True stories: From strugglers to legends

We often tend to give up on our dream when we face failure, but these failures makes a person stronger. Legends are those who fight for their goals, with atmost willpower, patience & dedication. Sharing with you the stories of 6 great famous personalities, that can inspire you when you feel low on your journey.

Sylvester Stallone: From Streets to the most loved hollywood star
His face is fierce, his eyes are mezmerising. This is one touching & more than a blockbuster story. He said, “I am not the richest, smartest or most talented person in the world. But I succeed because I keep going and going and going.”
Due to complications during labor resulted in partial paralysis of his left face, including parts of his lip, chin & tongue. So Stallone was left with snarling look & a little different vocal. He was grown up watching fights between his parents. He got suspended from his school several times due to behavioral issues & low grades. Due to constant financial problems he became homeless for weeks, which made him desperate to earn money, so he accepted a part in a soft-core pornography film. Later on he moved to New York to pursue an acting career, but he was facing rejections continuously. He slept at the New York bus station for days, along with his dog, his best friend Butkus. But he didn’t had any money to get him food, so he sold Butkus to a man he found near a liquor shop.
Then after a few weeks he wrote script for the famous movie, Rocky, taking 20 hours to complete it. He tried to sell it to studios, the script was so amazing that they offered huge amount of money but he wanted them to cast him as the hero. They said he looks funny & sound funny. He didn’t accepted their money & walked off. Few days later they came back to offer more money, but still he didn’t accepted, he repeated what he wanted.
After a while, the studio agreed, gave him $35,000 for the script and let him star in it. The rest is history!
The movie won Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing at the prestigious Oscar Awards. He was even nominated for BEST ACTOR! The Movie Rocky was even inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever.
Stallone loved his dog, Butkus so much that he stood at the liquor store for 3 days waiting for the man he sold his dog to, & on the 3rd day, he saw the man coming with the dog. Stallone explained why he sold the dog and begged for the dog back. He refused to give Butkus back, he offered $15,000 for the same dog he sold at $25 only. This shows why he succeeded in his life, he is a true genuine soul.
Always remember, NO ONE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF EXCEPT YOURSELF!

Helen Keller: A name not born to die.
We live in a world where we need to think a 10 times at-least before trusting someone. Imagine living blind & deaf. Its way too far difficult than we can ever imagine, you don’t know how you look, you cant see the colors around you, all you can trust is your soul.
Despite being blind & deaf, Helen Adams Keller became an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
When she was 19 months old, Keller contracted an unknown illness described by doctors as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain, which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis. The illness left her both deaf and blind. Anne Sullivan who was an American teacher became the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller, soon after graduation at age 20. At the age of five, Sullivan contracted trachoma, an eye disease, which left her partially blind and without reading or writing skills. She had a series of eye operations that significantly improved her vision.
Keller wrote a total of 12 published books and several articles. “The Story of My Life”, her autobiography was the most popular among them. American movie, The Miracle Worker (1962)tells the story of Anne Sullivan’s struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate. She visited 35 countries on five continents. She met with world leaders such as Winston Churchill, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Golda Meir.
Helen Keller is a name not born to die.

Stephen Hawking: A Brilliant Mind with a strong soul.
Well, I am definitely not brilliant enough to write about theoretical physics, cosmology, Big Bang theory & the extra brilliant universe of Stephen Hawking. Winner of numerous awards, physicists, author, lecturer,& more. His book A Brief History of Time appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks, which sold over 10 million copies.
By the time of his 21st birthday, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. He was not expected to live more than two years. As the disease spread, Hawking became less mobile and began using a wheelchair. Talking grew more challenging and, in 1985, an emergency tracheotomy caused his total loss of speech. A speech-generating device constructed at Cambridge, combined with a software program, served as his electronic voice, allowing Hawking to select his words by moving the muscles in his cheek.
I always wondered how he did all these brilliant works, sitting in a wheel chair, using an artificial speech device. But i had a smile, filled with huge respect on my face reading one of his quotes, “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.”

J K Rowling: From Struggling Single mother to the most successful writer.
I wonder how creative this lady is, imagining a character like Harry Potter, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, how can some one think about such amazing, out of the box story. She do have an overactive imagination, that made her what she is.
From very early times of her life she knew she wanted to be a writer. She used to write short stories & read it to her sister. Of course some people might not find the story of Harry Potter when described for the first time, as interesting or can be sold. according to the New Yorker. Twelve publishers rejected Harry Potter. Her book was accepted by Christopher Little, an obscure London literary agent.
She used to sat down at cafe’s to write Harry Potter & often brought along Jessica,her daughter who slept in a pram next to her. During rejections & financial issues she went through depression. In an interview she said, “Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced.”
I didn’t listed J K Rowling for the struggles she experienced, its because she is a great proof for why being different is great, its amazing to have views & thoughts of your own that others might not understand.
“Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve” – J K ROWLING

Arnold Schwarzenegger : From body building to Hollywood to Politics
Arnold, one of the most known face among hollywood actors. He is best known for his brilliant performance in Terminator. Arnold said that, “If my life was a movie, no one would believe it.”His journey started with lots of sufferings. He was born to a strict Roman Catholic family in a small village in Austria. His father was an abusive alcoholic who favored his eldest son, & called Arnold “Cinderella” as he was weak. Arnold was often beaten with a belt and berated for not being strong.
Arnold used to tell his schoolmates that one day he will go to America. He was inspired by Reg Park, who was a bodybuilder, actor & business man. When he was 10 years old he knew where he wanted to be. He started weightlifting & workouts from the age of 13. His father wanted Arnold to be a soccer player, but he was not willing to sacrifice his dreams for anyone. Even though he participated in Mr. Universe competition in London he didn’t won,but one of the judges was so impressed & offered to coach him.
Later on, in 1969 he became the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he still holds to this day. But he was rejected by casting agents & directors due to his accent. They even said he has wired body. But through modeling he managed to do a small role in ‘Hercules in New York’, for which he won, the New Star of the Year awards at the Golden Globes. Schwarzenegger’s breakthrough film ‘Conan the Barbarian’ in 1982, which was a box-office hit.Then he got casted in action-hero movies like Commando, Total Recall, and The Terminator.
He created a different & inspiring story out of his life, He became the Governor of California in 2003, he is an author, business man & most importantly a true inspiration to dream big.

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