Oprah’s visit to India has created quiet a stir with everybody wanting to meet her, and why not? She is, after all, the most powerful woman in America. What’s commendable about her is that she was not born this way; but worked her way up the ladder, and the success and fame she has got is very well deserved. She is a true ‘rock star’. She was poor and she had no parents to pamper her and take care of her (she was born to two teenagers who ended their relationship once she was born). She however had one quality – she learned to read before the age of three. That was the only possession she had and she used it to develop herself and her career. She was a great student and was able to impress everybody with her knowledge (because she read more than others). Today, any book that Oprah picks up is guaranteed to become an international best-seller. A strong will and a steely determination are what made her a success.
Another child born to unwed parents not just rocked his career but also the world. Steve Jobs had the passion to follow his dreams and face all the ups and downs in his career without ever giving up. He was the biggest ‘rock star’ of business.
NEVER SAY DIE
The ‘V’ sign made using the index finger and the middle finger used to be considered a rude English hand sign in the Middle Ages. The French would cut off the middle and index fingers of any English bowman so that they could never shoot again. The English would taunt the French by raising their fingers to say, “I can still shoot you…” However, this ‘V’ sign changed its complete meaning when Winston Churchill raised his fingers to depict ‘victory’. He was the man who was the ‘rock star’ of World War II, for he never gave up and told his people to do the same. He prepared the nation for battle with the Nazi army and after five years of fighting and a near defeat, victory was finally theirs. It was this attitude that brought them success and ‘victory’. He was one of the finest leaders of Britain and his leadership capabilities were best displayed during the Second World War. Consider the fact that this was the same boy who stuttered as a child, did poorly in school and was rejected by both Oxford and Cambridge. Churchill never gave up till he succeeded.
He also did not do well in school, so he decided to grow Christmas trees and raise budgerigars. Both his projects failed. However, by the age of 16, he was able to publish a magazine and start a small mail-order business. Today his group ‘Virgin’ is a conglomerate of 200 companies present in 30 countries. Not just this world, Richard Branson soon plans to expand his business beyond the planet. He plans to take ordinary people into space on Virgin Galactic. The man thinks, looks and works like a rock star.
He grew up in an orphanage as his widowed mother could not support him. He worked in a factory that made moulds for auto parts and frames of eyeglasses. At 23, he opened his own eyeglass frame shop and today, his company ‘Luxottica’ is the world’s largest maker of eyeglasses, glares, et al. Today, Leonardo Del Vecchio is valued at $10 billion!
It’s been noted that two-thirds of the world’s billionaires made their fortunes by starting from zero. It was not inheritance but persistence that made them succeed.
Easier said than done, but this is the true spirit of a ‘rock star’. They never give up, they never say die.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOURSELF
Just a mention of his name brings a smile to anyone’s face; yet this man lived a childhood that gave him very few reasons to smile. Jim Carrey, the rock star comedian of Hollywood, had to work long hours while still in school. He and his family used to live in a camper van. But Jim knew that he had the ability to make people laugh. He decided to pursue his passion and at 16; he dropped out of school and moved to LA. It was a big risk, but he knew that he had something different to offer. Most importantly, he knew that this was what he wanted to do most; so he put everything at stake to follow his dream. If you are focused, you are bound to succeed. He landed himself in a part in a sitcom called ‘The Duck Factory’ and soon, his career was rocking!
As Steve Jobs had once said, “Life is too short. Don’t live with the result of other peoples thinking.”
She was divorced & had a small child to take care of; yet she decided to follow her heart and do what she knew she was best at – that was to write. So she did not pick up a regular job and instead wrote a book based on an idea that came to her on a train ride. Her book summary was rejected by many publishing houses till one liked it. J. K. Rowling took a huge gamble, for it is very difficult to be noticed in the publishing world; but she believed in herself. Today, she is the first author to become a billionaire and her book sales rocked the publishing world and set new benchmarks.
The one business Lakshmi Niwas Mittal understood best was his family business of steel-making. So he ventured out to do what he knew he was best at and did not hesitate to buy a run-down plant in Indonesia and start Mittal Steel. Today, ArcelorMittal is the largest steel company in the world!
He always had a knack for business. As a young boy, he found an easy way to make money. He would buy matches, fish, pens, Christmas decorations, et al in bulk and sell them for a profit to his neighbors. He knew he was best at business; so when he got good grades in school, he asked his father for a loan and started his mail-order business. He knew the importance of keeping prices low if one wanted to make it big. This business acumen has made IKEA the biggest furniture company in the world today and its founder Ingvar Kampard is one of the world’s richest.
Think deep and find out what it is you can be the best at in the whole world, and then devote all your energies to that; without bothering about initial failures, without bothering about other’s opinions. Stay focused and success is bound to happen. All stars will tell you this.
NEVER LET MONEY MOTIVATE YOU
“I was worth over $1000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.” These were the words of Steve Jobs, who showed the world how to live life on your own terms. His stepfather chased him out of his house when he was a child. He became a salesman but lost his job and his wife left him. He had only one mission, and that was to be able to keep his son happy. He slept in the subway station bathrooms, but he did all that he could to keep his son happy. A job in Bear Stearns, days and nights of hard work and things finally did change for Chris Gardner, when he finally could manage to open his own brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co. His story became the theme for the Will Smith starrer movie “In Pursuit of Happyness”. Life is actually not very different from the movie title. Pursue happiness and not money, and it (money) will eventually come to you on its own.
Traditionally, rock stars were defined as people who were part of a rock band. But today, rock stars have come to be known as people who don’t follow rules. They are not happy being good, but go out of their way to be extraordinarily good. There is something totally unique about them. Today, in business, those are the ‘miracle workers’ who are called rock stars. Some call them ‘rock stars’ because they are the best of the best and super experts in their field. For some, ‘rock stars’ are ‘brands’ of success. They are larger than life. For still others, they are those who believed in themselves and went ahead and did exactly what they believed in.
Whatever your definition of a rock star, remember that anyone can become one, and in whichever field he chooses. If you have the faith, if you believe in yourself and if you are ready to put everything at stake to achieve your goal; then you too could be a rock star!