All You Need to Be a Success

He’s a household name.

He has sold over 200 million books.

His books continue to sell, even though he has been gone over twenty years.

They have been translated into more than fifteen languages.

Eleven television specials have been based on his work.

So has a major motion picture. More are said to be coming.

He holds two Academy Awards, two Emmys, a Peabody, and the Pulitzer Prize.

Yet his path to fame and fortune was neither direct nor easy.

His father wanted him to be a college professor. But he was bored by the study. So he traveled instead.

He wanted to be a cartoonist. But he spent most of his time in the early years of his career creating promotional campaigns for Standard Oil.

He did this for fifteen years. But in his spare time, he continued developing his craft as a cartoonist.

He got published in The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines.

Then along came World War II. He was too old to serve, but he wanted to contribute.

He was able to get placed with the U.S. Army’s Signal Corp, led by Frank Capra. While there, he was introduced to animation and developed a series of humorous, animated films featuring a fictional trainee, Private Snafu.

He continued to contribute to magazines like Life and Vanity Fair.

Eventually, he was offered the opportunity to create the illustrations for a children’s book of sayings. This was his first foray into books for kids.

While the book was not a commercial success, he gained favorable press for his illustrations. So he decided to write and illustrate a children’s book of his own.

He was rejected 27 times!

But his persistence paid off. And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street was eventually published. It was a hit.

Theodor Seuss Geisel – or Dr. Seuss as we know him – went on to become one of the foremost authors of children’s books in history.

He reached BIGG success. You can too.

Just remember what Dr. Seuss said:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”

“Oh, the places you’ll go” on your way to BIGG success!

Source: All About Dr. Seuss

 Image in this post from andionline