn) .. the famous international hotel that has branches in almost every city in the world.

"Wallace Johnson" has a quote that is always told on his tongue, in which he said: If I knew where my boss (who fired me from the factory when I was in my forties) lives, I would go to him, and thank him profusely and give him bouquets of flowers for firing me; because in doing so he helped me take the first step; to become a billionaire.

It all started with a torn banner on a winter night

"I have a divine gift in my voice.. I am a former radio announcer, I got into a lot of trouble.. Please! Any help from you will be greatly appreciated.. Thank you very much.. May God bless you!"

 These were the words written on a sign carried by a homeless man who appeared to be in his fifties, standing on the side of the road in front of cars in New York City in the winter of 2011..

A journalist was drawn to his appearance, so he filmed the man with his phone camera, and approached him to ask him about (this talent) that he claims to have in his voice, while he was bringing some coins to give him, and listened to this amazing voice:

The journalist uploaded the video to YouTube, where it garnered a huge number of views, and made the American media talk about it, to show the community a new and completely different radio voice named: "Ted Williams" .. one of the most famous American broadcasters today, and the most prominent in performing audio advertisements for the largest global products..

This stop on the side of the road was long, it was not a coincidence, but rather continued for many days, as the only solution for the man who spent almost his entire life ranging between "alcohol and drug addiction" and "arrest and imprisonment", and "loitering in the streets  And begging from passersby", however; he knew all the time that he was talented, and that it was possible to return to life again; after he passed the age of fifty. All he could do was stand in the rain, and raise this sign waiting for the opportunity.

And when the opportunity came (after he chased it himself), he became one of the most famous and important radio voices in the United States ever, and he made advertisements for major companies such as Kraft cheese, and he was hosted on many talk shows, and he signed contracts with news channels; to present radio and commercial breaks.

After about two years, he published a book that gained wide fame in America entitled "The Golden Voice" in which he tells the story of his life, which is all summarized in (suffering + misery + imprisonment + homelessness + drugs + family disintegration).. It ended with glory and fame, because of a "small sign" written in his handwriting, on the side of the road, on a cold winter night in front of passersby.. It was all he could do; to get himself out of this situation.  And it actually worked..

He was denied medical education.. but became a billionaire

"Fred DeLuca", an American belonging to an immigrant family from Italy, came to life in the late forties to know that he belongs to a modest family, which forced him to collect empty bottles from the streets at the age of ten, and sell them for a few cents.

When he moved to another city in America, he worked - at a young age - distributing newspapers to homes.. Then he moved to a third city where he finished his high school studies amid difficult circumstances, and he was planning to enter medical school, but he failed.. not because of his lack of skills and competencies, but - simply - because he was "poor" and could not pay the tuition fees in medical school, and continued - instead of studying - to work as a salesman in a store with a small salary.

This situation made him feel really upset, until the time came when he contacted an old friend, who convinced him of the possibility of opening a fast food shop in a good way, which would provide some good profits that would enable him to join university and complete his studies.

The young man took a modest loan of $1,000 from his old friend, found a very small and narrow store, and began to equip it with simple means, and named it (Bits Subway)..

The young man took a modest loan of $1,000 from his old friend, found a very small and narrow store, and began to equip it with simple means, and named it (Bits Subway)..

The store faced severe difficulties, but with great difficulty he was able to open a second branch for it.. and then a third branch that guaranteed him a good flow of profits and some fame. "DeLuca" offered the (Subway) brand for sale as a franchise to businessmen and commercial institutions.

 The result

By the late seventies, the number of "Subway" stores reached more than 100 stores, and it continued its rapid expansion in the eighties and nineties;  Until the number of its branches around the world - now - has reached more than 40 thousand branches; with annual revenues reaching 9 billion dollars.

As for "Fred DeLuca", who received the shock of his life in his youth; when he was unable to study medicine due to his extreme poverty, his current wealth has reached more than 2.5 billion dollars.. Most likely; he feels very grateful now; for his inability to join medical school; as he had wished all his life!

To work in every humble profession in front of you.. until you reach

"Jim Pattison" lived a real miserable life.. He was born in Canada.. He did not inherit wealth, did not complete his education, and did not show any special skills, unless you consider that the skill of distributing newspapers (as a young child) represents a special skill...! He worked as a baggage carrier in one of the humble hotels, then worked on a fruit farm, then worked on distributing fruits and seeds to homes.

He sold cakes and sweets to his schoolmates; to get some money, and also worked (as a car driver) in public parking lots, then participated as a construction worker in a bridge construction project in the city, then joined a job as a worker in a packaging company, and also worked as a waiter in a restaurant affiliated with the railway. The truth is that he tried almost all the humble professions and did not leave any of them; until he reached the point of working in another humble profession as a worker in a used car workshop, his role was to wash cars.  This particular profession (of all the professions he held) is what turned his whole life upside down.

One day, the employee responsible for selling used cars was absent from work, and "Batison" was assigned to sit in his place just to follow up on the orders. "Batison" took advantage of the opportunity, and sold one of the used cars at a very good deal, and this particular station was the start of his journey into the world of buying and selling used cars, so he obtained a loan from a bank, then convinced the officials of car companies to enter into a partnership with him; to open a showroom for selling used cars..

The result

After several months, he achieved tremendous success, great public demand, and a huge financial flow that made his wealth swell.. to the point that he opened a chain of supermarkets.. then followed it by opening a radio network.. then he started in the field of media, and founded an advertising company.

Then he expanded his activity further;  To include a fishing company, a shipping company, and finance companies, and took over the Vancouver Blazers hockey club.. and even opened the Vancouver World Fair, then took over several companies in all fields, and yet; he never forgot his difficult early days, and was considered one of the largest donors in Canada, with millions to medical institutions and various organizations, and allocated 10% of all his income to charitable works.. "Jim Pattison" is now in his mid-eighties, and is considered the richest billionaire in Canada ever, with a net worth of more than 9 billion dollars, and more than 33 thousand employees work in his group of companies.

Summary

A child who started at the age of six to help his mother ended up being one of the brightest children the President has ever met in America. Another child opened a global candy store. A prisoner who spent a decade in prison and came out to become an entrepreneur and a distinguished motivational speaker.

A family man who was fired from his job at the age of forty, which made him a billionaire; the owner of a chain of the most important hotels in the world. A homeless person who was over fifty years old (most of which he spent on drugs and crimes) became the most important radio voice in the United States.

A young man who lost hope in studying the field he had dreamed of all his life, so he became a billionaire through his first small store that he opened to pay for his education. A person who spent a long period of his life working in every humble profession that could come to mind, to eventually become the biggest billionaire in the country he lives in.

In one way or another, we have all gone through these stages, stations and pains in different forms.  Most of us are professionals at cursing the circumstances that brought us to this misery, loss and failure. The rare ones - like these - are the ones who stopped cursing the circumstances and started working.

The famous American writer "Joseph Campbell" was not wrong when he said his brief sentence:

Out of rot comes life

Perhaps this is the sentence that best summarizes everything that came in this report. It also summarizes for you the main purpose of all the bad circumstances that you go through and think are the end