One thing that always inspired me and really helped me hold onto hope during moments of doubt was listening to celebrity success stories. Stories from before they made it; when they were just a regular person with big dreams but were experiencing the struggle and doubt we all feel.
I may not want to be an actor or musician, but I always had big dreams (mainly of being a published author!) and found so much solace in their success stories. Because seeing that these people had down moments where it seemed like their dreams weren’t coming true but then rose above and had it all happen for them (via a true combo of believing and hard work), made it feel like it was possible for me too.
So, I wanted to share some of my favorite stories (with references so you know they’re true! Lol) from some different celebs. I know we usually all hear the Oprah success stories and she is super inspiring ! But I picked a few ones we don't usually hear about that personally really resonated with me and I hope that they inspire you, too!
One Direction
Yes, I’m starting here, because believe it or not this is probably my favorite story. It truly represents such divine timing and a greater plan at play.
I absolutely love the guys of One Direction, not only because they are all talented musicians and just overall super funny and cute guys, but because their story is so inspiring.
They were just 5 average guys from small towns and middle class families across the UK when they each tried out as solo artists for the X factor 2010.
They all made it through their initial auditions, but when it came time to sort out the next round, each were eliminated. They were all heartbroken. There’s literally footage that aired of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan crying thinking their dream was over. How crazy is that to think of now knowing what they become? (Remember that next time you’re crying thinking your dream is over… you never knows what lies ahead and you may just be a moment away from a miracle).
The boys didn’t initially get what they wanted which led them to believe they had failed.
But this is a true case of the Universe always has a better plan.
In footage from that X-Factor episode, the show holds the whole group of eliminated solo artists back and say there’s a few of them that Simon and the other judges have requested to speak with: “Zayn Malik… Liam Payne… Harry Styles…. Niall Horan… Louis Tomlinson…”
They were all nervous and unsure (Louis and Niall are literally seen biting their fingernails) but when they emerge onto the stage, the judges tell them they’d like to put the five of them together as a group and would allow them to continue along in the competition under the group category.
The way the boys jump and scream excitedly realizing they have another chance gives me chills.
Individually, I think Liam’s story is even more inspiring as he tried out in 2008 but was eliminated. He was most likely crushed and could’ve just seen that as a sign it wasn’t meant for him and given up on his dreams and settled for a safe office job. But he came back in 2010 and tried out again. This time making it.
This to me is proof of divine timing. Who knows where Liam would’ve been if he tried to make it on his own… and who knows where the other boys of One Direction would’ve been without him…but we know one thing for sure, Liam was meant to be in One Direction. Every member of One Direction was meant to be there (they might not have been as successful if one was missing from the start!) and that’s why the Universe had to align it so they’d all be there, together, the same year, so they could make their super group.
According to their movie, This is Us, Zayn mentioned how he was even going to skip the audition due to not wanting to get up early, but his mother forced him to wake up and go.
What’s even crazier too is that One Direction did not win that season of the X-Factor. They placed third. But it just shows, the Universe always has a better plan, because they may not have won the competition, but they surely won over the hearts of the world as they became one of the most successful boy bands of all time. (And in my completely biased opinion, the best!)
Their story is just proof of divine timing and of not giving up. The Universe will always give you something better than you may initially have in mind, so don’t ever give up if you still want your dream. Just trust your always being led down the best path possible.
John Krasinski
Imagine a world without John Krasinski as Jim? Your Office crush was so close to never existing… as John Krasinski said he was really about to give up acting.
He moved to New York City with the intention of being an actor and after a few years of trying, he still had not gotten his big breakthrough or any breakthrough. He was still a waiter and he was tired of it all and feeling like it was impossible. He says he called his mom to pick him up because he was done and would try something else. But his mom encouraged him to just wait until the end of the year, that maybe something else would come still come along.
In another moment that gives me chills, John says that a few weeks after that conversation with his mother, he learned he landed his role as Jim on The Office and thus his life was changed forever.
Proof that you may be closer than you think! Sometimes dreams do take years, but you’ll never get anywhere if you give up. Keep going, your dream, may actually be just a few weeks away!
Here's the Youtube video of this interview!
Stephanie Beatriz
I heard an interview once from the amazing Stephanie Beatriz where she was talking about her early struggles with acting. She kept telling her agent that she wanted to be on a show like Parks and Rec that was all she wanted. (I don’t blame her if I was an actress I’d totally want to be in one of those shows too!). She says finally during Pilot season she got an audition for a Michael Schur show, Brooklyn 99. She auditioned for Amy Santiago, but they also had her read for another role called “Megan”. She then says she later learned that Melissa Fumero got cast as Amy, so Stephanie cried and felt it was all over mainly because they never have two Latinas on a show 😢. However, she soon after got a call from her agent saying she got the part of Megan, only now it was going to be Rosa (and they would have two Latina stars on the show!)
So even when you think it may be over, have hope, you never know what may get changed around for you! Not to mention, Stephanie totally manifested getting to be on a show exactly like Parks and Rec, literally from the same creators and casting director and writers!
Marie Lu
If you don’t know, Marie Lu is the bestselling author of the Legend series. In the book Dear Ally, How do you write a book , an informational novel for aspiring young adult writers, by Ally Carter, Ally asks a dozen well-known authors how many times they received rejection letters before they found an agent. Marie Lu stood out to me most because she admitted to receiving 600+ rejection letters … and yet now, years and years later, she’s a New York Times bestselling author. She did not give up; she didn’t let those rejection letters define her or stop her. I was so impressed and amazed and honestly, it gave me sooooo much hope.
In this article, she describes how her dream as a teen to was to be an author and she went for it! She thought her novel was amazing and sent it out to publishers and got rejected every single time. She tried again, writing another novel and submitting it, to which she landed an agent, but they couldn’t sell the book to any publishers.
But this didn’t discourage or stop Marie, she continued to hone her craft and wound up creating such a beloved, bestselling series.
This is a reminder that rejection; even if its from many, many people means nothing about you, personally. Nor is it your indication to stop. You keep doing you, keep trying to be better, keep pouring your heart into your work, and know that someday the right people will see it, and it’ll resonate so deeply with them. Be you always, keep going! Marie is proof that it’s so possible!
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Like majority of the population, I absolutely love Lin-Manuel Miranda. I think he’s so talented, so funny, and such a good guy with a really nice family. I actually met him once in real life! He was doing a signing at the Strand for his book Gmorning Gnight, and I got to briefly speak with him and he was so genuinely nice and enthusiastic!
Anyway, what really inspires me about Lin is that it took him nine years to write Hamilton. Most people would’ve have given up or felt impatient or felt it was taking too long. But Lin had his amazing idea and stuck with it. Which even think about it in the first place: if someone said they were going to write a rap musical about a founding father…don’t you think most people would’ve discouraged that person saying that idea doesn’t make sense? And yet he pursued it anyway. He kept working at it until it was right… and now it’s embedded in history as one of the most brilliant musicals of all time. (I saw it on my birthday in 2018 and honestly I think it somehow even EXCEEDS the hype! I smiled the whole time, it was so incredible and impactful. The actors and the lyrics and the music were just amazing.) Lin’s story reminds us to stick to our ideas, no matter how outlandish they may seem, and keep going no matter how long it’s taking! Trust that it’ll all come together in the right timing; just follow your heart and do the thing! You never know what will happen!
Plus, Lin following his heart and creating Hamilton, led him to have amazing jobs working for Disney (Such as doing the music for Moana and the amazingggg Encanto), so you never know what opportunities can pop up thanks to your one amazing idea!
Lizzo
I remember one morning a few years ago while driving to the train station to take the train into the city for work I had on Z100 (NY’s radio station) and there was an interview with Lizzo, who at the time was just on the break of being a massive star. This was the first time I had heard of her and at this point she was only fairly well-known. She was being interviewed as she was releasing her Cuz I Love You album which we all know became a huge hit. I remember being so fascinated with her story. She talked about how she trained as a classical Flautist and how she tried for years and years to make it in the music industry. She talked about how after her father passed, she was really depressed and spent time living in her car. She toured a lot and was broke and just trying and hoping to make it one day. And sure enough, after years of hard work, her music became widely recognized and loved. Proof that even in the hardest of times, if you keep going you CAN make it happen!
Plus, she was able to use her flute background and incorporate it into her Hip-Hop/R&B/Pop Style which is sooooo amazing and different. Proof that everything you learn can come in handy - the Universe has a purpose for every path we go down.
Katy Perry
I’ll never forget a decade ago when watching Katy Perry’s movie Katy Perry: Part of Me there was a video of her pre-fame crying. She was struggling with the record labels and they all either wanted her to be like the next Britney or Avril Lavigne, but all she wanted to be was the first and one and only Katy Perry - why couldn’t the labels accept that?
Obviously, despite her initial struggles, Katy persevered and didn’t conform to what others wanted her to be; she embraced her true Katy-self and that absolutely is what made her so successful and one-of-a-kind.
Harrison Ford
This is a story about the right place at the right time. Obviously I love Star Wars so of course this story inspires me. I learned of this story in a 2017 interview during Star Wars celebration and loved it because it’s another one of such divine timing. So, it’s definitely widely known that Harrison Ford was actual a carpenter into his late 30’s. He had done a small acting role for George Lucas in the film American Graffiti, but it obviously wasn’t enough, so he still had to keep his carpentry job going. One day, he was hired to fix some doors in the studio and he decided to do it at night so he wouldn’t bother anyone nor would anyone bother him. So, he goes in at night to do his work, turns out its George Lucas’ office and George Lucas happens to show up. George also happened to be working on casting Star Wars at the moment. A truly right place at the right time scenario as it put Harrison Ford at the forefront of George’s mind and definitely helped him get an audition (and the role) of Han Solo.
The Universe always has a plan to make sure the right people meet … I also loved that Harrison trusted his gut, by choosing to work at night. And George Lucas just happening to be there. Imagine if Harrison had chosen to do go in to do the during the day? Too serendipitous. Here’s the interview that this story was mentioned in!
Taylor Swift
Of course, if you know me, you knew I’d have Taylor Swift somewhere on here lol. But for Taylor, I don’t find inspiration in how she got famous, I find inspiration in how she has handled being famous. Taylor has experienced media scrutiny more than majority of celebrity; but she’s always either stuck up for herself or turned it into gold. For example, one of her biggest hits ever: Blank Space, was taken from playing into all the horrible stereotypes people would say about her. Her ability to turn what should hurt or break her into a strength is such a power move and so awe-inspiring.
We all of course know the horrible drama she went through in 2016 where literally majority of the planet unjustly branded her a liar. She tried to explain her truth but no one seemed to care. It must’ve been so difficult; I personally find it so painful when one person thinks a false narrative around me, nevertheless having millions. Taylor definitely had enough money where she could’ve just disappeared forever, but she didn’t. She came back stronger than ever and turned the symbol of the snake that was meant to taunt her into her own personal branding. She is the definition of resilience, of rising above, and her strength speaks volumes and really, really inspires me.
Taylor is just a reminder to us that having our dreams come true doesn't necessarily mean all of our problems get solved (we'll just have new problems) but that we are absolutely strong enough to handle anything. And in the end of it, we just have to not listen to all the other voices and continue to be truly 100% ourselves. We always have to just keep doing what we love regardless of others.
Nicola Coughlan
You may know Nicola as Penelope Featherington from Bridgerton and/or as Claire from Derry Girls - she's a brilliant actress with such range! She's soooo funny as Claire but also flawlessly pulls off such serious dramatic scenes in Bridgerton.
The other day she posted a photo on instagram along with this caption:
I LOVE this so much. She once doubted her dreams was broke and unsure, and now today - she's literally one of the lead characters on Netflix's BIGGEST series EVER. So incredibly magical and again proves that you just never know!
Hope all of those inspired you! Remember, it’s never too late. If you still have a big dream, keep going, you’ll get there. If all of these people can do it, you can do it too!
