Everyone seems to enjoy and appreciate learning how well-known people from all walks of life have overcome obstacles to achieve their current level of success. Over the years, I’ve compiled a number of short anecdotes that have provided inspiration and motivation in times of need. I shared a few of these narratives in the newsletter feature on our web site. The response was such that we continued to add these short inspirational pieces. We currently have a total of seven segments under the title: When the Going Get Tough:
- When the Going Gets Tough – 1
- When the Going Gets Tough – 2
- When the Going Gets Tough – 3
- When the Going Gets Tough – 4
- When the Going Gets Tough – 5
- When the Going Gets Tough – 6
- When the Going Gets Tough – 7
Within those seven segments, you’ll find a total of 41 short, interesting, anecdotes that will certainly add a little inspiration and encouragement to your daily grind. There is much to be learned from observing the efforts of others as they strive to succeed. We feature snipets concerning both individuals and organizations. For instance, you’ll find such well known characters as:
- Lucille Ball   Â
- Jay Leno
- John F. Kennedy
- Sam Walton
- Garth Brooks
- Marilyn Monroe
- The Beatles
- Katie Couric
- Ben Franklin
- Beethoven
- Thomas Edison
- Sigmund Freud
We also feature a variety of organizations including:
- Xerox
- Home Depot
- The Gap
- Fed-Ex
- Kinko’s
For the convenience of our blog readers, we’ve decided to continue this feature within these pages. We encourage you to visit these earlier anecdotes.
In the future, all additions to this series will appear here on the blog for your convenience. Share these stories with your children and grandchildren as there is much to learn from the tribulations and triumphs of those who have attained great notoriety. Current and future leaders can also benefit from revisiting these interesting revelations.
For our first blog installment in this series, we offer the following narratives.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He later became one of the most popular authors of all time, producing such well-known novels as A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Great Expectation, Oliver Twist, and A Tale of Two Cities. Can you imagine working in that factory every day next to a fellow employee possessing that kind of potential? You may very well be doing just that right now.
Hank WilliamsÂ
Hank Williams spent his early childhood selling peanuts, shining shoes, delivering newspapers and doing other simple jobs as he moved frequently throughout southern 
Alabama with his mother and sister. He was born with a mild undiagnosed case of spina bifida, a disorder of the spinal column, which gave him life-long pain—a factor in his later abuse of alcohol and drugs. He later became one of the greatest country and western singer-guitarist-songwriters in history! He also become an icon of country music and rock ‘n’ roll, and was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. A leading exponent of the honky tonk style, he had numerous hit records, and his charismatic performances and succinct compositions increased his fame. He was the first performer to receive six encores at the Grand Ole Opry, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Academy of Country Music, and has received a vast number of Grammy awards for his work. His songbook is one of the backbones of country music, and several are pop standards as well. He has been covered in a range of pop, gospel, blues and rock styles. His premature death at the age of 29 helped fuel his legend.
J.K. RowlingÂ
J.K. Rowling’s first marriage to a Portuguese television journalist ended in divorce after less than one year. She then moved with her infant daughter to Edinburgh, Scotland, where she lived on welfare benefits in an apartment infested with mice. It’s hard to believe that in under 10 years someone can go from surviving off of government assisted living to becoming one of the richest people in the world. She did so by creating the Harry Potter teenage wizard book series, selling over 350 million copies in 55 languages, including Latin and Ancient Greek. Rowling has parlayed Harry Potter into a global brand worth an estimated $15 billion. She is the 136th richest person in the world and the thirteenth richest woman in Britain. Forbes Magazine named her the 2nd richest female entertainer in the world and the 48th most powerful celebrity. She’s one of only five self-made female billionaires and the first billion-dollar author. The empire has grown to include movies, toys, videos, clothing, Band-Aids, cologne, and even gross-out Jelly Belly beans infused with such Hogwarts flavors as earwax, dirt and booger.
|
Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.    
|
|
Motivational Training or Motivational Keynote Presentation Information
Motivational and Inspirational Articles
Motivational Books and Motivational Posters |
I received an unusual phone call today from a free lance writer in New York City who provides articles to a number of national magazines. She had apparently visited our blog and, as a result, wanted to chat with me about an article she’s writing on the subject of workaholics, control-freaks, and those who simply can’t “let go.” She’s responding to a growing number of inquiries on this subject from several of the magazines she writes for. Apparently there’s an increasing interest in this common challenge. We had a nice conversation covering a lot of territory.
As a career choice, we all dig holes.
How do you best contribute?
By the way …
Continuous education,
Here’s a classic that seems to appear more and more realistic with every newspaper I read or television newscast I see. I first saw this definitive narrative on a poster hanging on the wall in the office of a CEO we were working with. You may want to read this one twice, share it with family and friends, and make a copy to hang on your own office wall before passing it on to a future leader!
In the spirit of C.A.N.I. (Continuous And Never-ending Improvement), here are this week’s new facts—one for each day of your coming week. Pass them on to others to keep the spirit alive or invite your friends and family to visit our blog where they can also view previous entries.
As we approach the busy winter holiday season, it’s easy to overlook details as we hurriedly prepare for special events—at home and at work. For those of you who haven’t fully completed your monthly calendar, the following info may be of use. Use this data in plotting some get-away time with your family, sales and marketing promotions for your organizations, in-house celebrations or competition among your staff members or simply expanding your knowledge base concerning the month of November.
When you stop and think about it, we can be very much like either of those components. Which one are you? Think about it—a thermometer measures the temperature. A thermostat changes the temperature. One tells about the conditions surrounding it while the other makes a difference in those conditions in the environment where it is located.
It takes courage to make the move from a thermometer to a thermostat—one who has the inner power to set a new direction. Perhaps, the greatest challenge that you will ever face is developing the courage that brings you an unshakable self-confidence. Fortunately, developing courage can be learned and even enhanced—it just takes practice.