Sara Blakely
Nov 19, 2017
Blakely was born February 27, 1971, in Clearwater, Florida. She is the daughter of Ellen (née Ford), an artist, and trial attorney, John Blakely. She has a brother, artist Ford Blakely. She attended Clearwater High School and graduated from Florida State Universitywith a communication degree, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Although she initially planned to become an attorney, she reconsidered after placing very low on the Law School Admission Test; she instead accepted a job at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where she worked for three months. She also occasionally worked as a stand-up comedian during this period.
Mark Cuban
Nov 12, 2017
Mark Cuban is one of the exceptionally successful American entrepreneurs who has net worth of $2.6 Billion according to the Forbes. Popularly known as “Shark Tank”, he lives a life that the most people envy.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has always been enthusiastic and sports fanatic. At the age of 12, he was selling garbage bags with the only purpose to buy a new pair of high-end basketball sneakers. However, this dealing sowed the seeds of business dealing to come. Through out his high school, he continued to work anything like promoting disco parties and bar-tending.
Maserati
Nov 5, 2017
Officine Alfieri Maserati was founded on December 1, 1914, in Bologna, Italy. Since then, Maserati has played a consistently leading role in the development of the spoorts car and its culture. More than a century of activity has brought with it glorious achievements, both on the road and the track, as well as more challenging times, which have helped forge the company’s character and personality.
Jerry Seinfeld
Oct 29, 2017
Jerome Seinfeld was born on April 29,1954 in Brooklyn, New York. Best known for his stand up comedy and acting, “Jerry” Seinfeld didn't start out so successful, as he was once booed off stage. Seinfeld grew up in Massapequa, New York, and often collected jokes from his father. He spent lot of time volunteering in Israel as a teenager. He returned from Israel and attended State University of New York at Oswego and later transferred to Queens College. Jerry Seinfeld graduated college with his degree in theater and communications.
Bruce Lee
Oct 22, 2017
Lee Jun-fan was born on November 27, 1940 in Chinatown, San Francisco and later became known was “Bruce Lee.” Lee is best known for being a martial artist, film director, actor and philosopher. When he was only 3 months old, his parents returned to Hong Kong, where he was raised. He is the fourth of five children. After getting involved in a few street fights, Lees parents decided it would be best if he learned martial arts. He then trained with Yip Man and Wong Shun Leung privately in 1955. Getting into more street fights where police were called, Lee’s father decided it would be best for him to leave Hong Kong and go to the United States and live with his sister. He later moved to Seattle and started working for Ruby Chow as a live-in waiter at her restaurant.
In 1961, Bruce Lee enrolled at the University of Washington where he majored in drama. Here at school, he met Linda Emery, whom he later married. The two welcomed children Brandon and Shannon. Lee opened his first martial arts school In Seattle and named it Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. In 1964, Bruce Lee dropped out of college and moved to Oakland to live with a well-known martial arts trainer, James Yimm Lee. Later that year he appeared in the Long Beach International Karate Championship. Lee had defeated an unnamed challenger.
Michael Jordan
Oct 15, 2017
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17,1963 in Brooklyn, New York. When he was just a toddler, he moved to North Carolina. Michael is the fourth child of five. Michael attended Emsley A. Laney high school where he played basketball, baseball, and football. Baseball, football and basketball came easy to Michael and while he was good at sports, his brother, Larry, was much greater. This gave him more determination to get better and better on the field or on the court. During his sophomore year, he tried out for the varsity basketball team where he was told he was too short. Michael was devastated but listened to his mother’s advice; “She said that the best thing I could do is to prove to the coach that he had made a mistake. And, leaving my disappointment behind, I started to improve my performance.” Although he didn’t make varsity, he became the star of the JV team shooting 40-point games. The following year, he came back 4 inches taller, and made the varsity team. When he was a senior, he was chosen to be on the McDonald’s All-American Team.
Jeff Bezos
Oct 8, 2017
Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother was still in high school when she gave birth to him. Her marriage to Jeff's father lasted a year and she remarried when Jeff was born. His stepfather adopted him. They later moved to Houston, Texas and over generations, Jeff's ancestors acquired a 25,000 acre ranch. As of March 2015, he was the largest landholder in Texas. As a child, Bezos spent his summers working on his grandfathers farm. A few years later, his family moved to Florida, where he became valedictorian of Miami Palmetto High School. In 1986, Bezos graduated Princeton with his bachelors in computer science. In 1993, he married MacKenzie Tuttle and the two welcomed four children.
Shortly after he graduated college, Jeff Bezos went right to work. He started on Wall Street in his field of computer science. He later started at a company called Fitel, building a network for international trade. In 1994, after making a cross the country drive from New York to Seattle, Bezos founded amazon.com. The company started in his garage. He took a chance and left his well paying job in New York City after learning about the rapid growth in internet.
A few years later, Bezos founded Blue Origin, a space flight startup company. The company was kept a secret until it purchased a large amount of land in Texas for a launch facility. Bezos says that Blue Origin was founded so that “anybody could go into space.” During a launch, Blue Origin lost a prototype vechicle and because of the crash, it had a setback. In 2013, the company had successfully flew to space and returned. Bezos recently revealed he was selling $1 billion in amazon stock a year to finance his Blue Origin rocket company. Bezos also announced he would be purchasing The Washington Post for $250 million in cash. As of October 2016, according to Forbes, Bezos is listed as the third wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $72 billion.
Arianna Huffington
Oct 1, 2017
Arianna Huffington was born on July 15, 1950 in Athens, Greece. She is the daughter of a journalist and sister was an author. She went to Girton College in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and studied economics. She became president of the Cambridge Union. In 1971, Arianna was in Face the Music along side Bernard Levin, who she fell in love with. They traveled together around the world, and Huffington began writing books with his help. When she was 30 years old, Arianna was ready to marry and have children, but Levin was not on board for either. In 1980, she moved to New York and ended her relationship.
Christopher Gardner
Sep 24, 2017
Christopher Gardner was born on born February 9, 1954 in Wisconsin. Growing up, Chris did not have many strong male role models. His father wasn't living in the same state, and his stepfather was abusive. His step father falsely accused his mother of trying to burn down their house, and Gardner and his siblings were placed in a foster home. He later learned that his mother was in prison. He grew up telling himself “you can only depend on yourself.”
The Greatest of All Time
Sep 17, 2017
Despite his talent for creating poems before the fights, he hated to read. In fact, Ali was dyslexic, and barely graduated from high school.
"I never said I was the smartest, I said I was the greatest,"
Muhammad Ali
Colonel Sanders Failed 1009 Times Before Succeeding
Sep 10, 2017
Colonel Harland Sanders has become a world-known figure by marketing his Kentucky Fried Chicken. The story of Colonel Harland Sanders is an example of how perseverance, dedication, and ambition along with hard work can create success; regardless of your age.
The Man Behind Patron
Sep 3, 2017
John Paul DeJoria was born on April 13, 1944 to immigrant parents in Los Angeles, California. His parents were divorced when he was only two years old. At age 10, he started selling newspapers to help support his family. DeJoria became a member of a street gang, after his single mother was unable to support her children and they ended up in a foster home. At 22 years old, his wife abandoned him and his two year old son. After loosing his car and rent money to his wife, he and his son were evicted and became homeless.
Howard Schultz
Aug 27, 2017
Howard Schultz grew up in housing projects in New York City. He was raised in a working class Jewish family. He never dreamt of someday being worth $2.3 billion. His mother was a full-time stay home mom, raising him and his sibling. His father held a few jobs, including a truck driver, and factory worker.
One Man Plants a Forest Bigger Than Central Park
Aug 20, 2017
In a remote northeastern region of India, one man planted a forest that has grown larger than New York City’s Central Park.
The Java Jacket
Aug 13, 2017
Jay Sorensen once managed a gas station in Portland, Ore. He eventually started in real estate, but he wasn’t very good at it. Frustrated, Sorensen wondered what he could do to support his family. The answer came when he spilled coffee on his lap.
Macy's Humble Beginnings
Aug 6, 2017
Few enterprises reflect their creator’s inventive spirit, perseverance and willingness to learn from past mistakes as much as R.H. Macy & Co., founded by Rowland Hussey Macy.
This retail magnate’s life story speaks to the intriguing roots of the modern-day department store as well as the changing character of American retail commerce, advertising and marketing, and staffing. When Macy started out few could have guessed that he would mastermind what would eventually become one of the largest retail operations in the world.
What is Success?
Jul 30, 2017
Here's a beautiful poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson on the meaning of living a successful life.
Andrew Carnegie
Jul 23, 2017
Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 in a small house in Dunfermline, Scotland. For many generations, the Carnegie family had been master handloom weavers. But as the industrial revolution introduced steam-powered looms, the family business collapsed.
Overcoming Obstacles
Jul 16, 2017
Oprah Winfrey was born to a single teenage mother on welfare in Mississippi. She grew up poor, and suffered from abuse from her grandmother. But her success story is what makes her so influential.
Are you stopping 3 feet from gold?
Jul 9, 2017
In the classic book, “Think and Grow Rich”, Napoleon Hill tells the story of a young man named R.U.Darby. Darby’s uncle had gold fever, so he followed his dream and started digging. After a lot of hard work, his uncle found ore, so he covered up his findings and returned home to raise the money for the machinery that he would need to bring the ore to the surface.
After raising the money, Darby travelled with his uncle to the site to make their fortune. Things were great and before long, they had enough to clear their debt. They were excited, and their future was looking bright.
Suddenly, supply of gold stopped. Read more
Milton Hershey
Jul 2, 2017
Almost every kid in this country has at one time or another eaten a Hershey chocolate bar. Hershey chocolate has become famous around the world. But did you know the founder of Hershey Chocolate, Milton Hershey, had many failures in business before he started his famous company?
5 Most Important Leadership Qualities
Jun 25, 2017
Dale Carnegie was born poor on a farm in Missouri. He later became a writer, and has developed many well-known courses in public speaking, self-improvement and training in corporations. He was the author of the popular book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, which is still around today.
Real heroes don’t wear capes
Jun 18, 2017
With
Fathers Day now approaching, it is the time to recognize the male influences in
our lives. Usually our father is our first significant male role model, but not
every family is so lucky to have a father/father figure. Without having a father
around, children can carry an emotional burden. A child may react to being
neglected by their father and become rebellious, as they continue to demand
attention, because any attention would be better than none.
Some important qualities in a father:
Rags to Riches
Jun 4, 2017
J.K. Rowling is the author of a book series that has been translated into 73 languages and sold millions of copies around the world, but she said, “by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.” So why does someone so successful admit to once being a failure?
Memorial Day: Remembrance
May 28, 2017
Memorial Day is a day Americans often see as the beginning of a summer. School has ended and it’s the perfect day to have a barbecue. As you fire up your barbecue on Memorial Day, keep in mind that the holiday has so much more importance than a day off from work.
Thomas Edison's Success Through Failure
May 21, 2017
Failure happens. It happens all the time, to everyone, and sometimes can have a bad effect on us depending on the way we react to it.
Thomas Edison did not do well in school. One of his teachers said that he was a poor and a lazy student. But this teacher could not have been more wrong. Edison was dyslexic. Later in his life, he lost most of his hearing. But he did not let either of these setbacks stop him from doing great things with his mind. He is widely thought to be one of the smartest people who ever lived.
The Journey of Walt Disney
May 14, 2017
Since the turn of the 20th century, only a handful of people have had a greater impact in the entertainment industry and popular culture than Walter Elias Disney. He came up with game-changing ideas, including the first ever cartoons with corresponding sound. He also created the first animated film and theme park. He created a globally accepted icon, Mickey Mouse, which is still being culturally embraced until today. The journey that shaped this great movie mogul and his great empire was much more intricate.
Need a trash valet service?
May 7, 2017
It all started one night while watching Shark Tank with my Mom. Aside from being a Mark Cuban fan (I love playing basketball), I decided I wanted to start my own business so I can save up for Jeep Wrangler. But what could a 9 year old do? My Mom said I was too young to push a lawn mower or babysit, so we had to think outside the box. And then I thought....Garbage!! My Dad is always rushing on Wednesday mornings (trash day), and even sometimes forgets to roll the cans to the curb. And with that simple idea, Canned! was born! Canned is a trash valet service. I roll customers' cans to the curb the day before pickup and return them to their homes the following day after school for a monthly fee. I re-invented the newspaper route!
