Article Summary
- Scrooge McDuck’s Success: Scrooge McDuck’s immense wealth came from continuous learning, smart work, ethical practices, and disciplined investing.
- Aladdin’s Transformation: Aladdin’s rise from a street urchin to power and wealth was driven by core values, preparedness, and seizing opportunities through hard work and personal growth.
- Building for Success: Success requires personal development, abandoning negativity, seeking growth, and understanding that it comes from humble beginnings and honest work.
They say experience is the best teacher, but do you have to grind through the entire motions yourself, suffering every avoidable cost in the learning process? It’s smarter to gain wisdom from those who were once in your shoes, wouldn’t you say? In so doing, you spare yourself some pain down the road.
That’s why it pays to seek the counsel of the aged and experienced – to benefit from their wealth of knowledge.
However, we won’t be relying on the grey of hair today to show us the way to a life of plenty, rather, we’ll be learning from the brainchildren of some talented creators who have made TV a delight for many wonderful years.
In their world, these characters have struggled, toiled, lost, shed a few tears, and finally emerged victorious, gaining copious amounts of wealth to last many generations down the line.
How did they do it? Let’s find out. Maybe you will pick up some helpful nuggets that will enable you to achieve great success yourself.
1. Scrooge 2
Scrooge was born into a humble family of farmers and at the age of 10, he tried earning some money by polishing shoes in the streets of Glasgow.
One day, he attended to a ditch digger who wore mud-crusted shoes that were terrible to behold. But by the time Scrooge was done with the shoes, they shone like brand new.
For his reward, the ditch digger gave him an American dime, of which the value was worthless. At that very moment, his billionaire spirit was born as he swore never to be taken advantage of again.
He vowed to become smarter than the smartest and tougher than the toughest. And he even kept the dime as a reminder, and later in life, called it his “Old Number One” and personal lucky charm.
Although he lacked any formal education, Scrooge McDuck went on to become one of the most respectable figures in his universe, and the most affluent. According to Forbes’ ranking of the richest fictional characters, Scrooge’s net worth is placed at a whopping $65.4 billion, topped only by King T’challa of Wakanda at $90.7 trillion.
So, how did he do it?
Scrooge believes in the power of knowledge and personal development. To have an edge, he reads voraciously, continuously learning all he can, and even teaching himself multiple languages.
He is an avid supporter of not only hard work but smart work. He got into jobs in which he was sure that his efforts would yield advantageous rewards.
Later on, he put his money to work by investing in various profitable ventures. You should note that Scrooge never takes even a cent of his money for granted.
He does his due diligence, thoroughly researching any potential investment before he dares to commit any money to it. He knows that a lucrative portfolio is built on discipline and a strong understanding of the workings of said investments.
He also knows to invest in items that not only retain their value but also yield interest over time.
Scrooge’s ethics are nothing but solid. His success is rooted in honesty and a good personal image, life-long learning, perseverance, and conscious spending.
2. Aladdin
Aladdin was a street urchin loved by none and despised by the city guards.
Orphaned at a tender age, he had no one to care for him, and wandered the streets, stealing what he could to survive daily. He had no one, except for his pet monkey and partner in crime, Abu.
However, Aladdin was more than meets the eye, a diamond in the rough. He went on to change his story, gaining great power and amassing more fortune than he could have ever imagined.
Some would argue that his success was achieved by a stroke of luck. But nothing could be farther from the truth.
So, how did his fortunes turn?
Aladdin’s success story takes root in his core values, long before his wealth and power came to be. So, I ask you now, what are your core values? What drives you?
Furthermore, what would seem like mere luck in Aladdin’s story is only the result of much preparedness.
Assuming he lacked the hard-sought requirements for gaining access to the Cave of Wonders, the opportunity of a lifetime would have passed him by and he would never have had the chance to set in motion the chain of events that ultimately led to his ascent to power.
Do you now see? Preparedness is the progenitor of good fortune. The success of tomorrow is dependent on the strivings of today and one can find prosperity when they lack the requirements for it.
Remember, luck is partial towards those who do not lean hopelessly on it.
So, on this day, commit to building yourself up to becoming worthy of favour:
- Continuously invest in capacity building.
- Dump your negative mindsets (whatever they may be).
- Actively seek out growth opportunities.
- And, for goodness’ sake, give up the notion of overnight success for there is no such thing; unless, of course, you seek to stake your fate on activities that will eventually lead to your physical and spiritual downfall.
Trust instead in humble beginnings and honest work. For nature is not mocked.