99 Perseverance Success Stories: Encouragement for Success in Every Walk of Life

By Michal Stawicki and Jeannie Ingraham

"99 Perseverance Success Stories: Encouragement for Success for Every Walk of Life" has an emotional charge that will have you reaching for the tissues or turning the page because it:

· Covers the one next door, the one at the top, and the one at the bottom
· Keeps each story short and easy to digest
· Follows people from every continent in the world (even Antarctica!)
· Lets you participate in the lives of men and woman from their lowest through their pinnacle
· Motivates you when you feel your perseverance slipping away
· Provides needed repetition that psychologists say leads to the brain to fully integrate the concept of perseverance and success.
· Allows you to pick and choose your role models based on religion, race, occupation, and gender identity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michal Stawicki
• Release date: Aug 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781524284626

Michal Stawicki

Proven techniques from a practitioner. True stories.Does the concept of 'visualization' sound ridiculous to you?Do you consider mental exercises, the "law of attraction", "manifesting" and self development to be a waste of time or hokey-pokey?Has it been years since you thought seriously about your life?Welcome to the club! That describes me just a year ago. I was overweight, stressed, constantly worried about my finances and quietly desperate about my relationship with God. I was aimless. I had no plans for where my life would be in 2, 5 or 10 years.I'm a reader. I've read several thousands books in my life; there wasn't much else to do in Poland before the fall of communism. We had a black and white TV with only 2 channels; I didn't see my first computer until age 11. So, reading became my biggest habit.In August 2012 I read a book called "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson. It took me a whole month to start implementing ideas from this book. That led to me reading numerous other personal development books, some effective, some less so. I looked at myself and decided this was one person who could surely use some development. In November of 2012, I created my personal mission statement; I consider it the real starting point of my progress. Over several months I applied several self-help concepts and started building inspiring results: I some weight, greatly increased my savings, built new skills, got rid of bad habits and developed better ones.I'm very pragmatic, a "down to earth" person. I favor utilitarian, bottom-line results over pure artistry.Despite the ridiculous language, I found there is value in the "hokey-pokey visualization" stuff. I now see it as my mission to share what I have learned.My books are not abstract. I avoid going mystical as much as possible. I don't believe that pure theory is what we need in order to change our lives; the Internet age has proven this quite clearly. What you will find in my books are:- detailed techniques and methods describing how you can improve your skills and drive results in specific areas of your life- real life examples- personal storiesSo, whether you are completely new to personal development or have been crazy about the Law of Attraction for years, if you are looking for concrete strategies, you will find them in my books. My writing shows that I am a relatable, ordinary guy, not some ivory tower guru.I've been married over 12 years. I'm a father of two boys and one girl. I work full time in the IT industry, and recently, I've become an author. My passions are transparency, integrity and progress.

Book preview

99 Perseverance Success Stories

Encouragement for Success in Every Walk of Life

Written and Published By: Michal Stawicki & Jeannie Ingraham

Copyright © 2015 Michal Stawicki & Jeannie Ingraham

Table of Contents

Introduction

Li Ka-shing

Emmanuel Dapidran (Manny) Pacquiao

J.K. Rowling

David Seidler

Maurizio Baldini

Walt Disney

Maricel Apatan

Bob Huskey

Akio Morita

Shania Twain

Robert Sternberg

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Amy Carmichael

Spencer West

Ernest Shackleton

Oprah Winfrey

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Frederick Austerlitz (Fred Astaire)

St. Monica (Mother of St. Augustine)

Alan Rickman

John and Washington Roebling

The French Huguenots

Emily Blunt

Blessed Jan Beyzym

William Kamkwamba

Courtney Maum

Arthur Boorman

Ben Carson

Markita Andrews

Sheldon Adelson

Paul Rokich

Inas Khammi

Michael Jordan

Marilyn Monroe

Jason Mercado

Natalie du Toit

Milton Hershey

Soichiro Honda

Grandma Moses

Winston Churchill

Hee-ah Lee

Lionel Messi

Charles Schultz

Chris Daughtry

Alessandra Ambrosio

Howard Schultz

Eminem

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Richard Branson

Bethany Hamilton

James Carville

Thomas Edison

Kathryn Joosten

Nelson Mandela

Frank Winfield Woolworth

Stephen King

Kelly Fitzpatrick

Rowland Hussey Macy

Robert H. Goddard

Mary Kay Ash

Arunachalam Muruganantham

Leonardo Del Vecchio

Tyler Perry

Nora Roberts

Rick and Dick Hoyt

Colonel Harland Sanders

Elizabeth Holmes

Justin Peters

Richard David Bach

Lucille Ball

Sidney Poitier

Christophe Sambalé

Genevieve Liu

Abraham Lincoln

Danielle Josey Davis

Derek Redmond

Erin Brockovich

Haile Selassie

Chris Gardner

The Beatles

Tegla Loroupe

Auguste Rodin

James Rea Denny

Kathrine Switzer

John Paul DeJoria

The Apostle Paul

Ursula Burns

Herschel Walker

Jerome Allen Seinfeld

Margaret Mitchell

James Clark Ross

Tony Malloy

Aron Ralston

Dian Fossey

Polynesian Sailors

Abraham and Sarah

Roald Amundsen

Phyllis Latour Doyle

Norman Borlaug

About the Authors

A Small Favor

The Fastest Way to Change Your Life

Index

Introduction

You’ve just a hit a wall. Not a flimsy little household drywall you can punch your way through, but a Great Wall of China, you-can-see-it-from-space type of wall.

You know what I am talking about, right? You’ve been chugging along in life and doing pretty well, but you want something: a better job, a new house, a spouse, to run a 5k.

What happens instead? A wall slams down. Sometimes, the wall is dramatic: You lost your job, the bank denied you for a mortgage, your boyfriend or girlfriend dumped you, and you broke your leg. No house, no job, no spouse, no 5k. But sometimes, your wall isn’t anything actively bad; it’s just the grind getting to you. And that can feel almost as bad.

Michal contacted me right in the middle of the day. I am a career writer, and let me tell you, no one knows more about daily rejection than a writer (except for maybe a few of the people in this book). For the past two years, I have daily sent emails to publishers or agents. And daily, I get rejection letters. I get excited if I get personalized rejection letters instead of forms. I remember one in particular that read, Your writing is superb, but we just don’t feel we have space for a project like yours.

Zing.

Despite, or because of, these daily rejections, writers are great at encouragement. We form crazy communities where we tell stories about perseverance that paid off in the end, and we encourage others to keep trying. I keep a file of successful failure stories on my computer.

This book came from one such story: I randomly emailed Michal after I read his book Trickle Down Mindset to give him a touch of encouragement, and he emailed me back, asking if I would like to join him on a project. Success! I have persevered.

If you have read anything of Michal’s, you know he is big on perseverance. He’s a writer, so he has to be. In any case, he wanted to write a book about perseverance, using stories from many different people, centuries, and continents.

Bingo. I had already started that perseverance file.

Together, Michal and I have worked hard to find the best stories of perseverance from around the world. We’ve made sure to include stories from all seven continents, starring people of all ages and all times—from the biblical Abraham all the way up to Steve Jobs. In these pages are 99 stories designed to inspire and encourage you. Read a few and put the book down or pick your favorite and research it more. Sometimes, all we need to keep going is a hero and role model.

If you’d like to share your own story of perseverance, Michal and I are all ears. Send us an email. We would love to hear how our work has encouraged you or how you have encouraged someone else.

Michal Stawicki and Jeannie Ingraham

[e-mail], [e-mail]

www.expandbeyondyourself.com, www.jeannieingraham.com

Li Ka-shing

Many people around the world have triumphed over poverty and tragedy to become wealthy and successful, but no one has started with as little and achieved as much as Li Ka-shing.

Li was born in 1928 in Chaozhou, Guangdong, China. When he was a young child, he and his family fled to Hong Kong to escape Japanese bombing raids. Not long after, Li was dealt a terrible blow: his father died of tuberculosis. Li was infected with the disease as well, and there were days when he wondered if he would follow his father to the grave. Fortunately, he recovered; unfortunately, his family was too poor for him to go back to school. At the age of fourteen, Li went to work in a plastics factory, where he labored sixteen hours a day.

It would have been easy for Li to work mindlessly and give up on having a better life, but he didn’t. He took the opportunity to learn everything he could about the plastics business, and at 22, he opened his own company, Cheung Kong. At first, Li’s company only made plastic decorative flowers, but Li didn’t stop learning. He began investing in real estate, buying up properties all over Hong Kong. He also acquired an interest in a struggling British trading company, Hutchison Whampoa, and a Canadian energy company, Husky Oil. Under Li’s shrewd management, all of these companies prospered. The boy who had once made plastic flowers for pennies became a multi-billionaire, and he continued to grow his empire with timely investments in Facebook and Skype. His current net worth is more than $30 billion, making him the richest person in Asia.

Li enjoys a privileged lifestyle, but he never stops working, and he’s committed to giving to others. The Li Ka Shing Foundation has donated more than $1.6 billion to education and other causes. Li gave $690 million to found Shantou University and another $40 million to create a biomedical research facility in the University of California at Berkeley.

At 86 years old, Li Ka-shing is still active, involved with his companies, and passionate about helping others. He’s never forgotten his dark days of poverty and suffering, but he’s risen above them to make a good life for himself and many, many others.

Emmanuel Dapidran (Manny) Pacquiao

When people think of professional boxers, they tend to think of huge, hulking men. Manny Pacquiao destroys that stereotype with a smile, some fast footwork, and a devastating jab.

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao was born in 1978 and grew up in the Philippines. When he was a teenager, he left his home in Kibawe and went to Manila. He hoped to become a fighter but was told he was too scrawny. In response, Manny began working odd jobs, building himself up any way he could. When he was sixteen, he stepped into the ring for the first time—and won. He never looked back. That first bout was the beginning of a professional career record of 57 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws. Manny would also become the only professional boxer in history to win in eight different weight classes.

From fighting for purses of a few thousand dollars, Manny climbed steadily through the ranks until 2008, when he faced boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya for a $15 million guaranteed purse. He won.

Manny Pacquiao became more than an outstanding boxer: he became a symbol of pride and hope for his native countrymen, many of whom struggle to escape the same poverty that he faced. In 2011, the Manny Pacquiao Foundation was started to provide programs and services for the poor and disadvantaged in the Philippines.

In 2007, Manny ran for a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives and lost by nearly 37,000 votes. But he didn’t give up. In the next election, he ran for a seat in a different province under a different party. In 2010 and 2013, Manny was elected to the Congress of the Philippines. Perhaps when he finally hangs up his boxing gloves, he will become Philippine President Pacquiao.

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is one of the most influential modern authors. But her life wasn’t always as glamorous as it looks today, and Rowling underwent many hardships before becoming the world-famous author of the Harry Potter series.

As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories, which she would read to her younger sister. But her childhood was not particularly happy. Her mother was ill, and Rowling was not on speaking terms with her father. After studying at university, Rowling began to work for Amnesty International. Stuck on a train one day, she had the idea that later became Harry Potter, but she was a long way from writing her famous book series.

Rowling married, had a child, and moved to Portugal to live with her husband. But the marriage didn’t last. She found herself jobless and a single parent to her daughter. Writing by day in cafes, and living on public assistance and by waitressing, Rowling eventually wrote the first Harry Potter novel. But the book was not a success. It was turned down by publisher after