Success Story: Tyler Perry

Everything great begins small and nothing becomes great without persistence.

47-year old Tyler Perry (born as Emmit Perry Jr, September 1969) is an American actor, comedian, film maker, writer and songwriter. He has achieved great success with his entertainment career, and was once named the highest paid man in entertainment by Forbes in 2011. However, the journey to the top wasn't an easy one. Apart from his career struggles, he had to deal with emotional and probably psychological struggles.

Tyler suffered abuse during his childhood, even from his father. One could imagine the extent of the abuse that he attempted suicide in other to get over with everything. When He was 16-years old, he changed his name from 'Emmit' to 'Tyler' to distance his identity from that of his father (whom he discovered in 2010, wasn't actually his biological father). He also dropped out from high school.

He discovered his passion and got his inspiration when he watched an episode of Oprah Winfrey's talk show (in his early twenties). There was a comment on the program about how writing about difficult experiences could lead to personal progress. He then started writing series of letters to himself, which became the basis for the musical "I Know I've Been Changed".

In 1992, "I know I've Been Changed" was performed at a local theatre in Atlanta, sponsored by his own life savings of $12, 000. The musical play featured Christian themes of forgiveness, dignity, and self-worth, and also addressed issues such as child abuse and dysfunctional families. It only lasted for a weekend and the attendance was just 30 persons. 

This is enough for some persons to give up and maybe settle for something less, but Tyler never did that. He did odd jobs while trying to work on the show. He rewrote the musical play severally and performed it on varoius stages. He got broke, and had to sleep in his car for sometime. On his seventh run of trial, at the age of 28, Tyler tried one more and this time, the success journey officially began. From then till today, he has been successful as a director, an actor and a writer.


Lesson: Sometimes your life may be so difficult that you feel like ending it. Sometimes repeated failures may even add to your pains and you may feel a sense of worthless. Just remember that everyone is unique and has something great to offer the world, and only YOU can provide that service in your own unique way. Find your inspiration, find your passion, start from somewhere and grow your passion. And when you fail, keep working hard, improving, making changes till you find the right key that fits into the lock!


What lesson(s) do you learn?

Photo credit: defendernetwork.com

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