Hardships are a part of life. Every day is not the same. With hard work and a positive outlook, one can weather almost all tribulations of time. The following real life stories are testaments to the above-written lines. These are the inspirational stories of three people, who, not only went from experiencing daily struggles to possessing incredible wealth but are regarded as game changers in their respective fields.
Here’s the story of people who went from rags to achieving a lot more than just the riches.
1. Ramesh Babu: Millionaire Barber
He is known as the millionaire barber who comes to work in a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. He was born in 1971 to a barber in Bengaluru, who died when Ramesh was 7 years old, leaving behind just a barbershop. Ramesh’s mother raised her children by working as a cook and renting out the barbershop for a meager 5 rupees a day. These dire circumstances would result in the family surviving on just one meal a day. The severity of these circumstances led the 17-year old Ramesh to reconsider his options of whether to help his mother out or continue studying. He finally decided to reclaim the family salon business and did well enough to support his family and save a little money.
The turning point in his life came when he decided to buy a car, a Maruti Omni, with his little savings combined with a bank loan. The salon business was not enough to support his piling debt and so he decided to rent it out. That was the seed that later bore fruit and turned into his new company – Ramesh Tours and Travels. In the following years, he acquired several small cars but the competition was intense and that is when he decided to invest in luxury cars and was, in fact, the first one to do so. From then, it was a one-way street success for Ramesh. Ramesh’s net worth is a whopping 2 billion dollars, and his clientele ranges from celebrities to politicians.
As of today, he still works at his salon, all the while successfully running his car rental business, dedicating 12 hours each day. He still cuts and styles hair so that he never forgets his humble beginnings.
2. J. K. Rowling: The Most Influential Author of Our Times
The author is known all over the World for her record-breaking work – The Harry Potter Series. Her other achievements boast of not only being the first self-made billionaire author (her net worth is 1 billion dollars) but also one of the only 56 women in the world to earn her own billion-dollar fortune ever. Her book has been the fastest selling book of all time and the Harry Potter movie franchise is the highest-grossing in history. It is safe to say that JK Rowling is rolling in money, but her life was not always like this.
She was born in the southwest of England in a difficult family, partly due to her mother’s illness. At the age of 25, Rowling was at her lowest, grappling with being jobless as well as penniless, a single mother, recovering from her broken marriage and her own mother’s death. She has admitted to falling into depression and considering suicide. For a long time, she relied on state benefits constantly worrying about making ends meet and considered herself the biggest failure she ever knew all the while working on the first Harry Potter book.
It was the year 1997 when she got her big break. After loads of rejections, Bloomsbury publishing house finally gave a green light and the rest is history. In 2015, top psychologists considered her the most influential person in the World as she has inspired an entire generation to read, opening the door to many other avenues for education. As of now, the Harry Potter books are taught as a law course module at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences.
3. Chris Moneymaker: The Pioneer of the Moneymaker Effect
The man behind single-handedly transforming America’s favorite hobby into a legitimate mind sport. The moment, when an accountant from Tenessee, USA managed to convert 86 dollars into 2.5 million dollars victory at the 2003 World Series of Poker Tournament, is still described as being beyond a fairy tale and inconceivable. His historical winning at the WSOP 2003 revolutionized Poker and this revolution, called the Moneymaker effect, brought this mind game to the forefronts.
Much to everybody’s surprise Chris Moneymaker is his real name and not a nickname, which is very common in Poker. His ancestors made silver and gold coins and chose the name “Moneymaker” as a modification of their German last name: “Nurmacher.” He was an ordinary man, juggling two jobs, who was able to win the Poker tournament and the huge amount of money that came along with it based on skill and strategy. The world of Poker experienced a boom, catching the eye of major sports media channels and being regarded as a legitimate mind sport.
The overnight success of Moneymaker has taught him many lessons, two of them being cautious and commanding restraint. His current net worth is of 16 million dollars and, although it does not come as a surprise, the legend has a whole Poker tour named after himself – MoneyMaker PSPC Tour. He is also the author of two books – an autobiography and a children’s book intended to teach basic mathematics and life principles.
There is no denying that luck favored all the people mentioned in this article, but it is their persistence and never-give-up attitudes that brought them the biggest success of their lives. These inspirational humans represent not only the hallmark of success but humility as well. So always remember to never stop and push forward!