INSCRIPTION: HOW TO TRIUMPH OVER THE ODDS

THE DIFFERENCE ONE LIFE CAN MAKE

TYLER PERRY– FROM OBSCURITY TO LIMELIGHT, IMPACTING THE MOVIE INDUSTRY; THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence, determination, and hard work make the difference.”

-PRESIDENT CALVIN  COOLIDGE.

At age 22, the young man who had a dream of filmmaking wrote, directed, and produced many stage plays that were self-sponsored. In fact, he put in his life savings of $12, 000 to stage the play “I know I have been changed” but it was a financial failure.

 On many of his performances, only a handful of people attended. This continued for over six years. He continued to save and self-sponsored the production of his plays but there was only little to show for it.

Sometimes the performances were to an almost empty house but he still persisted. After a while, he began to experience some level of success with his plays, but he had another level of challenge; Hollywood executives informed him that they couldn’t back his movie because “Black people don’t go to the movies.” However, he persisted in writing, directing, and producing plays and movies.

He once was homeless and had to sleep in his automobile but he still held onto his dream, working on it every day. He chose to dig his heel in and fight to win and he did win. He had since sold millions of theatre and movie tickets to fans of his beloved Madea persona and the characters in his many other films and theatrical productions.

In 2005, Forbes reported that he had sold “more than $100 million in tickets,  $30 million in merchandise, and the 300 live shows he produces each year are attended by an average of 35,000 people a week.

His name is Tyler Perry, the famed playwright, director, actor, and producer. In 2011, Forbes listed him as the highest-paid man in entertainment earning US$130 million between May 2010 and May 2011.

His net worth as of 2022 is estimated at US$800 million.https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/directors/tyler-perry-net-worth/

Your gift makes room for you in the world but you must keep showing up consistently even when no one recognizes the value of your gift or believes in it. It is the consistency in showing up that the world shows up in buying into the value of your gifts.

DIAMONDS – FROM OBSCURITY TO LIMELIGHT.

Diamonds are formed deep within the earth’s crust approximately 150-200km (about 100 miles) below the surface of the earth) under conditions of intense heat and pressure that cause atoms to crystallize forming diamonds.

In fact, the greater the intensity of the heat and pressure, the faster and better the diamonds are formed. If there is great intense heat and pressure constantly, it can take a couple of years for diamonds to form. However, if the heat and pressure vary in its intensity, it may take even a million years for diamonds to form.

The condition in which diamonds are formed is quite revealing:

Deep within you, are inestimable treasures –depth of gifts, abilities, talents, and potentials. You are a shining star.

Just as diamonds are formed deep within the earth and formed under the condition of intense heat and pressure before they can ever be visible on the surface of the earth. So it applies.

Even though we are loaded with inestimable potentials, these potentials are not outwardly visible, it lies deep within us. Hence, our value is not really or obviously recognized. Though we are shining stars we live in obscurity because the treasures in us lie dormant within us.

The “condition of intense heat and pressure” is needed for the gifts, abilities, and talents to form and be brought to the surface or be made visible – it takes your best; discovery of your gifts and abilities, a high level of discipline, continuous training, determination, absolute sacrifice, facing obstacles and overcoming them in obscurity before your gift, abilities, and potentials can be made visible and brought to limelight.

 Refined gifts and abilities attract demand from people. You must keep refining your gifts, talents, and abilities for their value to keep appreciating. When gifts are refined value becomes visible.

Life will test you in obscurity on how committed you are before visibly crowning you as a shining star. Private victory precedes public victory. Private victories prepare you for the weight of responsibility of public victories. In fact, the greater the private victories the greater will be the public victories.

The size and intensity of your private victories will determine the size and quality of your public victories. People who do not really experience private victories but suddenly comes to the limelight usually come crashing down or mess up because they have no foundation to sustain the weight of responsibility that accompanies the seemingly public victory.

It is your private victories that determine the longevity of your public victories as a shining star.

From obscurity to the limelight – make the move and make a difference. You are a shining star.