5 People Who's Life Story Will Inspire You Not To Give Up

GIA
Feb 6, 2017
6 min read

1.Lionel Messi

Lionel Andres Messi was born on June 24, 1987 and today at 29 years old he is o referred to as one of the greatest soccer/football players of all times. He currently plays as forward for Football Club Barcelona and he Captains Argentina's National Team.

Lionel Messi was the third of four children. His father Jorge Messi was a steel factory manager and his mother Celia Cuccittini worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. Messi grew up in a close knit family who loved soccer and he developed a passion for the sport at a very early age. At six he joined Rosario's Club Newell's Old Boys and in his six years playing for them he scored more that five hundred goals.

At the age of ten he was diagnosed with hormone growth deficiency and he was in fear that his football future was no longer a possibility as his father's insurance would only cover two years of his treatment, Newell agreed to contribute but didn't keep their promise.

Messi and his family moved to Barcelona after he was got a football deal with Barcelona who also agreed to pay for his hormone treatments . In his first year there he hardly played due to conflicts between his current and previous team which made fitting in with his teammates very difficult. It is said that they thought he was a mute as he hardly spoke. His mother also moved backed home with his two of his siblings and left him in Spain with his father which took an adverse effect on him emotionally.

The following year Messi enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation and developed a close relationship with Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Pique. While playing for Barcelona's youth team the 'Baby Dream Team' he was the leading goal scorer with 36 goals in his first full season (2002-03).

Eventhough his early career with Barcelona would be plagued by several injuries, Messi would go on to win several La Liga titles and more than a hundred caps for his country. Messi had gotten several awards from UEFA and FIFA, he holds several world records as well including the youngest player to have reached one hundred caps for their country along with dozens of others. Today Lionel Messi earns £256,000 after taxes that is equivalent to $319961.60 US Dollar. In 2017 his net-worth according to totalsportek.com is $350 million.

2.Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry was born Emmitt Perry Jr on September 13, 1969 in New Orleans Louisiana.

In 2011, Forbes named him the highest paid man in entertainment; he earned US$130 million between May 2010 and 2011.Before his prosperous career as a actor and in film writing and production business Tyler Perry faced many challenges in his personal and career life.

Growing up with his father Emmitt Sr Tyler was the victim of horrible beatings from him and in his teen years attempted to end his own life because of this.He also was the victim of sexual abuse and at age 16 he officially changed his name to Tyler Perry in an effort to distant himself from the family. A DNA test in 2010 proved Emmitt Sr was not Tyler's biological father.

Tyler Perry did not finish high school but earned a GED and in 1990 he moved to Atlanta where he worked odd jobs while he worked on his writing. Perry said he got inspiration from people like Oprah Winfrey who had similar stories to his. Eventhough his first production ' I know I have been Changed,' which he produced with his life savings at 22 was a failure he did not give up and today he has a networth of $450 million and is well known for a character he plays in some of his productions called Madea. He has written and produced dozens of films including Madea's Christmas, Madea Goes to Jail and Why Did I Get Married. He has also worked with some of the biggest names in the industry.

This is indeed a very inspiring story. Here is a man who tried to end his life twice failed and turned out to be one of the most successful people in the world.

3.Steve Harvey

Steve Harvey was born Borderick Stephen Harvey to Jesse Harvey a coal miner and his wife Eloise Vera on January 17, 1957 in Welch West Virginia. After his birth his family moved to 112th East Street Cleveland Ohio which in 2015 was renamed Steve Harvey Way.

He got his education at Glenville High School, Kent State University and Virginia University.

Harvey has been a boxer, an autoworker, insurance salesman, a mailman and also a carpet cleaner.

Today Steve Harvey is worth $100 million and has many titles attached to his name; comedian, radio host, television host, producer, radio personality, actor, author. He has appeared in more than eight films and has hosted several television shows including the Celebrity Family Feud, The Steve Harvey Show and Miss Universe.

This did not happen for Steve Harvey over night. In the 1980s he was homeless for many years. He slept in his 1976 Ford when he wasn't performing gigs that didn't give him a hotel room and he showered at gas stations or swimming pool showers.

A great example of what working towards you dreams and not giving up will amount to. He is proof that the race isn't for the swift but who can endure.

4.Stephen King

Stephen King was born in Portland Maine on September 21, 1947. When he was two years old his father Donald Ewin King left home with the pretense that he was going to buy cigarettes and didn't return. He left King's mother Nelli Ruth to raise Stephen and his older brother by herself. She faced many financial hardships raising them as a single parent and it is said that King witness his friend being killed by at train eventhough he has no recollection of the event. Many people think that that event contributed to the darker novels he has written.

Today Stephen King has a net-worth of $400 million and his books Along Came a Spider and Kiss The Girls along with several others has been made into films.

In his career he has written over 57 books and 200 short stories. He has also written a number of screenplays.

Before his success Stephen King lived a trailer with his wife. They were so poor he said they had to borrow clothes for their wedding. They also had to cut their phone off because they couldn't afford to pay for it.

His first book the ' The Glass Floor' received many rejections but he didn't up and King finally got a deal with Double Day Publishing which was not very profitable and the book only sold 13,000 copies soon after Signet Books signed on for the paper back rights and King got $200 000 of the $400 000 the deal was worth.

His most recent novel Sleeping Beauties is expected to be released in October of 2017 and is highly anticipated by Stephen Kings fans worldwide.

5.Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey was born Oprah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi. In 2013 her salary was $75 million and her networth in 2017 is over $3 billion.

Oprah Winfrey has been dubbed the Queen of Media and has been ranked the richest African American Woman and the greatest black philanthropist in American history. She is widely regarded as the most influential woman in the world.

Oprah Winfrey's story is testimony that regardless of where you were born you can be whatever you want to be. She was born into poverty to a teenage Mom who later sent her to live with her father. Before moving to live with her father a struggling Barber who later turned City Councilman in Tennessee she was a victim of sexual abuse and by the time she was 14 years old she gave birth to a son who died a few days after.

While living with her father and attending high school she got a job as co-anchor an the local evening news and later was given a role on a daytime talk show. After she boosted the rating on a Chicago talk show to first place she started her own production company and became a international sensation.

Oprah Winfrey has endured many struggles in her public life, racism and criticism about her weigh is among them but she refused to give up. She has played starring roles in a number of films including The Color Purple, The Butler and Beloved. She has also written several books including Food, Health and Happiness and What I know For Sure. Oprah also has her own television network 'OWN' (Oprah Winfrey Network). She has won a number of awards in the film and television arena; Daytime Emmy, Golden Globe and Academy Awards are listed among them. In 2013 she was awarded the Presidential Award of Freedom.

These stories are truly inspirational and as they stand as proof that no matter your current circumstances, where you were born or who your parents were you can still accomplish even the biggest dreams. The key is to never give up no matter what, identify the talents you were born with and develop a fighting spirit. The struggles you face today are only parts of your story, every success story has records of failure in its making. Remember light would hold absolutely zero value without darkness.