John Harold Johnson was an American businessman and publisher. He was the founder of the Johnson Publishing Company. In 1982, he became the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400. 

Johnson was born in rural Arkansas City, Arkansas, the grandson of slaves. When he was eight years old, his father died in a sawmill accident and Johnson was raised by his mother and stepfather. For Blacks, Arkansas City public education ended with the 8th grade. 

Johnson’s mother wanted him to continue his education and saved her money to relocate the family to Chicago. But when he graduated from the 8th grade, she hadn’t saved enough money. To his humiliation, she had him repeat the 8th grade rather than let him temporarily drop out of school.

When he was 15, the family moved to Chicago and struggled through the Great Depression. His mother lost her job as a domestic, his stepfather couldn’t find work and his older half-sister lost her job as well. From 1934 to 1936, like many families, they had to go on welfare and they were deeply ashamed. Johnson however graduated in 1936 with honors from DuSable High School. He was senior class president, editor of the school newspaper and the yearbook. But he couldn’t afford college.

Then he got a break. At an Urban League luncheon for top high school students, he met Harry Pace, the President of Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company, one of the largest Black owned businesses in the U.S. Pace liked him and hired him and for the next six years, taught him “about business, life, success, and Black America.” In 1942, Pace gave him the assignment that changed his life. White media paid little attention to positive Black news and Pace asked Johnson to prepare a summary of Black news so that as the President of a Black company, he would be well informed.

Johnson collected the news from sources far and wide and when he’d share it at parties; he was the center of attention as Black people hungered for Black success stories. Johnson decided to start Negro Digest to publish these stories. Pace agreed to let him solicit subscriptions from the firm’s 20,000 Black customers and use the firm’s stationery. But Johnson would have to pay the postage which was $500. Johnson didn't have the $500. So he went to a big Chicago bank to borrow the money. They said, We don't make any loans to colored people. Johnson ignored the insult and asked, Who in this town will loan money to a colored person? That man sent him to perhaps the one bank that would, but that bank would loan only if he had collateral. He had no collateral. Fortunately, his mother did. It was her furniture and she relished it as the cornerstone of her home. Even with Johnson’s help, it had taken her a long time to pay it off and she didn't want to risk losing it. He pleaded with her. Her response was to pray for guidance. When after a week she still couldn't reach a decision, Johnson joined her in prayer. For the next few days, they prayed together and they even cried together. Finally, she said, “I think the Lord wants me to do it” and Johnson got his collateral from the only source he had. 

This let him pay the postage and he was thrilled. Then another problem arose. Johnson couldn't raise the money to publish Negro Digest. 

So what did he do? He cleverly sent 20,000 letters offering subscriptions for $3 but would charge just $2 if the money arrived within 30 days. Three thousand people sent in their $2, which gave him $6,000 to start the magazine. From that modest start, a business empire was born. 

In 1945 he began Ebony magazine, a huge success now with a circulation of 1.6 million and in 1951 Jet magazine, another big success. 

He later started and built other businesses as well and today the Johnson firms, headed by his daughter Linda Johnson Rice, employ 2,600 people and have $400 million in annual sales.

If you are determined to succeed, do as Johnson did, keep a positive attitude and look for opportunities. Then have the courage to act on the one that excites you, for even if you don't initially succeed, the experience will make you wiser and better prepared for the next opportunity.

Do you think your problems stopping you from pursuing important goals? If so, I'd like to tell you about Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist and bestselling author.

Stephen William Hawking is an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge. 

His scientific works include a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking was the first to set forth a cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He is a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England, to Frank and Isobel Hawking. When he enrolled at Oxford at 17, he took up rowing and was athletic enough to compete in boat racing at the intercollegiate level. But about the time he turned 20, he noticed he’d become a bit clumsy and even occasionally fell down. When the problem continued over the next year, a family doctor referred him to a specialist who sent him to a hospital for testing.

For two weeks, the hospital tested him thoroughly. They ran electrodes into him, injected fluid into his spine and took muscle samples. When they finished; they gave him devastating news. He was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (often called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease). For people suffering from ALS, the results are horrific. Within a few years, they lose use of their muscles and eventually become entrapped in a paralyzed body, dependent upon others to help them with their most basic needs, including bathroom functions. They breathe through a hole in their throats and death often results within five years of the onset of the disease.

But at the time of his diagnosis, Hawking had fallen in love he and Jane Wilde became engaged. Despite his problems, they married, which brought him great joy but also meant instead of sitting around feeling sorry for himself; he had to get a job.

To earn a living, he got a research fellowship within the Cambridge Colleges and later earned his Ph.D. and became a Cambridge Professor. As his disabilities grew worse, housing became an obstacle. Fortunately, the Hawkings found a home near the campus that could meet his special needs and rented it. And despite the severity of his problems, they began to raise a family that grew to three children.

The Hawkings were happy in that home and decided to buy it and fix it up, when another obstacle presented itself. To pay for the home, they applied for a mortgage but were turned down by everyone because the severity of his health problems made him a bad risk. Even Cambridge wouldn't loan to them. That rejection was especially hurtful to Hawking.

But with persistence, they found a lender who would loan to them and they bought the home. As time passed, Hawking’s condition worsened and that home became largely inaccessible to him. However, he was now a well known, highly regarded Cambridge Professor.

Rather than reject him as they had before, Cambridge provided the ground floor of a house they owned that had large rooms and doors wide enough to accommodate his electric wheelchair.

Later, when Hawking could no longer feed himself or get in or out of bed without help, students lived with them rent free and assisted Jane in helping him. Eventually the students were replaced by 24 hour nursing care.

To breathe, Hawking had a tracheotomy and he could no longer speak. Yet even that didn't stop him. A computer expert created software to run a speech synthesizer to let him communicate by using a hand switch, or by using his head or eye movements. He has spoken with a synthesizer for many years.

What is Hawking’s response to his physical problems? “I am quite often asked: How do you feel about having ALS? The answer is, not a lot. I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many.”

Despite the severity of his problems, Hawking at the age of 64 is a renowned physicist who has authored best selling books and written dozens of scientific papers. He continues to teach and as a highly popular speaker, continues to travel.

And one more thing: He and Jane have been married for over 40 years and are now experiencing the joy of being grandparents.

Your problems may not be as bad as Hawking’s, but still depress and overwhelm you. If you could find a little joy and a bit of self-confidence and give yourself a gentle nudge to go forward, you may be surprised at how much it will temper your negative feelings and help to lead you to the fulfillment you've been seeking.

Walter Elias Disney was an American business magnate, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer. As a prominent figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded as a cultural icon, known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the 20th century. As a Hollywood business mogul, he and his brother Roy O. Disney co-founded The Walt Disney Company. 

Disney was born in 1901, in a family of four brothers and a sister. His mother was a loving and dedicated homemaker. His father often had money problems and treated his children so harshly, that each one left home as soon as they could. Walt never finished high school. At the age of 16, Disney joined the Red Cross during World War 1 and became an ambulance driver in France. After the War, he started a tiny animation studio near the family home in Kansas City but his business failed.

His brother Roy was living in Hollywood and Disney joined him in 1923. Walt arrived with just $40, some drawing materials and a film he’d made. Roy believed in Walt’s potential and invested $250 to start a film company with him. The brothers borrowed $500, and rented space in the back of a real estate office. From this modest start, one of the great studios was born.

By 1953, the Walt Disney Co. was a huge success with such animated classics as “Bambi,” “Dumbo and “Fantasia.” Given that success, you might think financing a new idea would be easy. It wasn’t. Walt had a vision for Disneyland but Disneyland was a new concept and investors were highly skeptical and rejected it as a silly fantasy. He said, “I could never convince financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral.”

So how did Disney finance Disneyland? At the age of 52, he borrowed against everything he and his wife owned. He said, “About seventeen million (dollars) it took. And we had everything mortgaged including my personal insurance.” If Disneyland failed, they were broke.

But even that didn't raise $17 million. He appealed to the TV networks for financing and was turned down. Then just when it appeared he couldn't get the funds, ABC suddenly reversed itself. In order to do a TV show with Disney, they decided to guarantee loans of up to $4.5 million for 35% ownership of Disneyland (Disney bought out ABC in 1960). Disney finally had the money! He built Disneyland which opened in 1955 and it became a colossal success.

The lesson to us is to have the courage to act on our ideas. Ideas often fail not from lack of merit but from lack of persistence or lack of funding. If you have an idea you really believe in and don't have the funds, and can't raise them, don’t give-up. Start small and develop the concept. As it begins to make money, you may not need anyone else’s investment, and like Disney, your idea might one day captivate the world. 

Is the lack of a higher education preventing your success? If so, I’d like to tell you how John D. Rockefeller, who never graduated from high school, learned such valuable lessons as a young man in a menial job, that he later became one of the wealthiest businessmen ever.     

Rockefeller was born near Oswego, New York in 1839. His father “Wild Bill” Rockefeller was a con-man, a “quack doctor” who sold cancer “cures,” a “sporting man” involved in most forms of vice and a bigamist. As a result his mother Eliza Rockefeller, a devout Baptist strongly influenced John D. to be a devoted church practitioner and to conduct himself with integrity.  

Needing an income, at 16, Rockefeller dropped out of high school to look for work. To gain some marketable skills, he enrolled in a business school but quit after 10 weeks because he ran out of money. Broke, he desperately searched for a job, calling on firm after firm but all he got was rejection. Then after six weeks of struggle, on September 26, 1855, he got a job as a low-level clerk with Hewitt & Tuttle, a Cleveland produce broker.

The profound way that job affected him led him to celebrate “job day,” for the rest of his life (he lived to be 97). He later said, “The three-and-a-half years of business training I had in that commission house formed a large part of the foundation of my business career.”   

How did he receive that training? By doing what any of us could do. He saw how management functioned and he asked questions, absorbing the answers like a sponge. He also spent time with customers, vendors and his firm’s employees and he did bookkeeping.

What was the most important thing he learned? How people think and function. For example, Rockefeller became renowned for collecting money from past due accounts as he learned to be charmingly persuasive and persistent.

Rockefeller did so well, the firm promoted him to bookkeeper and paid him $700 a year. The next year when they refused to raise his salary to $800, he quit and went into the oil business as he began his remarkable path into history.

Rockefeller later built what became the Standard Oil Trust, a monopoly that controlled much of the world’s oil supply and refining capacity. But from his modest start, he showed us there is great opportunity for those who master practical business skills and who can appeal to the fundamental needs of others.

Samuel Moore Walton was an American businessman and entrepreneur best known for founding the retailers Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. Sam Walton was born to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He went to the University of Missouri at Columbia and got a business degree in 1940. He joined the US Army on July 16th, 1942 and become a military police officer. Sam Walton married Helen Walton on February 14th 1942 and they had 4 children.

In 1945, after getting out of the Army, he wanted to go into business for himself so he and his wife Helen borrowed money and used their savings to buy the failed Ben Franklin variety store in Newport, Arkansas. Walton pioneered many concepts that became crucial to his success. Walton made sure the shelves were consistently stocked with a wide range of goods. His second store, the tiny "Eagle" department store, was down the street from his first Ben Franklin and next door to its main competitor in Newport. In his store, by trial and error, and by studying competitors, Walton began to develop the knowledge that would later be invaluable in building Wal-Mart. After five years of long hours and hard work, sales almost quadrupled and he had the most successful Ben Franklin store in the six-state region.
What was his big mistake? He had a five year store lease with no renewal option. With the enormous success of the store, the property owner ignored Walton’s frantic plea and refused to renew the lease as he gave the store to his son. There was no place else in town for Walton to move his business so he, his wife, and their four children had to leave. He later said, “It was the low point of my business life. I felt sick to my stomach.” But instead of letting that mistake crush him, he drove across a four state area looking for a new site and found one in Bentonville, Arkansas. Now as a veteran retailer, Walton bought a small store, and with his experience and energy, soon built it into a chain of successful stores.

The first true Wal-Mart opened on July 2, 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas and Wal-Mart became one of the  first stores to buy products in bulk and then make prices very cheap to the customer. That is what has made Wal-Mart so popular. Soon after, the Walton brothers teamed up with Stefan Dasbach, leading to the first of many stores to come. He launched a determined effort to market American-made products. Included in the effort was a willingness to find American manufacturers who could supply merchandise for the entire Wal-Mart chain at a price low enough to meet the foreign competition. In 1977 there were 190 Wal-Mart stores and in 1985 there were 800 Wal-Mart stores.

Walton died on Sunday, April 5, 1992, He left his ownership in Wal-Mart to his wife and their children. In 1998, Walton was included in Time's list of 100 most influential people of the 20th Century. Walton was honored for all his pioneering efforts in retail in March 1992, when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H. W. Bush. 

So if you're afraid of making a mistake, recognize that we all make mistakes, even someone as capable as Sam Walton. As in Walton’s case, if you learn from your mistakes, they could be the best thing that could happen to you as you apply their lessons to really get ahead.

Who ever they are, whatever they are, everybody make mistakes and we make mistakes every day, it's human nature and mistakes are proof that we are trying. When you fail, you learn from that mistakes you made and it motivates you to work even harder. Mistakes have the power to turn you into something better than you were before.

When you made a mistake, don't blame others, as soon as you start blaming others for your mistakes you distance yourself from any possible lesson from that mistake. But if you courageously stand up and honestly say "This is my mistake and I am responsible" the possibilities for learning will move towards you. It's never easy to admit you've made a mistake, but it's a crucial step in learning, growing, and improving yourself. Admission of your mistake, even if only privately to yourself, makes learning possible by moving the focus away from blaming assignment and towards understanding. Wise people admit their mistakes easily. 

Noticing and admitting our mistakes helps us get in touch with our commitments:

what we really want to be, 

what we really want to do, and 

what we really want to have. 

Mistakes wake us up and focus our attention like a flashing sign that says "fix this".

We live and act in ways to prevent mistakes, not taking risks, expanding our comfort zones or jumping outside the boxes we hide in. But our mistakes and failures are gifts in our learning and growth as people. Don't worry about friends, family and others, people who love and care about us will stick with us through all our flaws and floundering. Facing mistakes often takes us straight to the heart of our fears. And when we experience and face those fears, they can disappear.