They say that behind every successful man, there is a woman.
But what is behind every successful woman?
We might mistakenly think that the world is ruled by successful men simply because we tend to see lots of men in authority, lots of men as heads of companies and lots of men as heads of their country.
You see and hear about the great innovators and business men of our time, people such as Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft), Larry Ellison (founder of Oracle) and the late and highly talented Steve Jobs (founder of Apple) but what about their female equivalents? Where are they?
Dig a little deeper and you will find these successful women, perhaps not as many in corporate business circles, but there are successful women who are getting noticed especially when they strike out on their own.
The success stories that seem to catch the media’s attention are those women who were average people, not born to celebrities or having access to inherited wealth. The women we love to hear about and are inspired by are women who struggled, as we all do sometimes, to raise a family and to make a living.
And since these women were really driven and persevered, overcoming all the obstacles that lie on the road to success, they have gone on to become one of that rare breed of women who also leave a legacy to the world.
Look at JK Rowling; a single mother when she first started out writing her Harry Potter books. Broke and unable to afford heating in her apartment, she used to go to a Cafe in Scotland where she would write for hours. She would sit there because it was warm inside and she couldn’t afford the heating in her apartment.
At that time, she had a 2 year old daughter, Jessica, and when her toddler would awake, she would talk her out in the stroller. When her daughter would fall asleep, she would go back into the cafe and write for hours. This is where Harry Potter was developed into the first fully fledged book.
Her passion to write the book and to pursue publishers until she finally got accepted is what has lead her to become a global success story.
Look at her now a multi-millionaire, fast approaching the billionaire status with royalties from so many different types of merchandise from Harry Potter Lego to Harry Potter Games as well as from the many films based around her books.
J K Rowling is reported to be richer than the Queen of England!
Another woman who has been busy blazing her trail of success in creating a great brand of toys is Jennifer Telfer, the founder and creator of the My Pillow Pet plush toys for children.
Jennifer was a mother of two and she got fed up of seeing her children’s stuffed animals strewn all across their bedrooms.
She decided to come up with another functional use for stuffed animals and this is when the MY Pillow Pets products idea was conceived.
She created a line of stuffed toys that would be great for children to play with during the day as daytime companions, but these animals could also be turned into a soft pillow for young children to rest their heads on during daytime naps or whilst reading or watching TV as well as using them as pillows by night.
Hence the beginning of My Pillow Pets product line.
Jennifer Telfer is married and works with her husband to run their global and highly successful business but the creation of that idea was all hers.
Two successful women, one a single mother, both with children who managed to somehow find the time to devote towards nurturing their brilliant ideas and seeing them through to the end.
You may not have heard of the top women CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies, but you will definitely have heard of JK Rowling and if you have not heard of Jennifer Telfer, you will most certainly know of My Pillow Pets toys.
These women give us a glimpse of what is possible when you decide things cannot go on as they are and you want to change your life for the better.
They show us that success is possible even though we are the primary carer for our children and the principle homemaker.
At some level we all want to do better, to end the struggle and to give our children a better and brighter future.
Perhaps this was their driving passion.
What is yours?
Shelley Kim is the mother of three amazing children and the founder of 1stToysOnline.com.
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