The Success Digest

Kunle Afolayan was born on the 30th of September, 1974 in the Ebutte Metta area of Lagos State. He is the son of the famous theater and film director/producer, Ade Love. As a younger man, Afolayan had accompanied his father to film shoots and theater productions. He did some acting in his early days before venturing full time into the industry in 2005. Prior to then, Afolayan worked as a banker, but the lure of the Big Screen soon got the better of him. To set himself apart as a distinguished filmmaker, he enrolled in the prestigious New York Film Academy where he studied filmmaking. Once armed with the necessary knowledge and skills he needed, Afolayan returned to Lagos to carve a niche for himself. Not long after, he stood towering above his colleagues in the industry. His breakthrough movie, The Figurine was an outstanding success, turning him into an overnight celebrity.  Kunle Afolayan went on to make more better-than-most Nollywood films which are the delights of movie bu...

The creator of popular TV series on Nickelodeon, Dan Schneider was born on January 14, 1966 in Memphis, Tennessee, US. Before his foray into Hollywood, Schneider worked repairing computers. Afterwards, Schneider moved to Los Angeles and began working as an actor. Some of his credits includes- Hot Resort, Making the Grade, Better Off Dead etc.  In 1993, Schneider shifted gears in his career. He got into TV productions and went on to produce popular series like All That, Kenan & Kel, iCarly, Victorious, Sam & Cat, Drake and Josh, Zoey 101, The Amanda Show etc. He is the co-president of production outfit, Schneider's Bakery. His latest work includes, Henry Danger and Game Shakers. Dan Schneider is one man who has redefined television for teens and kids. Like Disney, he is shaping the imaginations (perhaps personalities) of millions of young adults and younger ones still. The TV sitcom, iCarly was an instant hit during its debut in 2007. It is the longest running Nickelodeon ...

Simon Kinberg, the man who has achieved so much success as a Screenwriter and Producer in Hollywood, was born in August 2, 1973 in London, England to Jewish parents. Kinberg's parent moved to Los Angeles when he was still very little. While in film school, he won the highest screenwriting award (Columbia Film School). His movie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith started as a thesis project for film school. The movie went on to gross over $475 million worldwide, and won MTV Movie Awards and People's Choice Awards. Kinberg has worked with Hollywood giants like Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer. He has collaborated with director, Doug Liman for the movies Jumper and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He is the writer of X-men: the Last Stand, xXx: State of the Union which starred Ice Cube and Samuel L. Jackson, Sherlock Holmes which gave Robert Downey Jr a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He also wrote and produced This Means War, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and The Martian.  He is massively invol...

"People have marveled at the fact that I didn't start McDonald's until I was 52 years old, and then I became a success overnight. But I was just like a lot of show business personalities who work away quietly at their craft for years, and then, suddenly, they get a break and make it big. I was an overnight success all right, but 30 years is a long, long night." These words neatly sums up the life of the man who took the McDonald's franchise from a small Los Angeles restaurant to thousands across the American landscape.  Ray Kroc was born in 1902 in Oak Park, a neighborhood in Chicago's West Side. He was not particularly attracted to studying. Kroc spent a summer of his early years working at his Uncle's pharmacy and saved up some money which he used, along with two of his friends, to open up a music store which eventually closed down. Regardless of that initial failure, Kroc had however acquired his first taste in business. When the United States joined th...

"To succeed, work hard, never give up, and above all cherish a magnificent obsession." Born Walter Elias Disney in Chicago on December 5, 1901, Walt Disney is best known for his ingenious cartoon creations that gave rise to characters such as the infamous Mickey Mouse. When Disney was about 5 or 6, his family moved to Marceline, Missouri where he had his first direct contact with nature. There, his dream began to take shape. With a coloring book his aunt gave him, Disney spent his time in the woods, watching and drawing animals he saw.  In the year 1910, the Disney family moved to Kansas City. It was to be the end of Walt Disney's happy childhood at the woods coloring away, and yet, it was this move that cemented his drive to succeed. It was while working for his father, delivering newspaper that he secretly swore to be financially independent and be successful one day. History shows, it was not a mere braggadocio.  The family moved back to Chicago after the ...

Soichiro Honda was born in 1906 in a small Japanese village. At a very young age, Honda had been fascinated with motors and machines. His father, unlike the other villagers who were farmers, had a workshop for repairing farming machinery. This was Honda's earliest contact with machines which influenced his dream and contributed to his success. The other factor to contribute to his success later in life, was his fixation with the historic figure, Napoleon. Honda discovered that Napoleon and he had certain things in common- they were both short, had a weak physique, were both born on an island and both came from poor families. Honda's father had fed him stories of Napoleon as a child, unwittingly programming him to be a champion.  Honda was a first class dunce in school. He really didn't have much interest in academic pursuits. He only read stuffs related to his interest- machines. He always came last in school competitions and regularly suffered humiliation. The older s...

Jay Z was born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York. He has enjoyed numerous successes in his music, business and investments and he's reportedly worth about $550 million according to a 2015 estimate. He is the founder of the music label Roc Nation. Jay Z, along with his siblings, were raised by his mother, Gloria Carter. He attended the same high school with late rapper, The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes. His interest in music developed at a very young age. After getting a boom box for his birthday, Jay Z started freestyling and writing lyrics. Afterwards, he started selling CDs off his car. He went on to found an independent label, Roc-A-Fella Records, in 1995 with Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs. Jay Z had some success at the early stage of his career. In 1996, he released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt which climaxed at number 23 on the Billboard 200 and was widely accepted by music critics. His follow up album, In my Lifetime Vol. 1, which was produc...

There are really great quotes, out there in the world. Quotes that came about by success and insights. I've listed ten here for your reading pleasure. Feel free to leave a comment afterwards. It'll be great to know which one(s) did it for you. 1- Choose competent people, place them in key positions and trust their judgement implicitly.             -Conrad N. Hilton 2- The best way to predict the future is to invent it. - Unknown 3- I believe that the power of making money is a gift from God... to be developed and used the best we can for the good of humanity. Having received a share of this gift, I believe it is my duty to make money, more and more money, and to use this money for the good of my fellow man by listening to the voice of my conscience.                   -John D. Rockefeller 4- Clothes don't make a man but they go a long way towards making a businessman.             ...

1- Take care of your body. Be as good as possible. Don't worry about minor problems. Look at me. I'm no Apollo, but I haven't wasted my time crying about my looks. Remember, you are never as ugly as you think. 2- Eat moderately; when you have urgent work to do, avoid rich foods and wine. Spending hours at the dinner table, when work is also encroaching on your time, is still the best way of shortening your life. 3- Wait for the evening to come and don't feast until your cogitations are over. Then have a good meal in the company of your friends and never talk business at the table. 4- Do the exercise you require and stay fit. Basic yoga is advisable as much for your body as for your mind. If you can do judo one or two hours a week, this sport would get rid of all your complexes. 5- Stay tanned even if you need a sunlamp to do it. For most people, a winter tan means you have just arrived from sunny spots and for everybody, sun means money. 6- Once you have taken care of y...

1- Always be ambitious and youthful. 2- Respect sound theories, find new ideas and devote time to improving production. 3- Take pleasure in your work and try to make working conditions as pleasant as possible. 4- Constantly look for a smooth, harmonious working rhythm. 5- Always keep in mind the value of research and hard work.

The overnight success of Olajumoke Orisaguna is an inspiring tale of patience, perseverance, courage and opportunity. It is a divine orchestration of events to set one on the part of greatness. Born in the year 1989 in Ire, Osun state. Olajumoke was trained as hairdresser before starting a family with her artisan husband, Sunday Orisaguna. This was to be deciding factor for her future as she was forced,by circumstances perhaps, to travel to the economy capital of West Africa, Lagos where fortune soon smiled on her. Orisaguna had spoken of the time she spent selling bread, living with others like herself and praying to God. She hoped and had faith, she was strong and courageous. Finally, she stumbled upon what was to become a deliverance- a photo-shoot of the British rapper, Tinie Tempah who was being photographed by renowned photographer, TY Bello. Seeing Orisaguna's potential to be a model, TY Bello launched an online campaign to find her unlikely superstar. Afterwards...