Les Brown rose from poverty and being placed in special education to becoming a successful broadcaster, politician, and public speaker. Robert Riopel went from driving a pizza truck to becoming a millionaire franchise owner and financial teacher. Richard Tan overcame $600,000 of debt and cancer to become a highly successful conference organizer.

1. Spending too much time online is a surefire way to become hopelessly skeptical, and
pessimistic about the world around us. But what we can’t deny is the glimmer of hope
and idealism burning away inside that tells us things will get better. Sometimes we just
need to resist the eye-rolling that typically comes from reading a sappy, cheesy story
someone sends to us. Take the time to experience a moment of inspiration from the
stories of these amazing people who with a bit of good fortune, talent, hard work,
personal insight, overcame all odds to rise to the top. It could be what it takes to propel
us to action against the prevailing attitudes of a cold, cynical world.
Les Brown rose from out of a poverty-stricken, special education
childhood to be an award-winning public speaker
Les Brown and his twin brother were adopted by Mamie Brown, a kitchen worker and
maid, shortly after their birth in a poverty-stricken Miami neighborhood. Because of his
hyperactivity and nonstop jabber, Les was mistakenly labelled “educably mentally
retarded” and placed in special education classes for the learning disabled right through
to high school. Upon graduation, he became a city sanitation worker. But he had a
dream of being a disc jockey. He listened, practiced, a hairbrush serving as his
microphone. One day Les boldly went to the station manager’s office of the local radio
station during his lunch break and told him he wanted to be a disc jockey. The station
manager turned him down for his lack of experience but Les returned to the station
every day for a week, asking if there were any job openings. Finally the station manager
gave in and took him on as an errand boy at no pay. Les did whatever was asked of him
at the station and more. He watched and learned, practiced and prepared himself for
the opportunity that he knew would present itself. One day, a deejay was drinking while
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2. on the air and when the station manager called for a replacement, Les was the only
other person in the building. He confidently took over, wowing the audience and his
manager. From that fateful beginning, Les went on to a successful career in
broadcasting, politics, public speaking and television.
Robert Riopel from pizza truck driver to millionaire
Started his working career as a driver for a pizza company. He worked his way from the
bottom up, becoming a store manager and eventually running a pizza franchise. He
didn’t have the finances but came up with a way to buy not one but two stores with no
money of his own. He didn’t stop there. He acquired more ailing stores and turned them
around, making fairly good money while doing so. Unfortunately, Robert also learned
how to spend money even more quickly than he earned it, and by the time he and his
wife Roxanne were franchisees for eight years, they were over one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars in debt. Always being willing and having a zest for learning, Robert
came across the teachings of a company that taught him how to manage his money.
Robert was able to take what he had learned and turn his financial life around. And
within nine months, went from being a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt to
financially independent. It was during this time that Robert also found his passion, which
was to teach others. Robert spends his time helping others find their passions and be
able to live them with success and joy.
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3. Richard Tan rises from the ashes to inspire many
After graduating with a diploma in electrical engineering Richard started a business
selling a non-slip chemical for floors. Not only was the product unable to prevent
slipping, it also ruined the floors in the process. Ultimately, it landed him in a $600,000
debt, and resulted in almost 20 lawsuits. He discovered his knack for organizing big
events while helping a friend with his which ended up being a resounding success. He
started Success Resources and began organizing conferences throughout Asia. In
1995, just 6 weeks before a conference in Hong Kong, only 250 tickets had been sold
for a venue that seated 6000. Not only that, he had recently been diagnosed with colon
cancer. Disregarding his doctor’s advice (who thought he was crazy), he flew to Hong
Kong, determined to personally sell tickets. He began each day at 7.30am, starting from
the top floor of office buildings going door to door to promote the conference. While
most people were having their lunch breaks, he would go for chemotherapy treatment.
His persistence and “never quit till you win” attitude continues to inspire many as he
travels the world running the world’s largest seminar organizing company.
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4. Keith Cunningham bounced back from bankruptcy and now teaches
others to rebuild their businesses from the ground up
Keith started his first business when he was 11, door-to-door egg delivery. After he
graduated, he took a job at a small struggling Cable Television company which
ultimately became one of the largest cable television companies in the United States. At
the same time, real estate was booming so he shifted his focus and made even more
money. In the process, he also personally guaranteed over $100,000,000 in debt. He
never saw it coming and when the bubble burst, he was forced to declare personal
bankruptcy. He was broke, unemployed and in the process of getting a divorce. While
searching for a way to restart his life, a friend called needing some expert advice in
turning around his company. After solving his business and financial woes, Keith
continued getting calls from other people who had heard about him and his ability to
solve massive business problems. His “business surgery” practice was very
handsomely rewarded and he very quickly rebuilt his net worth. Eventually, Robert
Kiyosaki approached Keith to write a course about getting out of the rat race which
eventually morphed into the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” changing millions of lives. The
opportunity Robert gave him reignited his passion for teaching and financial education.
He now spends his time doing what he loves, running businesses, investing and
teaching regularly with Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker and Robert Kiyosaki.
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5. Vanessa Tancame from humble beginningsto a world of glamourand
now creates ripples of social impact
Vanessa grew up in a family of five. Her parents worked hard as hawkers for more than
30 years before their business collapsed. They went into debt and Vanessa had to work
part- time while earning her degree in University. To further help her parents pay down
their debt, she took out student loans which she later repaid on her own. After seeing
her parents slog all their lives and her early experiences with money, she resolved to
learn all she could about investing and making her money work hard for her. She left
her comfortable job as a personal banker and embarked on her journey to build an
empire. She discovered her purpose along the way that she wanted to add value
society and make a difference in other people’s lives in other ways. She won Mrs
Singapore World in 2011 and used her beauty pageant career as a springboard for her
charitable interests. She now encourages young women from disadvantaged
backgrounds to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential. She remains keenly in
touch with real estate and investing to further the many social causes she spends her
tim with. Her numerous social initiatives have been featured in various news outlets
including ChannelNews Asia, 93.8Live and Capital 95.8 and The Straits Times.
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6. Richard Branson dropped outof schooland went on to build a global
business empire
Richard Branson struggled with dyslexia and dropped out of school at 16 to start a
youth-culture magazine called “Student.” The publication, run by students, for students,
turned into a nationwide publication and a profitable enterprise. Richard was always
very focused on trying to set up a business and create something even from that young
age. During this time that Branson had the idea to begin a mail-order record company
called Virgin to help fund his magazine efforts. The name “Virgin” was suggested by one
of Branson’s early employees because they were all new at business. The company
performed modestly, but made Branson enough that he was able to expand his
business venture, adding a record shop in Oxford Street, London. Today, Virgin is a
respected brand across the globe, spanning 34 countries, in 400 companies, in almost
every conceivable industry. We would say the sky’s the limit… Except that he’s even
broken through that boundary with space tourism. He was knighted in 1999 for his
contribution to entrepreneurship, and in 2009 he landed at No. 261 on Forbes’ World
Billionaires list with his $2.5 billion in self-made fortune, which includes two private
islands.
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7. Greg Secker started watching others trade and learning until he
outperformed them
Greg’s career began in Thomas Cook Financial services. He then moved over to the
foreign exchange business to run the first online real-time Forex trading platform. His
career quickly soared and at the age of 25, Greg was a Vice President at Mellon
Financial Corporation, then a major Fortune 500 investment bank in the United States
(not bad going for a man in his early twenties.) Here he was lucky enough to be working
alongside some of the very best Forex traders every single day. Absorbing all he could
in his time there, and using the very same trading strategies he discovered, Greg’s
personal trading account grew to the extent where he was able to retire at the young
age of 27 to set up a trading floor from his home. A multi-millionaire by his twenties,
Greg has gone on to create and run Knowledge to Action, one of England’s most
successful and fastest growing companies and blazed a path for the everyday-man in
the street to walk towards financial freedom. Greg is proud to own Europe’s top trader
coaching company and is passionate about helping people achieve their financial goals
and live life as passionately as he does.
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8. Blair Singer’s harsh reality check causes him to redefine his life and
lead others to do the same
In 1982, Blair was rudely awakened to the painful reality of a divorce and the loss of a
lot of money. He had a revelation: the money he had made and lost, and the
relationships that worked and the ones that did not, all had one thing in common: HIM!
From the darkest depths of despair, Blair resolved to pick himself up. If he wanted
anything to change, he would have to fix what was going on internally and master his
inner “Little Voice” that was undermining his happiness and success. So began a 25-
year journey, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars, he didn’t even really have, to
work with the best and most powerful mentors, coaches and personal development
gurus in the world. Each insight he learned, made him more money and enabled him to
build better businesses. He eventually found the love of his life and built an incredible
family. He began living the life of his dreams. But he didn’t stop there. He wanted more
people to discover and experience the same success he found. He now coaches and
speaks to tens of thousands of people all around the world on “Little Voice” Mastery and
how it can be applied to better anyone’s personal and professional life.
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9. CourtneySmith used to manage otherhigh net worth clients to being
a high net worth investor himself to teaching others to grow their
wealth
Courtney Smith started his career in the financial sector at PaineWebber managing the
accounts of clients and astutely investing in financial derivatives. His talent was
recognized and soon, he had moved on to Banca della Svizzera Italiana (BSI), a Swiss
bank, managing mutual funds, client accounts. There, he was responsible for the
trading activities of the New York branch as well as trading and marketing fixed income
and foreign exchange derivatives for the entire bank. In his long history within the
financial industry, Courtney has earned a reputation of being one of the most successful
investors of the last 30 years. He has created top track records in many investment
disciplines. He is the only person in history to have a highly ranked hedge fund, stock
picking letter, mutual fund, and futures newsletter. In addition, he is the author of 8
books on investing and has appeared on over 1000 TV shows since on such national
television shows as Wall Street Journal Report, and Moneyline as well as other shows
on CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNN, and CNNfn. He now spends his time investing
in people. He chairs the Investment Mentoring Institute which provides training and
mentoring for individual and institutional investors in stocks, futures, and foreign
exchange.
Success Resources: http://www.srpl.net/

10. T. Harv Eker went from zero to millionaire in 2 1/2 years
T. Harv Eker is the son of European immigrants who came to North America with only
thirty dollars to their name. Money was scarce throughout his childhood, so at thirteen,
he began his work career. As a teen he delivered newspapers, scooped ice cream, sold
novelties at fairs, and suntan lotions at the beach. After a year at York University, he
decided to take time off to pursue his dream of becoming a millionaire. He had a variety
of jobs and started more than a dozen different businesses, and eventually hit the
jackpot. He opened a chain of retail fitness stores and in 2 1/2 years, grew the business
and sold part of the company to a Fortune 500 corporation. He was finally a millionaire;
however, in less than two years, through a combination of poor investments and
unchecked spending, he was back at his original net worth – 0. It was at that point that
Harv began developing his theories about people’s mental and emotional relationship to
money. He penned “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,” which became a bestseller and
spawned a multi-million dollar personal development empire.
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