Inspirational: -
There are many rags to riches stories that
are positively inspirational in our real lives.
Take the story of Sylvester Stallone, for
example, who was so poor that he had to
sell his wife's jewellery and dog to afford a
meal. He slept in public places and acted
in porn videos until he wrote the script of
Rocky where he was offered a large sum of
money, but constantly refused till the
producers agreed to use him as the main
actor. It was only when he was offered the
role in Rocky with $35000 that he agreed
to let the producers use his script. The first
thing he did after receiving the money was
buy back his dog, even if it cost him
$15000.
These are just some other inspiring figures
who had nothing but persevered to
become famous.
1. Nawazuddin Sidiqqui
Born and brought up in rural Uttar Pradesh,
Siddiqui was a keen observer of all his
surroundings and wanted to act them out
in real life. Despite graduating with a
degree in Chemistry and working as a
chemist, he felt he deserved better. While
working as a watchman, he started
watching plays which inspired him to try
acting. After successfully graduating from
National School of Drama (NSD) he moved
to Mumbai where he struggled to get good
roles as an actor. He was often cast in
minor negative roles and paid his bills
from conducting workshops.
It was only after featuring in the movie
Patang that film critics worldwide noticed
his true talent. Siddiqui started getting
roles in major Bollywood films but this
time as important characters in the plot.
2. Oprah Winfrey
Born into poverty, Winfrey grew up in
Mississippi where she had a harsh life
scarred by physical and sexual abuse.
However it did not stop her from winning a
scholarship to Tennessee State University
and becoming the first female African
American correspondent in the state at age
19.
In 1983, she moved to Chicago to work for
the AM Talk Show which she later ended
up hosting and it got re-branded as the
Oprah Winfrey Show.
3. Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaekwad got his first taste of
acting in school from taking part in plays
based on the Mahabharata. After
graduating from school, he worked as a
coolie, a carpenter and finally a bus
conductor. While acting in a stage play at
the Madras Film Institute, he was noticed
by K. Balachander, a notable Tamil
director.
Rajinikanth starred in movies where he
played supporting roles but soon became
the leading man in many of his films.
Today he is considered a God and is very
influential politically.
4. Do Won Chang
The founder of clothing brand Forever 21
didn't have it easy when he and his wife
moved to the US in 1981. Do Won worked
three jobs to make ends meet until he
opened his first store in 1984.
Today Forever 21 has stores all over the
world and earns $3 billion a year.
5. Daniel Craig
The James Bond actor had a hard time
making it before he succeeded Pierce
Brosnan to star as the debonair British
Intelligence Agent. Some of his struggles
included sleeping on a park bench in
London at times.
6. Steve Jobs
The father of the Mac and iPhone was
brought up by foster parents and struggled
through college with no place to sleep and
not enough money for food. He spent
nights sleeping on the floors of his friends'
rooms and collecting coke bottles to get
nickel deposits for food.
Every week he would walk 12 km across
town to eat a hot meal at a Hare Krishna
7. Amitabh Bachchan
Despite a glorious past in cinema,
Bachchan soon reached his slump in
acting by 1988. He founded his company
ABCL which went bankrupt and owed INR
90 crore to its creditors leading him to
mortgage his own bungalow and do
favours for creditors like appearing in
advertisements.
It was only when he was chosen to host
the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati,
that he recovered from his financial woes.
8. Halle Berry
The actress who was the first African
American woman to win an Academy
Award moved to Chicago with the dreams
of becoming an actress. After running out
of cash, she started living in homeless
shelters across the city.
In an interview she was quoted as saying:
"It taught me how to take care of myself
and that I could live through any situation,
even if it meant going to a shelter for a
small stint, or living within my means,
which were meager. I became a person
who knows that I will always make my own way."
9. Jennifer Lopez
The Puerto Rican pop singer defied her
mother by being a dancer and left home to
follow her dreams. She spent nights
sleeping on the sofa of her dance studio.
She landed a job dancing in Europe and
when she returned to the United States,
she got a role as a fly girl in the show In
Living Colour .
10. Hillary Swank
The Million Dollar Baby star lived in with
her mother in a car and slept at night in an
empty house that belonged to a friend. She
went on to win two Oscars by age 30 and
is said to be worth $40 million.
11. Charlie Chaplin
One of the greatest silent era comedians
and actors, Charlie Chaplin lost his father
at a young age and his mother was taken
to a mental asylum. Left to fend for
himself, he spent his days begging and
living on the streets of London. He was
sent to a workhouse twice to be trained in
a profession but he decided to be a
performer.
He acted in several stage plays and
performed as a comedian. At age 19 he
signed on to the Fred Karno company
which took him to America. Chaplin went
on to write, produce and act for his
movies.
12. Jim Carrey
The Hollywood comedian had to move into
his family van when his father lost his job
and couldn't afford to rent their apartment.
They lived in their VW van on his older
sister's lawn. Carrey also had to quit
school and work as janitor to make ends
meet. It was during these years that he
developed his sense of humour.
Thank You for reading I hope this short stories inspired you.
