Success Advice
How It Started VS How It’s Going: 5 Inspiring Success Stories

How it started vs. how it’s going; The idea has been trending since September 2020. We’ve seen thousands of amazing stories about career breakthroughs, wonderful relationships, and how dreams come true. It always takes a great deal of hard work, some ups and downs, disappointments, hardships, and even desperation between the before and after shots.
But seeing what people started from in contrast with their achievements is incredibly inspiring! The message of every story is that it’s definitely worth trying. We’ll tell you about 5 famous people whose examples prove that everything is possible even if you start from scratch.
1. David Bowie
How It Started – One of the most gifted, outstanding, and bizarre musicians in history was making unsuccessful attempts to gain popularity for about 7 years. David was 16 years old when he told his parents that he wanted to be a pop star… but his mother got him a job as an electrician assistant. Bowie participated in five bands, released 6 singles and one album. But none of his pieces were commercially successful. Managers weren’t interested in working with him. There was a pretty long series of failures from 1962 till 1969. But he kept trying.
How It Ended – In 1969 an album that included the song “Space Oddity” was released. This song instantly skyrocketed David Bowie’s career. Since then, no one doubted his talent anymore. Bowie created 27 albums, most of which have obtained cult status in the UK and all over the globe. He became one of the best-selling musicians worldwide. His last album called “Black Star” (2016) was a genuine swan song and his death two days later made people burst into tears.
2. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
How It Started – Today’s Belarusian national leader has never desired to become president. It was an ambition of her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky. She used to be an English teacher, an interpreter, a housewife, and a mother of two. But when Sergei was imprisoned without a reason, Sviatlana decided to run for the presidency instead of him.
Then events developed rapidly. From several independent and promising applicants, only she was registered as a candidate. She united with the offices of high-potential politicians and had lots of rallies. She gained wide support, but the elections on August 9th, 2020 were totally rigged. The official results gave her 10,12% votes but there was serious proof that Tsikhanouskaya won the presidential election of the Republic of Belarus.
Thereafter the massive protests all over the country began. Lukashenko chose to suppress them extremely violently. Then authorities threatened Sviatlana and forced her to leave Belarus. She was overwhelmed and frightened by this blackmail and left for neighboring Lithuania.
How It’s Going – The story could have ended at this point but she pulled herself together. Tsikhanouskaya confirmed her commitment to fulfilling the struggle against the dictatorship, to release all political prisoners, investigate all crimes of the regime, and hold the new elections. She’s met with Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, and numerous other leaders of the EU. She made reports for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the United Nations Security Council.
Internationally, she’s recognized as an official representative of the interests of Belarusians. In Belarus, she’s regarded as the president-elect. Recently Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appeared in the Bloomberg 50 amongst the most influential and deserving people of 2020.
3. Elon Musk
How It Started – Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Elon Musk was absolutely unpopular at school. As an odd and introverted guy, he was constantly suffering from bullying. Once, he even ended up in the hospital after his peers pushed him down the stairs.
He was definitely a gifted boy. By the age of 10, he was keen on computing. At the age of 12, he created a video game and sold the code for $500. He attended different universities while working at a farm and lumber-mill.
After a couple of internships in the Silicon Valley, Elon applied for a job at Netscape but didn’t even receive an answer. In 1995 he decided to launch an Internet startup. At that time Musk couldn’t even afford to rent a flat. He was coding at night and slept in their small office.
How It’s Going – Seven years later he made his first $100 million fortune. In 2012 he appeared on Forbes’s Billionaires List. And now Musk alternates with Jeff Bezos for the first place on Bloomberg’s list of richest people in the world. His net worth is estimated at $173.2 billion. Meanwhile, Elon states that he has little interest in the material side of wealth.
Instead, he prefers to develop his incredible projects. SpaceX is making breakthroughs on a regular basis, Tesla became the world’s most valuable car manufacturer in 2020, Neuralink has a perspective to find high-tech salvation from heavy diseases. And how many beautiful concepts are still in his head!
4. Madeline Stuart
How It Started – Madeline was born with Down syndrome and heart disease which was surgically cured right after her birth. Doctors warned her mom, Rosanne, that Madeline would have a tough life. Rosanne didn’t listen to them and started to do her best so that her daughter lived life to the fullest.
Madeline was 18 years old when she visited a fashion show. She was thrilled, so she said to Rosanne: “Mum me model”. Rosanne fully supported her in this aspiration. For this dream, Madeline eventually lost 20 kg and attended her first professional photoshoot. Then she posted the before and after photo on Facebook.
How It’s Going – Now 24-year-old Madeline is the first professional model with Down syndrome in the world. That photo on Facebook gave her 100,000 followers in a single day! She got a modeling contract in 2015 and appeared on New York, Paris, and London Fashion Weeks, as well as many more catwalks. Today she has about 700 000 followers on Facebook, contracts with sportswear and bag brands, and publications in Australian Vogue.
5. Oprah Winfrey
How It Started – Oprah was born in an extremely poor family. Her mother was an unmarried teenager who worked as a housemaid. As a child, Oprah often wore dresses made of potato sacks. She was often harassed by her relatives, so at the age of 13, she left home. At 14, she became pregnant, but her son died in babyhood.
Thankfully, later on, her father put attention to Oprah’s education. She was studying and simultaneously working on the radio. By 19, she was already a co-host for the local news. Her emotional and extemporaneous style prompted her the direction to follow.
How It’s Going – The Oprah Winfrey Show with its confessional interviews had the highest rate in its genre in history. It was broadcasted for 25 years till 2011. Now Oprah is making her new show called The Oprah Conversation on Apple TV.
She’s not only made a fortune but also became the richest African American in the 20th century. Her vision and endorsement are tremendously powerful in varied fields, influencing book sales, public opinion, and even votes on presidential elections. This phenomenon was called “the Oprah Effect”.
Final Word
Having talent and uniqueness means much but not enough to succeed. All these incredible stories showcase that everybody needs loads of perseverance, productivity, self-belief, and riskiness. And a bit of luck, certainly! But the likelihood of luck rises as you keep trying over and over. So why not go for it?
Success Advice
How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success
Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)
Success Advice
How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness
There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.
I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.
I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.
As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.
I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.
Everything legal must come through the matrix
I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.
Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.
The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.
Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.
The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.
Every matrix has an incubation process
While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.
In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.
What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.
However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.
Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.
“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier
You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time
When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.
The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?
First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.
In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.
For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.
For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.
Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.
You must manifest your greatness
As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.
I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.
There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.
Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.
When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.
Success Advice
Here’s a Young Man’s Antidote for the Uncertainty of the Modern World
Why do a lot of young guys lack confidence in today’s world?

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Success Advice
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if you have a leader who displays any of the toxic traits, it’s time to move on to greener pastures.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all crossed paths with a toxic leader in our careers at some point. Unfortunately, while some toxic leaders don’t even bother to hide their behaviour, some know very well how to conceal their true selves behind a strong-built facade. The latter is the most dangerous of the two. (more…)
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