Success: Accomplishing a Goal Through Hard Work and Perseverance

Success: Accomplishing a Goal Through Hard Work and Perseverance.

By Colin Brosnan

Photo Courtesy of Your Positive Oasis (“There is No”)

Tyler Perry ­ Overcoming Every Obstacle Imaginable to Find Success

Tyler Perry, a world famous screenwriter, director, producer, and actor has achieved enormous amounts of both financial and personal success throughout his life. However, Perry did not achieve success easily and frequently faced immense challenges. Throughout his childhood, Perry often fell victim to physical and sexual abuse from his father and other adults (“Tyler Perry’s Traumatic”). He lived in constant fear; even something minor could send his father into a violent rage. Moreover, Perry experienced several instances of horrific sexual abuse from ages 5 to 10 from a neighbor, his friend’s mother, and a male pastor (Tyler Perry’s Traumatic”). Eventually, the fear and pain overcame Perry, and in his late teen years, he attempted to commit suicide. Although he ultimately ended up surviving, Perry knew he had to escape from his father. The following year, he dropped out of high school and began to distance himself from his father.

Over the next few years, Perry held a few jobs, but he failed to find anything he felt passionate about. However, after following advice from an Oprah special, Perry began writing letters about his trauma, which helped him cope with his abusive past. Surprisingly, this lead to a creative breakthrough for Perry, who used his traumatic past as the basis for his first musical I Know I’ve Been Changed.

Perry finished writing the musical, and after saving up $12,000 for production costs, his show debuted in a small Atlanta theater. Perry produced, directed, and starred in the show. It lasted only one weekend, drew just 30 spectators, and by all accounts failed miserably (“Tyler Perry Biography”). But Perry would not accept defeat.

Perry began to make edits to his script and started saving money once again. In fact, he even slept in his car for a few months to cut out housing costs. Once he had saved enough money and had a script he felt satisfied with, Perry started the production once more. Shockingly, this time, Perry’s musical gained so much popularity, he had to move to a larger venue to accommodate the demand. Perry’s success continued, and after several more successful plays and musicals, he decided to bring his talents to Hollywood. There, Perry enjoyed immediate success, grossing over $50 million from his first movie. Overcoming adversity serves as the central message of many of his films, and Perry often incorporates his own experiences in the storylines. In 2010, Forbes noted Perry as the second highest earner in Hollywood.

As Perry gained fame, he began to speak out about his childhood trauma. He encourages those who have experienced childhood abuse to talk about their traumatic experiences and find comfort in understanding and forgiveness (“Tyler Perry Biography”). Perry publicly forgave his father in 2009, calling it a vital step in moving on from his horrific past. Through every obstacle imaginable, Perry never gave up and will serve as an inspiration for generations.

Perry poses with his 2011 CinemaCon Visionary Award ( Tyler Perry gets ).

J.K. Rowling ­ The Story of the World’s First Billionaire Author

Millions of people across the world have read J.K. Rowling’s famous Harry Potter series. However, few know of the adversity she faced to achieve her massive success. Writing her first story at just age six, Rowling grew up destined to become a writer. However, during her early life, she often encountered challenging obstacles. Throughout her teen years, she bore witness to her mother’s battle with Multiple Sclerosis, which eventually took her life in 1991. Only 25 years old at the time, it devastated Rowling.

Several years later, Rowling met her husband, and after a dreadful miscarriage, she gave birth to her daughter Jessica. Although, the marriage only lasted about a year, and Rowling soon found herself a single mother living on government aid (Gillet). Rowling felt like a failure; she had no job, a failed marriage, and barely had enough money to survive. Throughout this time period, Rowling suffered from depression, and at times even considered suicide. She barely got by and spent most of her time writing the manuscript of the first Harry Potter book.

Rowling worked tirelessly to perfect her story; it gave her a sense of purpose. After finally finishing and editing it, she started sending her manuscript to publishers. Unable to afford to even make copies of her manuscript, she resorted to retyping each copy by hand for every publisher. Much to her dismay, Rowling received over 150 rejections from publishers across the UK in the next year. She felt like a failure once more, and for some time it appeared she had fallen short of her lifelong dream of becoming an author. But Rowling never gave up. She continued sending it to publishers, hoping someone would give her a chance. Feeling her gender decreased publishing odds, she even resorted to initializing her first name, Joanne, and her grandmother’s name, Kathleen, thinking “J.K.” seemed more masculine (Gillet).

Eventually, Bloomsbury, a small publishing firm in London, gave Rowling’s manuscript a shot.

After a small printing run, the book became an instant hit among children. Within three days of its UK release, Scholastic bid $100,000 for the American publishing rights, an absurd amount for a children’s book at the time. The world went crazy for Harry Potter , and soon, even adults became captivated by the story of the adventurous teenage wizard, Harry Potter. Rowling’s manuscript eventually turned into a massively popular and successful eight­book series, selling 450 million copies worldwide. Moreover, a movie dynasty based off of the series grossed $7.7 billion worldwide.

Rowling has since donated millions of dollars to charity in an attempt to give back to those less fortunate (“J.K. Rowling Charity”). Moreover, because challenges facing writers have increased recently, Rowling donates to help children develop a passion for writing (Breslin; “J.K. Rowling Charity”). Through countless obstacles, Rowling’s faith in herself never lessened; she will continue to serve as an inspiration for decades.

Rowling poses with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, the child stars of the Harry Potter movies ( Rowling Poses with ).

Advice Column:

“I’m doing poorly in my AP computer science class. What can I do to improve my grade?”

As one of the fastest growing fields in the United States, thousands of people across the country seek to find success in the field of Computer Science, myself included ("Occupational Outlook Handbook"). In the fall of 2017, I decided to enroll in AP Computer Science at my high school. I did not know much about the course, or really about Computer Science in general, and adding another AP course to my transcript served as the primary reason I decided to enroll. Also, because choosing a career path earlier leads to more success, I wanted to expose myself to the content of a lucrative field (Dowd). Despite some warnings from friends who took the class the year prior, I rarely struggled in school, and therefore I assumed I could handle the course with ease. However, this assumption quickly proved incorrect. In fact, by only the second week of the course, I had not only failed to excel but found myself among the bottom tier of students in my class. Although I liked the problem solving associated with the course, my coding skills still lacked, and my low grade began to ruin the class for me.

Laying in my bed one night after yet another bad quiz, I made a commitment to finding success in computer science. In the following weeks, I began to research computer science for hours a day-watching instructional videos, checking out library books, completing online problems-and I hated it. I struggled to grasp numerous concepts and became increasingly frustrated with each failure. In order to get through it, I constantly had to remind myself of my goal: receiving an A. However, my hard work ultimately paid off. As I exposed myself to more coding concepts outside of class, I found it easier to complete the challenging labs that once baffled me. Additionally, due to my exploration of many topics, I had built a solid foundation for learning complex concepts and quickly became one of the better students in my class. By the next month, I no longer needed to continue my regiment. I had begun to truly excel. I not only ended up with my A for the semester but had also discovered one of my favorite passions in the process.

Adopting a mindset which forces one to persevere through every obstacle in order to find success serves as the best way for one to improve their grade. The internet has revolutionized computer science education, yet many resources still remain challenging to learn from, especially for beginners. Therefore, for one to achieve success in AP computer science, they must truly have a burning desire to achieve their goal, or the challenge will seem insurmountable. I firmly believe that any truly dedicated student can learn essential concepts and find success.

An interview with two­time All­American lacrosse goalie Kyle Bernlohr:

Colin: How did you feel on the day you committed to play at the University of Maryland?

Kyle: “I was incredibly happy because I had finally achieved my goal of playing division one lacrosse, and I felt like my hard work in high school had all been worth it. But I was also really nervous about the future.”

Colin: How did spending three years at Maryland backing up Niko Amato, the nation’s top goalie, impact your attitude towards playing lacrosse?

Kyle: “It certainly took its toll on me. I love playing lacrosse, and I loved every one of my teammates at Maryland, but I hated being a backup. I had been a starter for every other season in my entire career, and it was a tough adjustment.”

Colin: Did you ever debate transferring schools due to frustration with being a backup?

Kyle: “I did. When I was recruited I had offers from school such as Ohio State and Virginia, and I knew I could start almost immediately at one of those programs. I debated transferring from time to time, but ultimately I thought Maryland gave me the best chance of winning a national championship, which was my ultimate goal.”

Colin: Did being a backup ever impact your work ethic in practice?

Kyle: “Never for a second. I’m a very competitive person by nature, and I always gave Niko a good run for his money in practice. I never beat him out, but I always worked hard in practice to prepare myself for when I got my chance to start.”

Colin: How did it feel when you finally earned your first start following Niko’s graduation?

Kyle: “It was a really emotional moment for me. I had worked so hard for so many years with almost no reward, and it felt amazing to finally have what I’d wanted for so long.”

Colin: Did losing two national championship games motivate you to work harder once you got to the MLL? Kyle: “Absolutely. The two national championship losses killed me, and for a little while, I decided to take a step away from lacrosse. But I was drafted by the Ohio Machine, and I wanted to win an MLL championship really badly, and that became my new goal. On the first day of practice, I thought I was the best goalie on the team, and it motivated me to keep working hard on my technique and mindset. I eventually outworked the incumbent starting goalie, and that year we went on to win the MLL championship.”

Colin: How did it finally feel to win a championship and achieve your goal?

Kyle: “It was the best feeling in the world. After falling just short so many times in college, winning an MLL championship really validated all of the work I have put in throughout my career.”

Bernlohr guards the net during a game against North Carolina in 2016 ( Bernlohr Named B1G )

Movie Review:

Linsanity (2013):

This documentary follows the life of NBA point guard Jeremy Lin. Lin has an incredibly inspiring story full of perseverance and adversity. As a child, Lin’s had one goal: to play in the NBA. However, after receiving no offers from major division one programs following a fantastic high school career, Lin decided to attend Harvard University, primarily focusing on academics. At Harvard, Lin ended up having a standout career; however, he failed to garner interest from any NBA teams and proceeded to go undrafted in 2010. Set to have to play in the NBA Development League, Lin persevered through numerous failures and challenges to prove himself, including constantly seeing his peers achieve his goal: signing an NBA deal.

Lin eventually earned a bench spot on the New York Knicks in 2012. Shockingly, 48 hours before his expected release from the team, Lin came off the bench, scored an incredible 25 points, and started a worldwide frenzy known as “Linsanity”. Lin continued to perform, and currently plays on the Brooklyn Nets as the starting point guard, with an ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994):

Based on the Steven Spielberg novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, this film epitomizes finding success in the face of adversity. Andy Dufresne, a young, successful banker, finds himself falsely convicted of murdering his cheating wife and her lover, receiving two life sentences. Once he arrives at the prison, Dufresne befriends a man who can get contraband for prisoners. Strangely, Dufresne asks for a rock hammer. Although he made a few friends, Dufresne made many enemies in prison who frequently abused him both physically and sexually. In order to gain protection from guards and the warden, Dufresne offers to do their taxes and gets involved in laundering money for the warden in the process. Although it violated his moral principles, he had to do it in order to remain safe. Twenty years into his sentence, during roll call, no one can find Dufresne. After a search of his cell, the warden realizes that Dufresne has escaped. Since his first day in prison, Dufresne engaged in grueling amounts of physical labor every night to dig a tunnel with his rock hammer and escape from prison. Following his escape, Dufresne empties the warden’s private accounts, tips the police off to the warden, and moves to Mexico. Free at last.

Comparison:

Although I enjoyed both films, I found Linsanity more inspirational. While The Shawshank Redemption had a fantastic storyline full of suspense and adversity, ultimately, watching Jeremy Lin overcome true, real­life obstacles impacted me more. Watching Lin’s hard work pay off has helped me adopt a similar mentality to what he had. Moreover, he has inspired me to put forth more effort in academics and athletics, and persevere when I face challenges instead of giving up.

Jeremy Lin pictured on the cover of Time magazine attempting a layup in his breakout 2012 game ( Jeremy Lin Basketball﴿

About the Author:

Colin Brosnan, a junior at Chagrin Falls High School, has achieved tremendous amounts of success throughout his life. As a High Honor Roll student and an All­State athlete, Brosnan’s incredible work ethic and dedication allow him to overcome challenges and find success in everything he does. For instance, in the 2017 lacrosse season, despite working extremely hard in the offseason, Brosnan found himself destined for another year on the bench.

After a long, close battle in practice, a talented senior beat him out and won the role of starting varsity goalie.

Brosnan had fallen just short of his goal.

However, only used the occurrence as a motivator. He began to stay after practice to train, put in more work outside of practice, and tirelessly watch film on opponents. Shockingly, following a one­game suspension of the starting goalie due to a social media post, Brosnan quickly got his moment to prove himself. Although he had received some playing time against mediocre teams, Brosnan now found himself set to start against one of the best teams in Northeast Ohio: Shaker Heights. Gameday finally arrived, and Brosnan analyzed hours of film throughout the day in preparation. The second he stepped on the bus to travel to Shaker, butterflies began to fill his stomach. Putting in headphones, he tried to remain calm for the rest of the bus ride. After what felt like an eternity, the team finally arrived at the stadium, and soon after, warm­ups began. During his nervous warmup, Brosnan played poorly, failing to save numerous easy shots; he could see panic on the faces of the coaches.

The game began, and on the very first play, Shaker came down the field and scored an easy goal on Brosnan; one he surely should have had.

Brosnan guards the goal in a game against Everest Academy ( Colin Brosnan All­State ).

On the sideline, his head coach momentarily sunk his head down. Brosnan felt frustrated. He had put in hundreds of hours of practice and training, and when finally given an opportunity to demonstrate his talent, he cracked under the pressure. Then, all of a sudden, his form took over. All of the preparation he had done suddenly just clicked. At first, he did not believe it, but as the game progressed, Brosnan just kept making incredible saves. Although the game ended in a heartbreaking overtime loss, having made 18 saves, Brosnan had plenty to feel proud of.

To his surprise, he did not initially receive a promotion to start the next game. However, Brosnan continued his goal of outworking his competition in practice every day and training as much as possible outside of practice. Eventually, the hard work paid off. Near the midway point in the season, Brosnan had finally earned the role of starting goalie and went on to receive All­State recognition among numerous other awards. Brosnan had finally achieved his goal and found success.

Works Cited Bernlohr Named B1G Defensive Player of the Week . University of Maryland Athletics , University of Maryland, image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/pics33/0/KA/KAWBQHCQEEBTCKP.20150216201852.jpg.

Breslin, Susannah. “Why You Shouldn’t Be A Writer.” Forbes , www.forbes.com/sites/susannahbreslin/2012/06/12/why­you­shouldnt­be­a­writer/#7269f8f030a6.

Colin Brosnan All­State . Twitter , twitter.com/CFHSLacrosse/status/871779146187386880.

Dowd, Mary. “The Importance of Choosing a Career Path.” Chron , Chron.com, 13 Mar. 2018, work.chron.com/importance­choosing­career­path­11645.html.

Gillet, Rachel. “From welfare to one of the world’s wealthiest women — the incredible rags­to­riches story of J.K. Rowling.” Business Insider , www.businessinsider.com/the­rags­to­riches­story­of­jk­rowling­2015­5.

Jeremy Lin Basketball . Time , img.timeinc.net/time/images/covers/asia/2012/20120227_600.jpg.

“J.K. Rowling Charity Work, Events and Causes.” Look to the Stars , www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/jk­rowling.

J.K. Rowling Poses with Actors in Harry Potter Movie . LA Times , www.trbimg.com/img­52eff553/turbine/la­et­jc­jk­rowling­reveals­hermione­and­harry­001/2000/2000x1430.

Linsanity . Directed by Evan Jackson Leong, 408 Films and Arowana Films, 2013.

“Occupational Outlook Handbook.” Bureau of Labor Statistics , United States Department of Labor, www.bls.gov/ooh/computer­and­information­technology/software­developers.htm.

There is No Elevator to Success. You Have to Take the Stairs . Your Positive Oasis , yourpositiveoasis.com/wp­content/gallery/25­inspiring­and­positive­quotes/IMG_5801.PNG. The ShawShank Redemption . Produced by Niki Marvin, screenplay by Frank Darabont, directed by Frank Darabont , Warner Home Video, 2004.

“Tyler Perry Biography.” Biography , Biography.com, www.biography.com/people/tyler­perry­361274.

Tyler Perry gets Visionary Award . Black Film , www.blackfilm.com/read/wp­content/uploads/2011/04/Tyler­Perry­Visionary­2.jpg.

“Tyler Perry’s Traumatic Childhood.” Oprah , www.oprah.com/oprahshow/tyler­perry­speaks­out­about­being­molested­and­the­aftermath.