We live in a world that thrives on instant gratification. Many people hit a plateau with work, business, relationships, etc because they aren’t instantly fulfilled. But the people who go deep…those who fight to break through the pain and stagnation and double down in their commitment to rise above superficiality and find real fulfillment–these are the ones who live life intentionally. They become the masters.
There is a power in mastery. Many people dabble in a million things and master nothing and wonder why they’re not fulfilled. As Tony Robbins once said, “people run for the sugar because it feels good, instead of getting past what feels good to the point where you own something.”
When we re-founded OBEO, we went through a serious emotional ride, indescribable to anyone who hasn’t lived it, although many people lived portions of our transitional journey, no one (including our re-building team) has an un-biased, complete perspective. We all suffer from bias…it’s how we justify the world around us.
Michale Phelps once said, “I think when you go through your lowest point in life, I think you’re open to a lot of things, to try and change it, and try to get on the right path.” This was a couple of years ago for us. Since then, we’ve done nothing but rebuilding. But now it’s time to show what we’ve done. For the doubters, we hope we exceed your expectations. For the believers, keep enjoying the ride, because we have only begun.
Who doesn’t love a comeback story? These stories inspire us to face the impossible, build something great, and have positive impact to as many relationships as possible! OBEO has a comeback story that we are going to start telling in 2020.
Here are a few great comeback stories to kick off the new year:
J.K. Rowling
Five years before publishing one of the most influential books of the 21st century, J.K. Rowling was living on welfare and struggling as a single mother.
Rowling wrote the first book in the Harry Potter series while working during the night as a teacher, but the manuscript was rejected 12 times by publishers.
When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone eventually did get published, Rowling was advised not to quit her day job since her chance of success was slim. And, of course, with over 450 million Harry Potter books sold worldwide, we all know how that really turned out!
Steven Spielburg
Steven Spielberg was rejected by his school of choice for film three different times, but he didn’t let that stop him.
Spielberg eventually secured an internship at Universal Studios after enrolling in a different college. During that internship, he was asked to direct a small film, with his work impressing Universal executives so much that they offered him a seven-year contract. He is arguably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
Walt Disney
Before launching an empire that includes resorts, theme parks, film and television studios, retail and so much more, Walt Disney launched his first animation company in 1921.
He had relative success but was forced to go bankrupt after acquiring too much debt. It took Disney several other failures to finally become successful, including losing the rights to one of his most popular cartoon characters, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Even Mickey Mouse and Snow White were first dismissed by critics — until Disney proved them wrong.
Bill Gates
Ever heard of Traf-O-Data? Bill Gates is most famously known as the founder of Microsoft, but his first foray into business was an idea intended to provide traffic reports for traffic engineers.
The company was mildly successful but failed to gain wide recognition after problems with the prototype. Gates eventually moved on to create Microsoft and become one of the youngest self-made billionaires in history.
Michael Jordan
Before becoming one of the best players in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan was a 5’11” aspiring high school sophomore rejected by his varsity team for being too short.
But according to Jordan, failure is just part of eventual success — take it from the man who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships, won the Most Valuable Player award five times and starred in Space Jam (one of the best movies of all time, if you ask us).
“I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career,” Jordan has said. “I have lost almost 300 games. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”