Joanne was struggling. She seemed lost in her own life. She was a good person. She was smart. She didn’t mind working. Why had things come so unravelled? Losing her job, her mother’s death, becoming a mother herself, and then the breaking up of her marriage had left her crushed and confused. With a dependent child, she had to go on government assistance. She was diagnosed as clinical depressed and had seriously contemplated suicide. By her own admission, other than not being homeless, she was as poor as anyone could be.
Was the dye cast? Was she destined to be a failure in life. Would things get better? Could things get better?
Joanne wanted to be a writer. Once on a four-hour-delayed train trip from Manchester to London she had come up with an idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry. In 1995 she finished that manuscript on an old manual typewriter and submitted her work to 12 publishing houses who all rejected it. She was told she had no real chance of ever making a living as an author. Then the tide began to turn. Her book was published and then was followed by six sequels. Her books have sold over 400 million copies. They have become the best selling book series of all time. Her books have been turned into eight major motion pictures. Joanne is now the most prolific living writer in all of Great Britain. Her fortune is estimated at over $600 million dollars. She is now adored the world over.
Past failures have little to do with future victory. Joanne (J.K.) Rowling has lived a rags to riches story. What made the difference? One thing I am certain of is this. When things were going bad for Joanne she never gave up and settled for what appeared to be her small disappointing life. Failure doesn’t have to be final. And it wont be as long as you decide you have a greater destiny you are determined to fulfill.
