Almost nobody gets through life without facing some sort of adversity. Financial hardship, extended illness, relationship struggles or a sudden disability can happen at any time and we really can’t do much to prevent it. But we can determine how we will deal with adversity when it does strike. The following hardships were overcome by Albert Einstein, Oprah Winfrey and Chris Gardner. Would you give up if you had to endure what they did?
Nearly everyone faces adversity at some point, but some people excel in spite of it. Many of the people that we consider wildly successful today have faced seemingly insurmountable challenges. For example, Albert Einstein, Oprah Winfrey and Johnny Depp all overcame great odds to become recognizable names at a world-class level. Could you overcome what they did? Keep reading to see what life was like for them before they became successful.
Could You Overcome What These People Faced?
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a high-school dropout and a draft dodger. Finding employment was difficult, at best. The only hope he felt he had was to pass the tough entrance exams necessary to get into a university.
Though he did pass the rigorous tests, he failed French, chemistry and biology. Einstein graduated by the skin of his teeth, but nobody would hire him in his field. He couldn’t marry the love of his life because he was unemployed.
Would you feel hopeless? Tired? Would you have given up?
Considered the most influential physicist of the 20th century, Einstein went on to win the 1921 Nobel Prize in physics, overcame adversity and forevermore changed the way we view the world around us through his exciting discoveries.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey’s childhood has been described as “dirt poor.” She was shuffled from home to home while growing up. In the midst of it all, she was sexually abused by multiple people and ended up giving birth to a baby boy, who would die as an infant, at the age of 14.
Could you rise above this type of early start to become one of the most influential people of the 20th century?
Oprah Winfrey, philanthropist, billionaire and household name, did just that. At age 17, she won a beauty pageant and a spot on-air at the local radio station. From there, she was granted a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, where she majored in communications and performing arts. The rest, as they say, is history.
Chris Gardner
Chris Gardner is an entrepreneur, and now wildly successful. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, you may have never heard of him — except for the major motion picture that was based on his life. The Pursuit of Happyness is a film which explores the way that Gardner and his son were homeless for nearly a year, despite the fact that Gardner was working.
Would this stop you?
Gardner went on to found a brokerage firm and eventually to write a memoir on which the movie was based. Gardner is now a motivational speaker who travels for much of the year inspiring others.
All of these and many more people have faced adversity and turned it into something that fueled their rocketship to the top. While tough-times befall us all at some point, not all of us come from such beginnings as these. Yet, some do persevere and make something magical out of the least likely circumstances. Maybe you can, too?
