No denying the fact that rags to riches stories inspire many of us during our tough times. Whether it be about mental illness and physical illness, this genre always leaves an ever-lasting appeal on us and prepares us to cope up with any such things with our determination and willpower. These stories enlighten us to get the purpose of life. While many of us focus on 9-5 jobs, these books tell us to build something great that is beneficial for all the people around us.
With these stories, we can get to know how people in any sector became successful. Unlike any other genre, the rags to riches story not just generate publicity but also helps entrepreneurs around the world. Many young entrepreneurs prefer to read these stories for getting inspiration and to prepare themselves to overcome the obstacles coming in their way.
Although there are so many motivational quotes on the Internet yet we tend to forget them when obstacles come. So, what is the best way to make ourselves strong during hard times in life? The answer is rags to riches stories. With these stories, we get into the deep insights of human nature, we get the guidance to achieve our set goal.
Well, No one knows better than the people in rags of how bitter life would be. Through their stories, the author tells us that rags and riches are nothing for them. The thing that matters the most is the determination and willpower that get them closer to the goals. In this guide, we are offering some best rags to riches stories that will blow your mind with the worldview of each character. So, let’s proceed with the article and get to know about the most famous rags to riches stories.
It should be noted that this is going to be a helpful guide for all the readers and young entrepreneurs who are searching for the best kind of motivation. I hope you like this article.
Famous Rags to Riches Stories
Made of Steel – Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie is among the top 5 richest people. He is known as the American Industrialist. In his time, he built up a company that grows more steel than all of Great Britain. In 1901, he sold his Carnegie Steel Company to JP Morgan for $480 million. Belonging to a poor background, he never limited himself to achieve his goals.
Carnegie was born in a poor family and started from zero. He was living in a small house in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1833. Earlier, the family occupied a small business which later on collapsed and thus developed Carnegie to win the battle of circumstances through hard work. The misery of the family is such that they prefer to go to sleep to forget the misery of hunger.
When he turned into a 12-year-old boy, Andrew Carnegie with his family moved to Pittsburgh, where all the family members slept together in one room. At age 13, Carnegie joined a textile company and started working there as a bobbin boy. The working hour was 12. So, he worked 12 hours, 6 days a week for $1.20 per week. From this time, he never looked back and kept on moving to find the motive of his life.
At the age of 15, he turned into a telegraph messenger in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph Company and learned all the names and locations of Pittsburgh’s top businesses. During this job, he met Colonel James Anderson who owns a 400 volumes personal library to working boys each Saturday night. This phase emerged as the turning point in Carnegie’s life as it gave a good boost to Carnegie’s education and passion for reading everything on economics.
3 years later, at age 18, Carnegie occupied the position of telegraph operator at the Pennsylvania Railroad company. Through his hard work and passion to achieve progress, he was assigned a crucial position within the business. The executive of the RailRoad, Thomas Scott provides growth to Carnegie’s career and motivates him to make his first investment. At this moment, Carnegie got to know the value of an investment and not only to Pennsylvania Railroad, but he had also invested in railroad cars, railroad track, messenger business, and many more. This counted as his start in steel investing.
Consequently, Carnegie dedicated himself to the financial world and kept on investing and working and at the same time caring for his ailing mother. He decided to not marry until the age of 51 to care for his mother. Moving on, he tried to offer the best for the education of the poor boys as he had provided through the generosity of Colonel Anderson. At this moment, he started the most extensive iron and steel operations ever controlled by anyone in the US.
When he turned 66, decided to retire and sold his extensive iron business to JP Morgan. Until his death, he spent his last 18 years on philanthropy and gave away $350 million of his wealth. Even after his death, he secured $30 million for various charities and foundations. If we measure his charity in today’s dollars then he gives around billions in his life span. It is the best rags to riches story as not only Carnegie turns himself into rich but also develops all the poor children into a better being with the correct knowledge.
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Homeless to Haircare Products- John Paul DeJoria
There can be possibilities that you haven’t heard before the story of John Paul DeJoria as his story tells us no matter whatever your past is. If you are not developing the belief in yourself then nothing could be changed.
Now, let’s get to know what his story is. Well, many of us have heard of brands like Paul Mitchell Shampoos or Patron tequila. Like any other businessman, we thought that the founder of these two brands also comes from a well-established family and background but what if I tell you that the founder of both was once a member of a gang, homeless, and a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman? You all get shocked, right? For that reason, I have mentioned in the intro part that you might never hear of the story.
It is a motivational story for people who don’t know where to start, who are still struggling with their past, who are in deep conflict with themselves. So, read it thoroughly and draw yourself from the negative instinct.
At age 9, when we all went to school, DeJoria started his first job. He was selling Christmas cards door to door to support his family. Later on, he joined a gang even after being warned by one of his teachers that this path led him towards his destruction. At the age of 17, he decided to join the Navy and spent two years abroad on the USS Hornet. Furthermore, Dejoria at age 22 faced another crisis also when his wife abandoned her husband and her 2-year-old son. She not only left them but also took their rent money and the family’s only car.
This turns out to be the most distressful phase of DeJoria’s life. He was evicted from his own family’s property and forced to live on the streets. But, if hope is there then all is there. So, DeJoria decided to look for new opportunities to earn and to live. So, from 1966-1980 he tried out every possibility to have a meaningful earning. Therefore, he worked as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, janitor, hair care company Redken Laboratories, and insurance salesman.
In 1980, despair knocked at DeJoria ‘s again, and having issues with this wife. During this period, he was working with Paul Mitchell on the project of launching a premium hair care product company. To establish the business, DeJoria and Mitchell require some 5,00,000 dollars. But, the other partner never brought such an amount to them. Adding on, Dejoria provides all the money to his wife and is left with nothing. As a consequence of this, Mitchell and Dejora started the company with only $700.
In the initial days of their business, DeJoria stuck to his morals and decided to never test any products on animals. Unlike any other businessmen, Dejoria tested them on himself. Paul Mitchell is supposed to be sold only to hair salons and 37 years later, Paul Mitchell produces around $900 million in revenue in a year.
If we talk about today then John Paul DeJoria earns a net worth of $3.2 billion. He now has an island and 3 private jets. The most fantastic part is that his childhood home was about one-quarter of his living room today.
If you want to see the moving action of DeJoria’s struggle and his rags to riches story then jump into the documentary named Good Fortune solely based on that. Like Carnegie, DeJoria also does charities by becoming a member of “The Giving Pledge”, a campaign led by Warren Buffet and Bill & Melinda Gates. Just like him, DeJoria wants to provide training services and other programs to the homeless. So that they will not feel alone in this congested world.
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A Magical Story- J.K. Rowling
It is no secret that Harry Potter has developed a new culture in this world. Every student wants to learn this culture through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is the magic of J.K Rowling’s writing that creates the magical world of Harry Potter.
Everyone knows how J.K. Rowling rose from rags to riches and with a quick brief of her life, we will get another motivation to tackle all those negativities that surround us. She took over 5 years 1990-1995 to complete the first Harry Potter book named Philosopher’s Stone. These 5 years brought lots of ups and downs in her life including her mother’s death from MS, a marriage, the birth of a daughter, miscarriage, a move to Portugal separation, move back to Scotland, clinical depression, and raising a daughter as a single mother on welfare benefits. Despite having such transitions in life, she never stops writing and fights back to every circumstance.
In 1994, her husband arrived in Scotland and forced her to obtain an official divorce. By that time, Rowling started to put all her emotions and life struggles into her writing. She decided to never look back and kept on working on her books. She never seated back and cursed the situation but put all her journey into the spontaneous book Harry Potter. After her daughter slept, she resumed her writing no matter how tiring the day was.
When she finished the manuscript in 1995 on an old manual typewriter. She went for its publishing but all the first twelve publishing houses rejected it. Later on, in 1996, an editor at Bloomsbury, a London Publishing house agreed to publish the manuscript. But, he also warned her that she would need to get a day job as there was little chance of making money through children’s books.
From there, we all know how she was respected with the Nestle Smarties Book Prize for all three Harry Potter. She became the first author to win the prize three years running. And then the fourth book comes as a power booster and smashes all records. If you are not aware then let me tell you that a total of 372,775 copies were sold on the first day in the UK and a total of 3 million copies in the first 48 hours in the US.
Each new book of J.K. Rowling broke the previous records. Today, she is getting the reward of her hard work by becoming the second richest female entertainer. She also donates $200 million to various charities focused on multiple sclerosis, anti-poverty, and children’s welfare. She now lives a happy married life with her husband, son, and daughter.
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What you need to understand from these rags to riches stories
Everyone reading this post may be saluting Andrew Carnegie, John Paul Dejoria, and J.K Rowling for their optimistic attitude towards life. Instead of cursing the situation, we must try to prepare ourselves for all the different tasks that churn the best out of ourselves. Being an entrepreneur and a millionaire is not that easy. Everyone has to pay for it. If you are willing to become a millionaire then write your own rags to riches story by taking some risks and the power through the tough times.
Winding Up!
I hope you like my attempt to motivate you through these three rags to riches stories. If you know any other book that inspires you a lot then drop a note in the comments to help inspire others.
