Broke Is The New Rich

By: Brandon Gaskins

    Most people will never know whats its like to be homeless and penny less, but for those who have dreams and the commitment to follow their hearts will tell you, being broke was probably the best thing to ever happen to them. When you are at your lowest point, that's when you find out what your really made of and if those around you really want to see you succeed. The following people found themselves at their lowest points but instead of giving up, they followed their hearts and became a success.

    Chris Gardner was accepted into a Dean Witter Reynolds trainee program for finance, despite not having any experience or a college degree. The meager salary was not enough to live off and so Chris was forced to live on the streets of New York with his young son. The movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness", was based off his life. Chris is the CEO of Gardner Rich LLC, a New York Times bestselling author and a motivational speaker.

    Oscar award winning actress, Halle Berry has beauty that is timeless and you would think her looks kept her from ever having to deal with being broke or homeless. However when Berry was in her early twenties she moved to Chicago to chase her dreams of becoming an actress. She soon ran out of money and her mother thought it would be best if she did not send Halle any money. Halle admitted she had to sleep in homeless shelters until things turned around for her.

Jim Carrey an In Loving Color alumni, is arguably one of the funniest men on the planet. Before Jim became a Hollywood superstar he was broke and homeless. Carrey dropped out of high school and lived out of a VW camper, before eventually living out of a tent on his oldest sister lawn. Its been nothing but green pastures since then.

Ella Fitzgerald, to many is the best jazz female vocalist of all time. Before Ella received 13 Grammy awards and medals from President Reagan and President George H. Bush, she would deal with being abused by her step father, being a runaway and working for the mafia. She was discovered when she got up the nerve to perform at the famous Apollo theater in 1934.

Most Know Daniel Craig as the action hero star 007 or James Bond. What they don't know is Daniel slept on park benches in London before he got his big break.

Sylvester Stallone is one of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood, he has played easy to love characters, Rambo and Rocky. Before Stallone got his first paying role in a softcore adult movie titled, "The Party at Kitty and Studs" in which he was paid $200 for two days, Stallone spent 3 weeks sleeping at the, port authority bus station.