Famous People Who Are Successful Because They Didn't Give Up

1. Oprah Winfrey 

Former host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Chairwoman and CEO of Harpo Productions, Chairwoman, CEO, and CCO of the Oprah Winfrey Network, actress and author. But before that, she was born from an unwed young parents and she was sexually abused by her male relatives. But that doesn't stop Oprah from rising. At the age of 17, she won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.  Winning the beauty pageant opens a lot of doors of opportunities for her. 

2. Michael Jordan

6 times NBA champion, 6 times NBA finals MVP, 5 times NBA MVP, 14 times NBA all star and the list of awards goes long. But before all of these awards, he was rejected from his high school basketball team during his sophomore year because he was too short to play. He was 5'11" (1.80 m) tall. 

3. Abraham Lincoln

The 16th president of the United States of America serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. But before that, he was defeated 8 times in the elections, his fiancee died, he failed in business and he had a nervous breakdown. 

4. Albert Einstein 

A Theoretical Physicist. Received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his "services to theoretical physics", in particular his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory. But before that, he wasn't able to speak until he was almost 4 years old and his teachers said he would never amount too much. 

5. Walter Elias "Walt" Disney

Co-founder of The Walt Disney Company and holds the record for both the most Academy Award nominations (59) and the number of Oscars awarded (22). But before that, he was fired from a newspaper for lacking of imaginations and having no original ideas. 

6. Steve Jobs

Co founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc., Founder Pixar Animation Studios and Founder and CEO of NeXT Inc. But before that, at the age of 30 he was devastated after being terminated from the company he started.  

7. Marshall Bruce Mathers III "Eminem" 

13 times Grammy award winner, famous rapper, 

record producer, 

song writer, sold over 90 million albums worldwide, 

considered one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time and the best selling artist from 2000 to 2010. But before that, he dropped out high school, he had personal struggles with drug addiction and poverty leading to depression and an unsuccessful suicide attempt.  

“Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.” -Charles Jones