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“Failure is a stepping-stone to greatness” – Oprah Winfrey If you want something bad enough, you can get it. No matter how hard it is, you just have to want it bad enough and put your mind to it. Below are the success stories of 6 famous people who did not let failure stop them: Oprah Winfrey: She was born into poverty by a teenage single mother. As a young girl, Oprah was molested by male relatives and visitors while living with her mother. This abuse lasted from when she was 9 till she was 13. Becoming emotionally unstable, Oprah tried running from home and was sent to Juvenile. She was also rejected there and at 14, Oprah was already fending for herself. Oprah rose from grass to grace with great resilience and determination. Oprah went ahead to become the first African American woman on national TV and became a millionaire at 32.  Now a media mogul, Forbes named Winfrey as one of the world’s most powerful women. Soichiro Honda: One of the founders of the billion-dollar automobile company “Honda Motor Company Limited” started up with a chain of failures. After interviewing for a job as an engineer in Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda was turned down; this left him jobless for a while. Soon, he started making his own scooters. With support and encouragement from his neighbours, he finally started his own business. Harland David Sanders: He is the founder of the famous Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Before Sanders rose to success, he had a hard time selling his chicken. His famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant finally accepted it. Thomas Edison: As a child, Edison was told by teachers that he was “too stupid to learn anything.” And even when he became a young man and got a job, things did not change. He got fired from his first two jobs because he seemingly wasn’t being productive enough. When Edison became an inventor, he made 999 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. The 1000th attempt led to the successful invention of the electric light bulb. A reporter once asked him, “How did it feel to fail so many times?” Edison responded “I didn’t fail. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” Lucille Ball: As an actress, Lucille had a hard time. Her drama instructors thought she was such a bad actress that they advised her to try out a new profession. However, Ball did not give up, she was able to prove them wrong with thirteen Emmy nominations and four wins during her career. She also earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors. Ball also went ahead to become the first woman to run a major television studio; Desilu. Walt Disney: He was a newspaper editor but was fired because he supposedly, “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” After this setback, Walt started a number of businesses but they did not last long either. Soon enough, he became bankrupt. However, he knew what he wanted, so he did not give up. Today, even posthumously, Disney makes billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world. The individuals mentioned above like many others knew what they wanted and they did not stop till they got it. Wanting to be a Tennis star like Serena Williams at 40 might not be feasible but there are things you want passionately that can be achieved. E.L James, the writer of adult fiction ‘50 Shades Of Grey’ did not start writing until she was 46; age was no barrier to her world renowned success. Think of that one thing you want passionately, write it down and work towards it.     About the Writer: Seyi Oluyole is a freelance writer and screenwriter. She is an avid reader, loves to dance and works with children.  
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This article was first published on 17th March 2015

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