John Hope Bryant was raised with a “Yes I can” attitude for earning money. His only problem was his inability to hold on to his money and by the time he turned 18 he was homeless. This ‘life lesson’ would be the catalyst for his future passion of providing financial literacy for low-wealth and underserved individuals. At the age of 25, seven years after being homeless, he turned his life around and started his own private banking business. In four years, it grew to a $24 million dollar company; he later founded Operation HOPE, a non-profit, public benefit organization dedicated to empowering underserved communities. According to Mr. Bryant “Broke is a temporary economic condition; poor is a disabling frame of mind and a depressed condition of the spirit, and one must vow to never, ever be poor again.”

Boxing great and entrepreneur, George Foreman, gave advice to an inventor, who had risked all he had in hopes of bringing to life his invention for a car seat after an auto accident claimed the life of his young daughter. Foreman’s words of encouragement . . . “America is filled with dreams, you got to believe that you are touching on something. Don’t ever be discouraged-that is the nightmare . . . discouragement.”

Russell Simmons is considered by many as the inventor of hip-hop entrepreneurialism. His business empire seems to know no bounds. From Run Athletics, to Def-Jam Enterprises, Phat Farm, Global Grind, UniRush Financial Services and the list goes on. Everything that Russell has done has been true to his individuality. He set the paradigm that many have followed including Diddy and Jay-Z.

Billionaire entrepreneur, Richard Branson, who started his first company as a teen recalls the time when he had to forego his beloved Virgin Record company in order to pursue his dream for his new airline Virgin Atlantic. According to Branson, “It’s much more fun in life being the underdog trying to topple Goliath. We have had a lot of fun trying to topple the big companies that have become fat an bloated-overcharging the consumer and have come in and tried to do it in a way that we can be proud of.”

In 1922, Dr. C.E. Welch founder of the Welch’s grape-juice company shared his thoughts on ‘carrying on against’ all odds.  “Many men fail because they quit too soon.  They lose faith when the signs are against them.  They do not have the courage to hold on, to keep fighting in spite of that which seems insurmountable.  If more of us would strike out and attempt the impossible, we very soon would find the truth of that old saying that nothing is impossible . . . Abolish fear and you can accomplish anything you wish.”