Great People who strived to succeed without loking back

Here are a few examples of failures that made good to keep you inspired to keep failing and never quit.

1. J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter novels was waitressing and on public assistance when she was writing the first installment of what would become one of the best selling series in history. The book was rejected by a dozen publishers. The only reason it got published at all was because the CEO's eight year old daughter begged him to publish it.

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.” - J.K. Rowling

Now, if that isn't a great Zen line, I don't know what is!

2. Michael Jordan

It might come as a shock, but the man who became what many would call the best basketball player of all time didn't make his high school basketball team.

“I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan

3. Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was both hearing impaired and fidgety. He only lasted three months in school where his teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He eventually was home schooled by his mom. In talking about his invention of the light bulb, he said:

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that do not work.” - Thomas Edison

4. James Carville

When I was a kid I was obsessed with political campaigns the way other kids were obsessed with sports. During the 1992 Presidential campaign there was no greater superstar-whacko than Clinton's political operative, James Carville. With his shaved bald head, snake-like facial features, and his deep Louisiana accent he seemed like a man out of the Twilight Zone!

He's now considered to be one of the greatest political operatives of a generation. But, before he ended up on that fateful campaign in his early 40's he was dead broke, had won only a handful of elections, and had never even been approved for a credit card. On paper, he looked like a complete failure. By not giving up he ended up in the White House.

"No one will ever accuse James Carville of taking himself seriously." - James Carville

5. Ludwig van Beethoven

His early skills at music and the violin were decidedly less than impressive. His teachers thought him hopeless. It was his father who saw the potential in him and took over his education. Beethoven slowly lost his hearing throughout his life and yet, four of his greatest works were composed when he was completely deaf.

"Beethoven can write music, thank God, because he can't do anything else!" - Ludwig van Beethoven

6. Christopher Reeve

The man who played Superman becoming a quadriplegic was more than ironic - it was tragic. He never learned to be happy about his situation - who could? But, he did learn to live with it.

“In the morning, I need twenty minutes to cry. To wake up and make that shift, you know, and to just say, 'This really sucks,' to really allow yourself the feeling of loss. It still needs to be acknowledged.” - Christopher Reeve

Then, he'd say, "And now...forward!"

He had to take a moment everyday to acknowledge where he was, what the reality of the situation was. But, he didn't allow that to stop him. He traveled widely doing public speaking on behalf of people with spinal injuries, tirelessly raised money for his own and other foundations, and even became a movie director. He took what he had and tried to help others in the best way he could.

7. Oprah Winfrey

Her childhood was frightful and filled with horrible abuse and abject poverty. But, like most successful people, Oprah doesn't dwell on stuff like that.

"I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good." - Oprah Winfrey

BONUS:

Oh, what the heck, I'll give you a few more! You can never have enough inspirational stories to keep you going.

Vincent Van Gogh

The man was a manic depressive. He could barely function half the time. He never saw success in his lifetime, but his work is often regarded as the greatest painting ever done by any human on earth. Because of this, his name has become a war cry for artists around the world who have been repeatedly rejected and sidelined.

"Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again." - Vincent van Gogh

Oscar Wilde

Wilde, the British play-write and satirist was gay during a time when being gay could get you prison time. And it did. Unlike our examples above, Wilde started out privileged, with successful parents. He ended up being quite famous in his own life, but he died an early death as a direct result of his imprisonment. What is instructive is that he was willing to lose everything - and did - rather than pretend to be someone that he wasn't. He also never lost his wit.

"Life is too important a thing ever to talk seriously about." - Oscar Wilde

I'll close with another quote by Michael Jordan.

"Some want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." - Michael Jordan

Now go make something happen.

24 quotes that will make you inspired

1. "If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission." --Anonymous

2. "Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out." --John Wooden

3. "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." --Anonymous

4. "If you are not willing to risk the usual you will have to settle for the ordinary." --Jim Rohn

5. "Trust because you are willing to accept the risk, not because it's safe or certain." --Anonymous

6. "Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life--think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success." --Swami Vivekananda

7. "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." --Walt Disney

8. "Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them." --Anonymous

9. "If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got." --Anonymous

10. "Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." --Winston Churchill

11. "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly." --Proverb

12. "Successful entrepreneurs are givers and not takers of positive energy." --Anonymous

13. "Whenever you see a successful person you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them." --Vaibhav Shah

14. "Opportunities don't happen, you create them." --Chris Grosser

15. "Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." --Albert Einstein

16. "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." --Eleanor Roosevelt

17. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas A. Edison

18. "If you don't value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents--start charging for it." --Kim Garst

19. "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." --David Brinkley

20. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." --Eleanor Roosevelt

21. "The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one's destiny to do, and then do it." --Henry Ford

22. "If you're going through hell keep going." --Winston Churchill

23. "The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." --Anonymous

24. "Don't raise your voice, improve your argument." --Anonymous

Happiness is a state of mind

As someone rightly said, "Don't look for happiness. Create it." We are in the constant rush to achieve things in life, that, at times we tend to forget the tiny moments which made us happy. Right from reading a good book, having light conversations with family & friends, to buying something which we have longed for, all of us have different reasons to be happy. The very essence of our lives is to be grateful and thankful for what life has taught us and also to face our tomorrow’s with a cheerful face. With the pace of our lives speeding up every single day, what all of us need to do is to dedicate some time to retrospect on the moments/people/things that made us happy on that day and be thankful for those wonderful moments.

After all, happy moments are what we live for.

Buttetfly stories

Once a little boy was playing outdoors and found a fascinating caterpillar. He carefully picked it up and took it home to show his mother. He asked his mother if he could keep it, and she said he could if he would take good care of it.

The little boy got a large jar from his mother and put plants to eat, and a stick to climb on, in the jar. Every day he watched the caterpillar and brought it new plants to eat.

One day the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting strangely. The boy worriedly called his mother who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon. The mother explained to the boy how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly.

The little boy was thrilled to hear about the changes his caterpillar would go through. He watched every day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. One day it happened, a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle to come out.

At first the boy was excited, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn’t break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress!

The boy was so concerned he decided to help. He ran to get scissors, and then walked back (because he had learned not to run with scissors…). He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly quickly emerged!

As the butterfly came out the boy was surprised. It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly expecting that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the swollen body. He knew that in time the body would shrink and the butterfly’s wings would expand.

But neither happened!

The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly…

As the boy tried to figure out what had gone wrong his mother took him to talk to a scientist from a local college. He learned that the butterfly was SUPPOSED to struggle. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle was God's way to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly. The boy’s good intentions hurt the butterfly.

As you go through school, and life, keep in mind that struggling is an important part of any growth experience. In fact, struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. It is the struggle that causes us to develop our ability to fly.

Can I borrow N50?

A woman came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find her 5-year old son waiting for her at the door.

SON: 'Mummy, may I ask you a question?'

MUM: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the woman.

SON: 'Mummy, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the woman said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'If you must know, I make N100 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Mummy, may I please borrow N50?'

The mother was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door..

The woman sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the woman had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that N50.00 and she really didn't ask for money very often.The woman went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' She asked.

'No Mummy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the woman. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the N50 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you Mummy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The woman saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his mother.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the mother grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Mummy, I have N100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The mother was crushed. She put his arms around her little son, and she begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that N100 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Don't Give in...Stay focus

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.

“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.

In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.

As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

TRAPPED

I’m trapped, trapped inside myself, I want to get out, get out and be free. I don’t want to live in my shell, But I’m scared, scared to take away my mask.

Friends are forever letting me down, No matter how close they are. They are there if I have a problem, But when I don’t I may as well not exist.

I want someone to trust and care about me, Someone to cry on and someone to listen. I want someone to love me for who I am, Not the masked me me whom everyone knows.

Unfortunately none of this can ever come true, Not from someone on this earth anyway. No one I know is perfect, No one I know can fulfil this.

Except…

Someone I know who is watching down on everyone of us. He has a special plane and a purpose for anyone who turns to Him. There will still be hardship and sorrow, But these will make you strong.

He can be trusted, he is ever so faithful. He cares deeply about each person on this earth. He can be cried upon, and will cry with you. He even puts each tear we cry in a bottle. He is the best listener anyone could be, And most of all He loves us for who we are, No matter what we have done.

“Who could do all this?” I hear you ask. It’s a very dear and special friend of mine called Jesus, With whom I can take away my mask and be free.

I am better than Ali and Sugar ray- Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather has characteristically addressed the debate over who is the world’s greatest boxer by boasting that he is better than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson.

Speaking ahead of his mega $300m May 2 fight against Filipino great Manny Pacquiao, the 38-year-old American welterweight, who is unbeaten in 47 professional fights since making his debut in 1996, believes he has surpassed the legends in what he has achieved.

“No one can ever brainwash me to make me believe that Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali were better than me,” Mayweather told ESPN.

“But one thing I will do, I’m going to take my hat off to them and respect those guys that paved the way for me to be where I’m at today.”

Ali is considered one of the greatest in boxing history, winning both the coveted Golden Gloves title and an Olympic gold medal, while Robinson is considered the greatest ‘pound-for-pound’ fighter among non-heavyweights with 173 wins in 200 professional bouts.

Mayweather was also quick to remind everyone of his self-proclaimed invincibility, when referencing Ali’s 1978 defeat to Leon Spinks as a pointer to his dominance over his rivals and his unbeaten record.

He also hit out at the much publicised ‘rope-a-dope’ tactics that the heavyweight great famously used in his 1974 world heavyweight title win over George Foreman.

“Leon Spinks only had seven fights,” he said. “Never put a fighter in there with Floyd Mayweather with seven fights.

“Take punishment and let a man tire yourself out from beating you? You hit him with a few punches and go down and quit and you want to be glorified for that?”

Mayweather made his debut on October 11, 1996, at Las Vegas, where he displayed his now legendary defensive skills and precision strikes to beat Roberto Apodaca 37 seconds into the second of four scheduled rounds.

Although he was genuinely tested by Reggie Sanders in his next fight on November 30, 1996, in New Mexico, his quartet of wins over Jerry Cooper, Edgar Ayala, Kino Rodriguez and Bobby Giepert in a single year, 1997, announced him as potential champion.

More recently the biggest wins of his career came against major rivals like Oscar De La Hoya (2007, split decision, 12 rounds), Ricky Hatton (2007, technical knockout in Round 10), Juan Manuel Marquez (2009, unanimous decision, 12 rounds) and Miguel Cotto (2012, unanimous decision, 12 rounds).

Pacquiao’s resume is equally impressive.

The Filipino is the first boxer in history to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions.

Not only has the 5ft 6in fighter beaten bigger men, he has defeated the top fighter in each division such as: Marco Anonio Barrera, Marquez, Erik Morales, De La Hoya, Hatton, Cotto and Antonio Margarito. He is also rated as the best fighter at any weight in the ring today and is considered one of the sport’s all-time greats

Online Marketing hope to graduates

Despite the limited job openings in the country, there are opportunities that have not been tapped in the online marketing space, IFE ADEDAPO writes

The National Bureau of Statistics reported that in the fourth quarter of 2014, a total of 369,485 jobs were created across all sectors of the Nigerian economy out of which 138,026 were recorded in the formal sector, 4,387 in the public sector and 227,072 in the informal sector.

The rate of unemployment in the country stood at 23.9 per cent in 2011, while urban unemployment was estimated at 29.5 per cent as of 2013.

Thousands of students leave the university and polytechnics every year but remain in the labour market for a long time.

The swollen labour market, made up of majorly unemployed youths, has been highlighted by experts as one of the causes of violence and insurgency in the country.

Among the new formal jobs created in the fourth quarter, the Information and Communications Technology sector accounted for 363 employments.

This data and reports by human resource experts and professionals in the Information and Communication Technology field indicate that there is high demand for young graduates in some IT areas.

According to them, these employment opportunities which may be full-time or part-time currently have few people with expertise to fill such positions.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Human Resource Consultant, Career Solutions Africa, Mr. Chinedu Ahuchaogu, says the Internet provides a lot of opportunities for people who possess the right skills to earn a living.

According to him, searching for a job and applying for positions can be tasking but other lucrative businesses can be ventured into while looking for jobs.

He explained that there were websites where people were paid to render simple services like data entry, proposal writing, creative writing, web design, graphics design, among others.

On his part, the Chief Imaginative Officer, Mr. Daniel Malik, said that the reason why the rate of unemployment persisted was that Nigerians were not ready to explore other professional lines outside their areas of expertise.

He explained that because he trained people on digital and social media marketing, he got daily requests from companies in the banking sector, schools and small businesses to fill IT-related positions, adding that the remuneration was equivalent to what bankers were paid.

Malik said, “I get regular mails from people to help them find social media managers to manage their companies’ accounts. They send us these mails because they know we train people to do that. The problem we have is that Nigerians are not willing to learn. The job opportunities in social media are massive.

“For example, so many banks are seeking people to manage their social media pages. Even the small business owners are also seeking people to manage their accounts including schools.”

Malik said he became a professional through personal learning and development. According to him, all the skills that have enabled him to build company brands and conduct marketing are acquired through online training.

He said, “Every skill I have learnt today was acquired online. I learnt 3D animation video last year and I use it to sell stories to the online audience. We have passed the level of using corel for designing fliers or adobe Photoshop. Things have passed that level because online is about visuals, images, pictures and people are employing many people with expertise in this area.”

To prepare Nigerians for the kind of jobs that are available in the labour market, he called on the National Universities Commission to incorporate digital marketing into the curriculum of students in the tertiary institutions, adding that every professional required the used of social media platforms as seen among on-air personalities in radio and television stations.

Malik said, “I believe digital marketing should be incorporated into the curriculum of students in secondary schools and tertiary institutions. If we don’t do that soon enough, it will affect us.”

“When I was at a radio station recently, the managing director asked every one hosting a programme if they had tweeted their show that morning. It has reached a level that people don’t have a choice but to acquire expertise in these areas. Our government needs to consider this.”

Highlighting the job opportunities that are in high demand, he says digital marketers, social media managers and marketers and people who specialise in using Facebook as a marketing tool are needed by employers.

Malik explained that digital marketers were people whose responsibilities involved email marketing, social media marketing, SMS marketing and advertising.

The CIO explained that the role of social media managers was not limited to the use of Facebook to promote businesses, but also included a proper understanding of how Twitter, Google plus, LinkedIn, Pinprest and other social media platforms could be used.

A lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, University of Lagos, Dr. Victor Olumuyiwa, said the lack of competence in the IT field posed barrier to most graduates.

He noted that when students were properly trained in their schools and when they were engaged in personal development, they would be properly positioned for the unlimited opportunities in the country.

Olumuyiwa said, “A former student came to my office this morning that they were looking for people in the company where she works. There are jobs but the problem is competence.

He said, “For IT, we are interested in people who can make it in apps space. In computer science or other related disciplines, there are professional courses that make people to be creative. They are courses that require developing skills. If you have the skills, you can quickly get employed immediately after graduation.”