Life Lessons
5 Lessons From People Who Experienced Radical Personal Transformation
Success stories that could change your life
Life is a continuous learning experience. Throughout our lives we keep rising and falling, picking up important lessons along the way. Some of these lessons come from experience, others are learned by watching others or reading in books. The following section unveils five important life lessons from people who underwire radical personal transformation to better serve themselves, their loved ones, and civilizations.
Those lessons are extracted from “The Story” podcast which is highlighting individuals and companies who are well known and successful. The podcast is created by the media company The Mission. If you’re ever in need of inspiration or just want a few quick tips to help keep you keep going and improving, just dip into the wisdom shared below.
1. You Won’t Succeed Until You’re Desperate
Started working when he was just a kid. Dropped out of school. Started doing stand up when he was fifteen. Had the responsibility of helping to support his family as a teen. Moved to LA by himself at seventeen. Lived in a closed, and honed his craft for years. When he finally breakthrough, he did so in a way that the world will never forget.
The story of the comedian Jim Carrey is a powerful reminder of what happens when we stop running from our responsibilities and embrace them. We can be depressed by our desperation, or we can use it as a reason to fight. Jim would say that:
“Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything or creating anything. If you ain’t desperate at some point, you ain’t interesting.” ~ Jim Carrey
So, don’t be afraid to put yourself in a position where you’re desperate. Don’t be afraid to choose games or challenges in life where the only option is success. Explore your emotions, try to perform a story or a joke even if it might not bomb. If you are frustrated with the hand you and your family will dealt, use that energy to transform the situation. Being desperate doesn’t feel good, but like every emotion it’s temporary. It doesn’t have to become a habit unless we let it.
Sometimes, you might have to play a part you don’t like, or one that makes you feel dumb or dumber. You might have to live in a closet. Your first attempts might fall short. You might embarrass yourself in front of everyone you know. You might have set so big goals for yourself that they make other people laugh. But no matter what you do, don’t ever stop make people laugh.
That was a lesson from the story of Jim Carrey who learned his craft in the school of hard knocks. And when others would’ve thrown in the towel, he threw himself towards his dream.
2. Never fail to try more
When we execute consistently for years and achieve small daily goals, we can’t help but move closer to our dreams. Along the way, we never know where our efforts will be aided by serendipity or the eight wonders of the world. When we think big but still poses the humility faith to take daily small steps, magic happens. Eventually, our skills and expertise reach a tipping point.
The beautiful thing about business or working on a team that’s improving over time is that if you keep going, you’ll eventually win. Whether you have to go through 52 or 999 or 9999 attempts. If you’re improving and being honest with yourself, you win. Those who can endure each failed attempt, have the greatest chance of winning the greatest victories. Yes, you need many small victories, but ultimately it takes just a single moment of being really right in order to break out. So many people get sucked in the quicksand of the first 999 attempts, but it’s that adversity that forges the mindset you need to persevere. Remember Thomas Edison insight when working on the light bulb, he said:
“I’ve not failed, I’ve just found 10 thousands ways that wont work.” ~ Thomas Edison
No matter how many attempts you make, no matter how old or young you are, no matter how many failures you’ve endured, keep going. Abraham Maslow provided us the type of mindset we need when he said:
“If I would drop out of a plain into the ocean and told the nearest land is a thousand miles away, I’d still swim. And I despise the one who gave up.” ~ Abraham Maslow
No matter what, hold your head up and keep swimming. When we’re exhausted, stopping and sinking into obscurity is easy. If you’re engaged in rigorous self-improvement, at times you’ll feel like you are dropped out into the deep ocean at thousand miles from land, temptations to give up will ton you. Resist them and keep going. Interestingly, from ancient Greeks to the present days, there is an abundance of stories of dolphins arriving out of the blue to rescue shipwrecked sailors.
In the modern world, there are great angels who are the right partnerships who will work on your behalf. If you present them the right propositions, they have the power to rescue you at the exact moment you feel like giving up. You might be in a life struggle that most of us can only imagine but help can come in surprising forms. Sometimes it’s a person. Other times it’s a company. So, no matter what, keep going, keep swimming, keep improving. And remember that if you’ve put in the work and you are good enough to break out and be patient, eventually the miracle will find you.
That was a lesson from the story of the team of the Finnish company Rovio Entertainment who really didn’t understand the notion of quitting. Because for them, every failure was one step closer to success. That team is the one who developed the famous game Angry Birds.
3. Your choices today will let you take agency over your life tomorrow
“You can either see yourself as a wave in the ocean or you can see yourself as the ocean.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
In this quote, Oprah reveals a major part of her success. The greatest discovery in all the time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude. In your own life, perhaps you’re dragged down by the bruisers, offenses, and injustices you’ve endured. They may be caused by circumstances in life or decisions you made or even by people who should be a source of love and trust rather than hurt and pain. If you let those things win, then you are a wave in the ocean. But that doesn’t have to be a permanent state for you. A desire to change your attitude is the first step.
When you work through the pain and channel that energy into building a better future, you can take control of your life. You’re no longer the wave. Now, you’re the ocean. Oprah’s story is an incredible reminder that your choices today will let you take agency over your life tomorrow, or in her own words: “Understand that the right to choose the right path is a secret privilege. Use it! Dwell in possibilities.”
That was a lesson from the story of Oprah Winfrey who suffered early on in life and turned that suffering into an empire.
4. Keep going and keep the flame of hope lit to win your battle
For many across the world, it can feel that the constant hurdles and obstacles of life are too much to handle. We may question if we’ll ever see victory over the battles for the freedom we were fighting for years. Sometimes, it feels like our personal or professional battles will never end. Will we ever find the victory and resulting peace we seek? The answer is yes, but only if we are brave enough to always continue fighting our battles. Over time, we may win certain battles and may even our own personal wars against weaker versions of ourselves.
Maybe those who inspired us to not submit to tyrants won’t live to see us win the final victory. Maybe they will. Maybe we will fall and our children have to pick up the torch to find victory. In the end what’s important is that we never stop. You may not only have enough resources or restraint to keep the flame of hope lit for another day. But no matter what, keep the faith lit. You’ll be able to figure out another solution in the meantime. It takes courage, leadership, and a strong mentality to overcome the challenges we face. No matter what the odds, no matter who or what you’ve lost, keep going, and keep the flame of hope lit. Your light could be so bright that it would help many others find lights of their own.
That was a lesson from the story of Judah Maccabee who led the Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE) against the Seleucid Empire and the Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The story of Maccabean defeating the Greeks was a victory over oppression, a victory for religious freedom that is celebrated by the Jewish festival of Hanukkah known as the Festival of Lights.
5. You never know where your single act of love today will lead to tomorrow
From an abandoned girl, trapped in darkness, loneliness, and hopelessness, with the kindness of a nurse Anne Sullivan broke free and went on to influence the lives of millions of people around the world. At the age of twenty, she was a teacher determined to pass a spark of hope, life, and communication to someone who had fallen through society cracks. She wanted to pass a spark similar to the one she had received. She did it and became well known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller who was transformed into an author, political activist, lecturer, and the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Anne and Helen win on to provide inspiration to millions of people trapped by biological and genetic fate. The name of the nurse who chose to love and nurture Anne is forgotten, but the transformative effects of her action are not. She rescued a girl who had been left for dead on a basement cell. That special nurse planted a seed of love, acceptance, and kindness that would transform the world and ultimately offer hope to millions. It’s likely that the nurse never imagined the end effects of her efforts. But her goal was never to change the whole world, her goal was to change one girl’s world. One girl who had been dealt a rotten hand in life, one girl who desperately needed love and kindness.
It only takes a single spark of kindness to transform another person’s life which can ripple out around the globe. That love and energy can be passed throughout the world to break down walls, soften hards, and lift people up. Every mind you encounter is an opportunity to pass that spark. So, don’t focus on shaping and changing the world all at once. A movement commences with one small act directed to help one person at a time. You can start today with one person you need. You can encourage them, have extra patience, and even speak vision into their lives as Anne reminds us:
“People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved.” ~ Anne Sullivan
You never know where your single act of love today will lead to tomorrow or in a hundred years. Changing the world might be easier than we’ve been led to believe. A nurse, Anne, Helen, and thousands of others have proved it. If they did it with all of their limitations, then why don’t you?
That was a lesson from the story of Keller and her teacher which was made famous by Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life, and its adaptations for film and stage, The Miracle Worker.
The takeaways
Once you realize that life is a great opportunity for learning and for realizing your fullest potentials, you can proactively try to understand how the world works. Some people think that what happens in their lives is out of their control. They hope for the best that life will be kind to them and that they will eventually be in the right place and at the right time.
There is a second type of people who are usually the ones who attain success because they pay attention to the lessons that life teaches them. Some of these lessons are learned the hard way. However, by learning to cope with the challenges, one can come out of the experience wiser, stronger, and more able to face whatever else lies ahead.
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