Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Professional boxer and promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr. is, to a huge degree, regarded as one of the top fighters of all time. He’s also one of the most successful boxers when it comes to finances considering he’s been listed as one of the highest-paid athletes in the world a couple of times already. Mayweather managed to get his name in the history books because of his impressive boxing record. After all, out of all his fights, the man has never lost in the ring.
His story is pretty much a perfect one considering all the achievements he’s got through the course of his professional career. However, he also experienced a couple of low moments, especially during the earlier part of his life. It even caused him to drop out of his highschool. But in return, he was able to put all his effort and energy into boxing.
O.J. Simpson
O.J. “The Juice” Simpson was one of the most popular American football personalities back in the day. He managed to get good stats in his professional football career and even earned a Heisman Trophy while playing with the USC Trojans. He initially played for the City College of San Francisco and transferred to the University of Southern California, where he became a top talent at the collegiate level.
He later displayed his top-notch talent in the NFL and played for the Buffalo Bills for nine years. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers for the last two years of his career. With his rising popularity, it is no wonder that Hollywood took notice. Simpson was able to bag more than a few movie credits to his name after what was already a successful football career.
Chuck Norris
Hollywood actor and martial artist, Chuck Norris, was one of the most popular actors in Hollywood, especially during the ‘70s and the ‘80s. Aside from his lead roles, he also worked behind the scenes as a producer and screenwriter. Perhaps, one of the coolest film credits that he has is his onscreen duel with the legend, Bruce Lee, himself in the film Way of the Dragon.
After he finished high school, he went on and joined the United States Air Force and was sent to South Korea. While finishing his military service overseas, his interest in martial arts grew, and this pretty much became the start of his successful journey in Karate. Later on, he formed his own martial arts discipline which he named Chun Kuk Do.
Clint Eastwood
With the kind of stature he enjoys today, it would be hard to imagine that Clint Eastwood struggled during the earlier part of his life. He was studying at Piedmont Middle School in California but got involved in a couple of incidents that led him to transfer to another school. He found himself in the lawns of Oakland Technical High School. He later got drafted to the Army during the Korean War and from then on, struggled to find a decent job that would keep him fed properly.
After his return to the U.S., Eastwood auditioned for all the films that he could but was reportedly rejected in all. However, his fortune turned into something when he landed a small role in Revenge of the Creature. He followed this up with a couple of other uncredited roles along the way. Since then, he only involves himself with successful movies and has been doing so one after the other.
Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak became a household name when he started as a host, and a big part of his fame came from his work as the host of the game show Wheel of Fortune. But before all of that, let’s first take a look at his early life. He came from a pretty average family and studied at Columbia College in Chicago. He worked at a hotel at the same time. He later signed up for the army and got stationed as a disc jockey for the American Forces in Vietnam. This was during the Vietnam War. Apparently, this was the time when he started honing his hosting skills.
It was during the late ‘70s when he first ventured into TV as a weatherman for KNBC-TV. His career went straight to the top, and by the early ‘80s, Sajak became the host of the famous game show. He really made his financial advisor work on his toes with all the success and fortune he accumulated throughout the years.
Halle Berry
The actress and model Halle Berry is blessed with a godly look that became her prime asset for success. With her unparalleled beauty, she dominated every beauty pageant she participated in including Miss Teen America during the mid-80s, followed by Miss Ohio USA a year later. Berry competed for 1986 Miss USA where she ended up as the first runner-up of the competition.
During the height of her beauty contest spree, she enrolled at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland where she took broadcast journalism. She parked her studies at that time to make way for her blooming career in Hollywood. In the following years, she went back to her studies and got her degree. We can always look to Halle Berry for inspiration since education is always her number one priority.
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., or professionally known as Snoop Dogg, is one of the most popular and influential rap artists in Hollywood. He’s been a relevant figure in the industry since the ‘90s and has become one of the best-selling artists in the industry.
Die-hard Snoop Dogg fans speculated that the artist always shows signs of intelligence that surpass that of a normal person. In fact, he finished his high school years with high remarks. However, things went south for him for a while and he was involved in all kinds of trouble. It’s a good thing he managed to straighten things up and slowly reform himself into the artist that we know today. He also found success and fortune with his newfound self and is now living like a king with all his credit cards, expensive cars, and posh mansions.
Jennifer Hudson
The singer and actress, Jennifer Hudson, made a career out of her singing and acting talents. Media outlets refer to her as “The Princess of Soul,” and she had her breakthrough after she joined the third season of American Idol back in 2004. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to get the top honors but she surely made an impact in the industry, considering she only got seventh place in that competition.
Instead of sulking because of her loss in the competition, it looks like she used it as the gas to motivate herself to perform better than ever. She sure did a great job of doing that since she managed to cash in a couple of merits since then. She even got herself a star on the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame back in 2013.
Jay-Z
The famous rapper and businessman, Jay-Z– just like his wife, Beyonce–had commitments that interfered with his studies. As a result, he wasn’t able to get into college. But he still was able to get the most out of his situation thanks to his natural talent when it comes to music and lyrics. In the later part of his career, he also made a name for himself thanks to his successful investments.
Nowadays, even if he wasn’t able to get into a proper college, he’s considered one of the wealthiest personalities in Hollywood. From the look of things, he clearly proved that sometimes, proper career and business can get you places. Of course, we are sure that at the back of his mind he knew that education can give people the success they need. That’s why he launched a couple of campaigns to help students through their college studies.