Tony Williamson

"Th by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upwards in the night."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

If you have an intense, implacable and burning desire to succeed, you will succeed despite the odds against you. The people who are successful today, the rich and famous, the super achievers, were not born with the proverbial gold spoon in their mouth. Many, perhaps most, had to overcome staggering odds, obstacles and difficulties to be where they are today. You may see them living in Beverley Hills, or driving a Lexus or Mercedes-Benz, but many of these same people were born in ordinary circumstances, some in deep poverty.

Others had physical disabilities and faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some were abused as children, others abandoned. Some dropped out of school - many referred to as dunces - but went on to succeed in life.

I once attended a function in which the late Paul Geddes, the Red Strip beer mogul and multimillionaire was being honoured. The guest speaker of the evening made an interesting observation in his speech. He said that it was not unusual that while at school there were always some people who came in the bottom five per cent of the class. But here's the interesting thing: The bottom five per cent often went on in life to employ the top five per cent!

From bottom up

Multimillionaire Paul Geddes was driven to build an empire despite being at the bottom of his class. - File

When Paul Geddes got up to speak and to accept his award, I'll never forget what he said: "Ladies and gentlemen," he shyly remarked, "I was one of those in the bottom five per cent of class." Yet here was a man, rich beyond imagination, employing hundreds in his then Red Stripe beer empire. How did that happen?

The fact is that life deals each of us a certain hand. But it is not the hand that life deals you that is important. What is REALLY important is how you play your cards. It's not the wind that blows, it's the set of the sail. Your brain, your imagination, your will to succeed is what will take you from failure to success. You do not need a university degree, for the world is full of educated derelicts (I have nothing against a university degree). You do not need to have been born in a wealthy family. You do not need to be white, brown, black or yellow. All you need is an intense desire to succeed, an uncompromising belief in yourself and your potential and a way to see obstacles as stepping stones to success. Of course, hard work is what turns potential to achievement.

ROLE MODELS

History is full of stories of people who succeeded against stag-gering odds, people who were told their situation was hopeless. But they refused to let other people define what they could or could not do. Les Brown, the renowned international motivational speaker, was told that he was "academically retarded" and when a teacher asked him to write something on a board, he refused, telling the teacher that he had been described as "academically retarded".

The teacher looked him squarely in the eye and told him, "Young man, never, never, NEVER, accept someone else's definition of your capabilities. Let NO ONE tell you what you cannot do!" Brown said that changed his life and today an "academically retarded" man is a multimillionaire and great motivational speaker.

Ben Carson's authorship is as inspirational as his life story.

The famous brain surgeon, Dr Ben Carson was told he was a dunce and could not make it academically. But his mother told him he could achieve anything he wanted, if he only believed in himself. It worked. Today he is world-famous! After a lifetime of defeats, at 62, Winston Churchill became one of Britain's greatest prime ministers. And Abraham Lincoln wracked up a string of defeats before he became president of the United States. And what obstacles did Barack Obama have to overcome to be where he is today?

Obama mania has spread like a wildfire with the mantra, 'Yes, we can'.

You, too, can succeed against the odds, for deep within you lies awesome power, the power to turn dreams into reality and to achieve greatness in life. All you need is a vision of greatness, a written-down plan and a commitment to work as if everything depends on it.

Tony Williamson is an international motivational speaker, sales trainer, author and lifestyle consultant. Email tonywilliamson_57@yahoo.com.