The 'Rewriting Their Own Stories' Series.

I thought I would start a series of well-known people who have overcome adversity in the most spectacular way.

I want to do this because people of the general population who watch or read about celebrities and public figures, forget that these successful people have a past too. They may have lived through trauma or have come from poverty. They could have had a physical disability or mental health issue. Whatever it may be, sometimes the success of the celebrities and public figures shines so brightly while being displayed in the media, that their past is in the shadow and forgotten.

If you are a part of that gen pop who admire the success of these people and say to yourself "lucky them" or "they're born into money" or "I wish I could have what they have but that will never happen because...." then I want you to read on.

The stories in this series are about people who have come from nothing or have had major setbacks, to achieving success, such as being in the Billionaire Club or being considered by many the greatest basketball player of all time. And anywhere in between.

IF THEY CAN DO IT, YOU CAN TOO! You just need to see that it is possible and change the way you think about certain things.

Today I want to start with Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah is best known for its award-winning talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Oprah Winfrey Show was the most acclaimed program of its kind in history until 2011. She was the wealthiest African-American woman of the 20th century, ranked as the greatest black philanthropist in American history who is also the most influential woman in the world, according to some estimates.

But she wasn't born into a family associated with the TV Networks, nor did she have a smooth start to her career due to coming from a background of poverty. In fact, one of her first co-hosts would make jokes about her educational background. Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty to a teenage mother in the Mississippi. She said she experienced significant hardship and trauma as a child and she was raped at the age of 9 and became pregnant at the age of 14.

This woman came from nothing but her Grandmother taught her how to read and write, and took her to Church where she learned how to speak in front of a crowd. That education and faith instilled in her at a very young age gave her the ground to overcome her adversity. Oprah really believed that she could be whatever God wanted her to be and with a scholarship won in a speech contest, she went on to become a radio host, she became the first female African-American news anchor in Nashville history, an actor, the first African-American woman to own her own production company and has had a lot more success in her professional career.

A long way from her roots which started in poverty in Mississippi.

Oprah Winfrey simply is one of the most inspirational women in history. She teaches us that regardless of how hard the beginning is, it has no sway in where we end up. “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey

You might be saying, "well ok I am inspired by Oprah's story but how am I supposed to do that? I don't have any particular skills. I don't have any money. I don't know anyone who can help me. I don't have time. I don't have......."

These phrases you keep telling yourself are the exact reason you haven't had or kept success. And I'll let you in on something that you may not know that could help you get started, YOU CANT CONQUER YOUR OUTSIDE WORLD UNLESS YOU CONQUER YOUR INSIDE WORLD. Have you heard of Robbin Williams? The man who made millions of people so happy but took his own life? He had conquered his outside world but couldn't control his inner world.

I'll tell you something else. You look at anyone sitting on the Forbes Billionaires list, those peoples invest in themselves regularly. Warren Buffets' greatest investment is in himself. The man reads for at least 20 minutes a day. Some hire business coaches. Some hire personal development coaches....Tony Robbins anyone?

My point is, if you are stuck between a rock and a hard place or you're sitting on ground zero feeling like you're not anywhere you want to be in life.... you don't have the money or relationship or the body or the career, whatever it is.... then you should follow the lead of Oprah and those billionaires sitting on that Forbes list... Invest in yourself. Try eliminating those "I don't have...." stories by feeding your mind with some positivity. Not the fufu stuff, the science-backed material that can help you get from A to Z.

A good place to start is here.

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." - Zig Ziglar

Thanks for reading.