Spending too much time online is a surefire way to become hopelessly skeptical, and pessimistic about the world

around us. But what we cant deny is the glimmer of hope and idealism burning away inside that tells us things will get better. Sometimes we just need to resist the eye-rolling that typically comes from reading a sappy, cheesy story someone sends to us. Take the time to experience a moment of inspiration from the stories of these amazing people who with a bit of good fortune, talent, hard work, personal insight, overcame all odds to rise to the top. It could be what it takes to propel us to action against the prevailing attitudes of a cold, cynical world.

Les Brown rose from out of a poverty-stricken, special education childhood to be an award-winning public speaker

Les Brown and his twin brother were adopted by Mamie Brown, a kitchen worker and maid, shortly after their birth in a poverty-stricken Miami neighborhood. Because of his hyperactivity and nonstop jabber, Les was mistakenly labelled educably mentally retarded and placed in special education classes for the learning disabled right through to high school. Upon graduation, he became a city sanitation worker. But he had a dream of being a disc jockey. He listened, practiced, a hairbrush serving as his microphone. One day Les boldly went to the station managers office of the local radio station during his lunch break and told him he wanted to be a disc jockey. The station manager turned him down for his lack of experience but Les returned to the station every day for a week, asking if there were any job openings. Finally the station manager gave in and took him on as an errand boy at no pay. Les did whatever was asked of him at the station and more. He watched and learned, practiced and prepared himself for the opportunity that he knew would present itself. One day, a deejay was drinking while

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on the air and when the station manager called for a replacement, Les was the only other person in the building. He confidently took over, wowing the audience and his manager. From that fateful beginning, Les went on to a successful career in broadcasting, politics, public speaking and television.

Robert Riopel from pizza truck driver to millionaire

Started his working career as a driver for a pizza company. He worked his way from the bottom up, becoming a store manager and eventually running a pizza franchise. He didnt have the finances but came up with a way to buy not one but two stores with no money of his own. He didnt stop there. He acquired more ailing stores and turned them around, making fairly good money while doing so. Unfortunately, Robert also learned how to spend money even more quickly than he earned it, and by the time he and his wife Roxanne were franchisees for eight years, they were over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt. Always being willing and having a zest for learning, Robert came across the teachings of a company that taught him how to manage his money. Robert was able to take what he had learned and turn his financial life around. And within nine months, went from being a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt to financially independent. It was during this time that Robert also found his passion, which was to teach others. Robert spends his time helping others find their passions and be able to live them with success and joy.

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Richard Tan rises from the ashes to inspire many

After graduating with a diploma in electrical engineering Richard started a business selling a non-slip chemical for floors. Not only was the product unable to prevent slipping, it also ruined the floors in the process. Ultimately, it landed him in a $600,000 debt, and resulted in almost 20 lawsuits. He discovered his knack for organizing big events while helping a friend with his which ended up being a resounding success. He started Success Resources and began organizing conferences throughout Asia. In 1995, just 6 weeks before a conference in Hong Kong, only 250 tickets had been sold for a venue that seated 6000. Not only that, he had recently been diagnosed with colon cancer. Disregarding his doctors advice (who thought he was crazy), he flew to Hong Kong, determined to personally sell tickets. He began each day at 7.30am, starting from the top floor of office buildings going door to door to promote the conference. While most people were having their lunch breaks, he would go for chemotherapy treatment. His persistence and never quit till you win attitude continues to inspire many as he travels the world running the worlds largest seminar organizing company.

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Keith Cunningham bounced back from bankruptcy and now teaches others to rebuild their businesses from the ground up

Keith started his first business when he was 11, door-to-door egg delivery. After he graduated, he took a job at a small struggling Cable Television company which ultimately became one of the largest cable television companies in the United States. At the same time, real estate was booming so he shifted his focus and made even more money. In the process, he also personally guaranteed over $100,000,000 in debt. He never saw it coming and when the bubble burst, he was forced to declare personal bankruptcy. He was broke, unemployed and in the process of getting a divorce. While searching for a way to restart his life, a friend called needing some expert advice in turning around his company. After solving his business and financial woes, Keith continued getting calls from other people who had heard about him and his ability to solve massive business problems. His business surgery practice was very handsomely rewarded and he very quickly rebuilt his net worth. Eventually, Robert Kiyosaki approached Keith to write a course about getting out of the rat race which eventually morphed into the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, changing millions of lives. The opportunity Robert gave him reignited his passion for teaching and financial education. He now spends his time doing what he loves, running businesses, investing and teaching regularly with Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker and Robert Kiyosaki.

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Vanessa Tan came from humble beginnings to a world of glamour and now creates ripples of social impact

Vanessa grew up in a family of five. Her parents worked hard as hawkers for more than 30 years before their business collapsed. They went into debt and Vanessa had to work part- time while earning her degree in University. To further help her parents pay down their debt, she took out student loans which she later repaid on her own. After seeing her parents slog all their lives and her early experiences with money, she resolved to learn all she could about investing and making her money work hard for her. She left her comfortable job as a personal banker and embarked on her journey to build an empire. She discovered her purpose along the way that she wanted to add value society and make a difference in other peoples lives in other ways. She won Mrs Singapore World in 2011 and used her beauty pageant career as a springboard for her charitable interests. She now encourages young women from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential. She remains keenly in touch with real estate and investing to further the many social causes she spends her tim with. Her numerous social initiatives have been featured in various news outlets including ChannelNews Asia, 93.8Live and Capital 95.8 and The Straits Times.

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Richard Branson dropped out of school and went on to build a global business empire

Richard Branson struggled with dyslexia and dropped out of school at 16 to start a youth-culture magazine called Student. The publication, run by students, for students, turned into a nationwide publication and a profitable enterprise. Richard was always very focused on trying to set up a business and create something even from that young age. During this time that Branson had the idea to begin a mail-order record company called Virgin to help fund his magazine efforts. The name Virgin was suggested by one of Bransons early employees because they were all new at business. The company performed modestly, but made Branson enough that he was able to expand his business venture, adding a record shop in Oxford Street, London. Today, Virgin is a respected brand across the globe, spanning 34 countries, in 400 companies, in almost every conceivable industry. We would say the skys the limit Except that hes even broken through that boundary with space tourism. He was knighted in 1999 for his contribution to entrepreneurship, and in 2009 he landed at No. 261 on Forbes World Billionaires list with his $2.5 billion in self-made fortune, which includes two private islands.

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Greg Secker started watching others trade and learning until he outperformed them

Gregs career began in Thomas Cook Financial services. He then moved over to the foreign exchange business to run the first online real-time Forex trading platform. His career quickly soared and at the age of 25, Greg was a Vice President at Mellon Financial Corporation, then a major Fortune 500 investment bank in the United States (not bad going for a man in his early twenties.) Here he was lucky enough to be working alongside some of the very best Forex traders every single day. Absorbing all he could in his time there, and using the very same trading strategies he discovered, Gregs personal trading account grew to the extent where he was able to retire at the young age of 27 to set up a trading floor from his home. A multi-millionaire by his twenties, Greg has gone on to create and run Knowledge to Action, one of Englands most successful and fastest growing companies and blazed a path for the everyday-man in the street to walk towards financial freedom. Greg is proud to own Europes top trader coaching company and is passionate about helping people achieve their financial goals and live life as passionately as he does.

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Blair Singers harsh reality check causes him to redefine his life and lead others to do the same

In 1982, Blair was rudely awakened to the painful reality of a divorce and the loss of a lot of money. He had a revelation: the money he had made and lost, and the relationships that worked and the ones that did not, all had one thing in common: HIM! From the darkest depths of despair, Blair resolved to pick himself up. If he wanted anything to change, he would have to fix what was going on internally and master his inner Little Voice that was undermining his happiness and success. So began a 25year journey, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars, he didnt even really have, to work with the best and most powerful mentors, coaches and personal development gurus in the world. Each insight he learned, made him more money and enabled him to build better businesses. He eventually found the love of his life and built an incredible family. He began living the life of his dreams. But he didnt stop there. He wanted more people to discover and experience the same success he found. He now coaches and speaks to tens of thousands of people all around the world on Little Voice Mastery and how it can be applied to better anyones personal and professional life.

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Courtney Smith used to manage other high net worth clients to being a high net worth investor himself to teaching others to grow their wealth

Courtney Smith started his career in the financial sector at PaineWebber managing the accounts of clients and astutely investing in financial derivatives. His talent was recognized and soon, he had moved on to Banca della Svizzera Italiana (BSI), a Swiss bank, managing mutual funds, client accounts. There, he was responsible for the trading activities of the New York branch as well as trading and marketing fixed income and foreign exchange derivatives for the entire bank. In his long history within the financial industry, Courtney has earned a reputation of being one of the most successful investors of the last 30 years. He has created top track records in many investment disciplines. He is the only person in history to have a highly ranked hedge fund, stock picking letter, mutual fund, and futures newsletter. In addition, he is the author of 8 books on investing and has appeared on over 1000 TV shows since on such national television shows as Wall Street Journal Report, and Moneyline as well as other shows on CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNN, and CNNfn. He now spends his time investing in people. He chairs the Investment Mentoring Institute which provides training and mentoring for individual and institutional investors in stocks, futures, and foreign exchange.

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T. Harv Eker went from zero to millionaire in 2 1/2 years

T. Harv Eker is the son of European immigrants who came to North America with only thirty dollars to their name. Money was scarce throughout his childhood, so at thirteen, he began his work career. As a teen he delivered newspapers, scooped ice cream, sold novelties at fairs, and suntan lotions at the beach. After a year at York University, he decided to take time off to pursue his dream of becoming a millionaire. He had a variety of jobs and started more than a dozen different businesses, and eventually hit the jackpot. He opened a chain of retail fitness stores and in 2 1/2 years, grew the business and sold part of the company to a Fortune 500 corporation. He was finally a millionaire; however, in less than two years, through a combination of poor investments and unchecked spending, he was back at his original net worth 0. It was at that point that Harv began developing his theories about peoples mental and emotional relationship to money. He penned Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, which became a bestseller and spawned a multi-million dollar personal development empire.

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