"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 guy who'll decide where to go. You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that life's a great balancing act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.) Kid, you'll move mountains!" -- Dr. Seuss
Do you feel like every one around you knows exactly what they want to be when they grow up, and you're still trying to figure out which cereal to eat for breakfast? Are all your peers juggling three balls and a baton on fire while you're struggling with one ball? Whether you've just graduated high school, college or wherever you are in your life, don't feel bad if you don't know where you are headed or how to get there.
Who says you have to have the stereotypical path to success? There are people who go from being dirt poor to a huge success in unconventional ways all the time, so don't beat yourself up if you don't see your clear cut line to success just yet.
Here are 10 examples of people in odd jobs who worked hard to be successful:
1. Hooters cocktail waitress to CEO of Cinnabon.
Kat Cole was a waitress at Hooters who worked her way up in the management system only to find herself landing the job as the CEO at Cinnabon years later.
2. Disco dancing instructor to owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
Cuban says when a group of sorority girls ask you to help instruct disco lessons you don't turn that down.
3. PewDieDie.
Through the creation of YouTube videos that showed people how to play video games, this young man had more than nine million views and made $7.4 million last year.
4. Buy an abandoned warehouse and make a billion dollars.
This man did! The creator of Chobani was originally an immigrant with $3,000 in his bank account when he bought an abandoned factory, created the yogurt and a few years later, had $1 billion in profits.
5. My pet rock.
After overhearing people in bar discuss the annoying responsibility of owning an animal, he decided to create a "pet rock." At $4 per rock, he sold 1.5 million rocks. As the picture obviously shows, there wasn't much overhead so he became very wealthy.
6. The success kid.
Everyone knows this photo because it is used in many a meme, but did you know it was actually just a photo on a mother's Flickr account and then overnight it went viral. It had corporations like Virgin Mobile wanting to use it. His parents just thought they had a funny picture, but little did they know that they had stumbled across an Internet sensation.
7. Jim Carey.
We all know him as the man in "Dumb and Dumber," "The Mask," "Bruce Almighty" as well as many other movies. But did you know his first job was as a janitor after he had to drop out of high school? And on his first comic stand up he was booed off stage. I think I can speak for everyone who has gotten laughs from him over the years, we are glad he didn't stop at the first no.
8. Financial planner to arcade company CEO.
OK, so he was already successful. We can't all be a jack of all trades, but he did have to make a scary leap. Is a financially lucrative job worth it if you aren't happy? To Seth Peterson, it wasn't. That is when he made the switch from financial planner to work with arcade games.
9. Corporate communications to narcotics dog handler.
Amy Halm adopted a former police dog. As a pet owner, what she didn't know was that this decision would start a whole new career for her. Sometimes you have a new job opportunity right around the corner and you don't even know it.
10. One of the most prominent filmmakers of all time was rejected from USC twice.
Yes, I am talking about Steven Spielberg. So if the university of your dreams rejected you, don't take it too hard.
Obviously, I'm not saying that everyone is going to be a billionaire because they buy an abandoned warehouse or get a job at Hooters, but who know's what you'll end up doing? Don't be scared because you don't have the classic route to your future. It's easier said than done, but be active in your pursuit to figure out what you aspire to do, and who knows? Maybe it will all fall into place. Remember that even if you don't know it, everyone's life is on the balancing ball. You're not alone. Don't let people demean you for thinking outside the box. Some of the greatest minds were in the minority opinion at some time in their life.
