Senator Kamala Harris has scripted history by becoming first woman, Black and Indian-American vice president of the United States 👸🏿
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Harris is known for many firsts 😎. She has been a county district attorney; the district attorney for San Francisco – the first woman and first African-American and Indian-origin to be elected to the position 😀
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She was born to two immigrant parents: a Black father and an Indian mother. Her father, was from Jamaica, and her mother from India.
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Harris was born in Oakland and grew up in Berkeley. She spent her high school years living in French-speaking Canada – her mother was teaching at McGill University in Montreal.
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Her mother told her growing up, “Don’t sit around and complain about things, do something,” which is what drives Kamala every single day ⚠️💪
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She attended college in the US, spending four years at Howard University, which she has described as among the most formative experiences of her life.
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After Howard, she went on to earn her law degree at the University of California, Hastings, and began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
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She became the top prosecutor for San Francisco in 2003, before being elected the first woman and the first black person to serve as California’s attorney general in 2010, the top lawyer in America’s most populous state 🤗.
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In her victory speech, Harris said that while she may be the first woman to occupy the vice president’s office, she would not be the last. 🤗
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Her victory indicates that no door is closed to Indian-Americans in public life in the country.
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Remember – you can always be the 1st in some category so don’t stop and reach out for your dreams! 🤩
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Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
“Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there“. 😉
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Robert Downey Jr. grew up “Surrounded With Drugs“. His father was a drug addict who allowed him to use it at age of 6 😳. His father now regrets this decision but for Robert drug use was in a way an emotional bond between him and his father.
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Robert Downey Jr. started acting at the age of 5 and during his childhood he had minor roles in his father’s movies. In 1987 came the role that started his career. He played the role of a drug addict in the movie “Less Than Zero”. His realistic performance got him many positive reviews and offers from top directors 😁
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The doors in Hollywood were wide open for him for the next 4 years. From 1996 through 2001 Downey was arrested many times on charges related to drugs 😒. He went through a few drug treatment programs but unsuccessfully 🤷🏼♀️
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In 1999 after he missed another drug test he was arrested again and spent 1 year in prison. In prison, he worked in the kitchen washing dishes for 8 cents an hour and slept on a 3-inch mattress.
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After Robert DJ was released from prison it appeared that he left the drugs behind him and started a new chapter. He was cast on the hit series Ally Mcbeal where he was highly praised for his work🤩. But that new chapter was all a lie, he was still doing drugs 😞
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In 2001 he was found in an ally behind a motel, barefoot and in a fetal position. He was arrested and fired from the series he almost went bankrupt 🤷🏼♀️
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In 2003 he met the love of his life, his current wife Susan Levin. She insisted that she would only marry him if he gave up drugs for good. So after so many years of struggles he was ready to work really hard to make a full recovery and never use drugs again 👍
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In 2008 Downey started playing the iconic role of Iron Man 🤖. There is no doubt that Robert Downey Jr. has been through very hard times in his life, but he doesn’t let anything stop him. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, his net worth is now $300 Million 💰
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Remember: It’s ok to ask for help. You don’t have to do everything alone.
Source:www.smileyfeed.net
Peter Dinklage was born in Morristown, New Jersey. His father was an insurance salesman, who was usually without a job 😰. And his mother was an Elementary-School music teacher. 👩🏫 His childhood was not easy because he was born with achondroplasia, a common form of dwarfism 🙁.
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When he was younger, he was often in anger and depression about his condition and put up walls around him 💔.
But As years passed, even though it wasn’t easy,Peteraccepted his condition and realized that you just need to have a sense of humor 😀. You have to know that It’s not your problem. It’s theirs.
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He was always attracted and fascinated with theater 🎭, music 🎶, and films 🎬. Because of that, Peter studied for a drama degree at Bennington College, and also took part in several productions before he graduated.
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He moved to New York with hisfriendto build a theater company. They moved into an unheated apartment filled with rats 😬. But soon, because they didn’t have money to pay rent, they had to move out. He had to make some money to survive in the big city. He was really struggling as an actor because he only had offers to play elves and leprechauns 🙄. He turned down those job offers out of principles, he felt that they were insulting to him as a dwarf.
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So his acting career was put on hold. For the next 6 years, Peter had to work at a data processing company… 🙁
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In 2011 came his most impressive and significant role as Tyrion Lannister in the series Game of Thrones. “I had one hesitation, because of the fantasy genre, I told him I didn’t want a really long beard and pointy shoes and they assured me this character and this world wasn’t that. That he was a womanizer and a drinker, and they painted a flawed and beautiful portrait of him, so I signed on” 😁
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He became one of the most loved and respected characters in the GoT, but also in real life. Taking this role changed his life. Peter Dinklage won a Golden Globe Award 🏆for his performance in Game of Thrones. He also won three Primetime Emmy Awards.
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But what if he didn’t take the leap? What if he didn’t see past his fears and stayed at his job? What an inspiration 🤩
Gal Gadot is an amazing actress who became famous for her incredible role as Wonder Woman. But before she landed that role she was facing constant rejections and almost gave up on acting 🤷🏼♀️.
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Gal Gadot was born in small town in Israel. Her parents raised her to always believe in herself and never doubt her value 🤗.
Before becoming famous she used to work many jobs. When she was 12, she was babysitting for her neighbors 👶. As a teenager, despite getting a lot of attention for her looks, Gal Gadot was not really interested in modeling. So, instead of making money working as a model she decided to get a job at Burger King 😅
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Before finishing high school, her mother decided to enter her into the Miss Israel Beauty Pageant and even though Gal wasn’t interested, she decided to just go with it and so at the age of 18 she became Miss Israel and went on to compete in Miss Universe 🤩 But she deliberately sabotaged herself from winning, because that wasn’t her dream 🤷🏼♀️
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She knew she was destined for something else. She really hated being in the competition, so she tried very hard to lose 😮
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After finishing high school Gal Gadot served her mandatory 2 years of service in the Israeli defense forces 💪
The military training brought a lot of self-discipline in her life and shaped her to be the person she is today 👊🏻.
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After serving her time she went on to study law and in the middle of her studies her agent called her to audition for the role of a Bond Girl in the movie “Quantum of Solace” – she didn’t get the part, but this moment changed her life – she found her new passion. 🤩
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Her 1st role in Hollywood was in the movie “Fast & Furious” (2009). And she was cast as a result of her military training.
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This path was not an easy one. It was filled with a lot of obstacles.
Source:https://www.smileyfeed.net/
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1963, Michael Jordan is one of the greatest ever examples of hard work and ambition beating out natural talent 💪
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After childhood spent in NYC, Jordan’s family moved to North Carolina where Michael spent his early years playing football and basketball, growing skilled at both sports.
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One of the turning points in MJ’s life came during his sophom*ore year of high school. Ambitious Jordan tried out for his school’s team but apparently he wasn’t tall enough to make the team 🤷🏼♀️ (180cm at the time).
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This rejection set a fire inside Michael Jordan and instead of joining the varsity team, he opted to play in the school’s Junior Varsity division, believing that he could prove his worth and eventually advance to the higher-ranked squad and he most certainly did 🤩
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If it hadn’t been for his initial rejection it’s possible that Jordan never would have applied himself.
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After high school, Jordan breezed through college on a basketball scholarship, becoming one of the country’s most respected and acclaimed college basketball stars 🏀
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During his professional career in the late 1980s, Jordan became one of basketball’s biggest stars 🤩
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Of course as any great sports career has its ups and downs, and Michael’s is no different. At the peak of his career, Jordan was accused of having a major gambling problem. He quickly retired from basketball, choosing to instead focus on his less successful baseball career ⚾️
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In 1997 Jordan announced his return to the NBA in one of the world’s shortest press releases. Consisting of two words – “I’m back.” 😎
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If Michael Jordan’s career shows anything, it’s the value of hard work and endless determination. He was never the most genetically gifted athlete in the NBA 😅, nor was he the most talented 😉. He wasn’t a never-ending success either – Jordan will be the first to tell you he failed many times. What he is, is an individual that never gives up on his goals 👏, and takes the steps required to achieve them 🤩
Source:https://successstory.com
This Story About Pablo Picasso Teaches an Important Lesson 🙏
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From the age of 5 Picasso drew compulsively. He drew on anything he could get his hands on & sketched everything he saw 🎨
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On his 19th bday he left his family in Spain and immigrated to Paris, the art capital of Europe at the time 😍
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The young Pablo could barely speak a word of French, had little money and lived in a small studio.
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For a short while, Picasso made some headway, until his close friend, Carlos Casagemas, committed suicide.
Traumatized by the death of his friend he began to create sombre paintings in only shades of blue and blue-green, which led to withdrawal of his art dealers support.
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Left with little money, Picasso returned home to Barcelona to live off his family 😞. His father reprimanded him for his failure & said that he had no chance of making a living as a painter 💔
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1 year later, however, Picasso mustered up the courage and traveled back to Paris to have another shot.
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This time Picasso would strike gold.
In 1904, a wealthy American, Gertrude Stein, discovered Picasso’s artwork and bought 10 of his paintings for 800 francs 🤩
She also commissioned Picasso to paint an image of herself, which would later become the famous Portrait of Gertrude Stein
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By 1905, Picasso had become the favorite artist of the Stein family, and G.Stein began to exhibit his paintings at her home in Paris
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In 1907, at the age of 25 years old, Picasso created his breakthrough painting The Young Ladies of Avignon: arguably the most important painting of the 20th century, which launched the cubism art movement and shaped modern art 🖼
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By the time he passed away, Picasso was widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time & amassed a net worth close to $500 million 💰💰💰
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In 2015, Picasso’s “Version O” sold for $179.4 million, as one of the highest ever sold auctioned artwork 😳
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It may look like Picasso was an overnight success but his story would say otherwise: it took nearly 20 years for his hard work for the breakthrough moment of success to arrive.
There Are No Shortcuts to Success ⚠️
Source: https://thriveglobal.com
If you’re looking for some inspiration to progress in your career then look no further than the successful life of Jack Welch 🤗
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Jack Welch was born into poverty. Although, he worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, Welch was never distracted from his studies and performed well academically throughout middle and high school 👨🏻🎓.
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In 1957, Jack Welch graduated from a university with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. After graduation, Welch went for higher studies and in the year 1960, he graduated with a Masters and a PHD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
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Welch’s 40-year affiliation with GE started in 1960 when he joined the company’s ‘plastics’ division as a chemical engineer. Welch’s annual salary at the time was $10,500. Over the next decade, Jack Welch continued to impress the C-suite executives—winning their respect and admiration, and this led to him being appointed as the youngest vice president in GE’s history in 1972.
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7 years later, in 1979, he was promoted to the position of Vice Chairman, and in 1981, he became the eighth chairman and CEO of General Electric.
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Under Welch’s leadership, GE experienced tremendous growth with the company’s value increasing by 4000% during Welch’s tenure.
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With Jack Welch at the helm, General Electric acquired new businesses, streamlined operations and ensured that every business under the company’s banner was among the best 💪
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The revenues of GE in 1980—the year before Jack Welch became the company’s Chairman and CEO, was just over $25 billion. In 2000—the year before Welch’s retirement, GE’s revenue was $130 billion 💰
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Additionally, Jack helped increase the company’s market value from just $14 billion to over $400 billion, making GE the largest and most valuable company in the world 🌍
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He was a man on mission and someone not scared or discouraged by obstacles that came in his path. The successful life story of Jack Welch is the perfect inspiration for anyone looking to progress in their career or make it as a successful entrepreneur 😉
Source:https://percentotech.com
MAJA BLOOM
Today’s Inspirational Story will be in a form of an interview! Please see below and learn about Maja Bloom who played Carrow in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald!
Hi Maja! Welcome to Smiley Society! I’ve just seen Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and i was so excited to see you there! Well done!
Thank you. I hope people enjoy the movie! I know it’s part 2 and maybe if someone is not familiar with the whole world of Harry Potter, they may not know all the characters, or get lost in all the stories, but I hope people will still enjoy it. At the end of the day cinema, I think, it’s a form of escape, time for some relaxation and rest.
How did you react when you heard you got the part?
It was quite a long process. I had my first audition and then I thought that perhaps I did not do very well. You see, actors often question the quality of their work. It was over a month and a half later that I found out I was invited to meet the director. I then read for two parts. I asked myself later whether, after all, I got the first part that I auditioned for or maybe I lost out on that one, and instead I got the second one? So it was either my biggest failure or my biggest success – who knows? Maybe like all in life, all depends on our perception of it all? How did I react? It was kind of amazing and I felt like I ‘broke my spell’ after many castings where I was very close, but did not make it in the end. Many times you try your best and unfortunately the more you try, the keener you may be and sometimes you are too keen. What I mean is, that to give a good performance, to do your best, you have to kind of let go. I think not only in castings, but in life in general. So when I got the part, I felt like I broke my spell. I started to believe myself more earlier on that year, and I saw a result of that. It was amazing. I was actually quite new t the Harry Potter world. I didn’t realise people love it so much and it was and still is very humbling. There are people who are very attached to the characters and you become part of the story that is dear to so many readers and fans. Last year I decided to believe that, as they say, ‘the universe has my back’ and I kind of trusted it would go well, and then it happened so it was a very good feeling.
Carrow, your character, is one of Grindelwald’s „gang” so you got to spend a lot of time on the set with Johnny Depp right? How was it working with him?
Yes, I am one of Grindelwald’s gang and I spent five weeks on set working with Johnny Depp. He was a very nice guy and it was a pleasure to work with him. There are hundreds and hundreds of people on set, so sometimes we would see each other in the morning and not again until afternoon next day, because we had different things to do, make up, costume, etc. And sometimes we spent hours and hours working together and joking around in the breaks. He is very nice, humble, and simply… very normal. One day we talked about Polish mountains, for example, and a lot of other things. He is obviously a big star, but I never felt like I was working with someone inaccessible. Quite the contrary. If it wasn’t Johnny Depp I would just say he was just another great actor that I happened to work with. He’s a musician as well so we talked about music as well. It was overall a great experience.
How did you become an actress in the first place?
Gosh I wish I knew! I always loved performing. I’m not a spring chicken anymore (in my thirties) so in the past few years apart from just acting, I’ve also become a comedian and lets’s not forget first, I am a singer and songwriter, perhaps mainly as I simply cannot live without music in my life. I think I liked the idea of sharing: you can share by writing a book, a blog, a theatre play or movie script. We can share what we go through in stories we tell each other. I think that is the main thing that attracts us to art in general, movies and books and theatre and everything else. It’s about telling a story. I was told in the past that I am most probably on Asperger spectrum. I think because of it I tend to explain a lot and often I think out loud. When I am faced with fellow humans I feel like I have to explain my brain out loud (boring and crazy, I know! 🙂 and people sometimes think that I either like talking or that I am egocentric. I do indeed live in my own often crazy world but would hate to be ever anything close to egocentric, even though many actors are known to be very egocentric. And so, I guess to me it is all about sharing your story and communicating with others with the help of stories. As an actor, sometimes you have to portray someone that you don’t agree with. You can ask what it was like playing an acolyte, an evil character who at one point neutralises a lovely child (spoiler alert). You have to try to understand people from different sides. It can be difficult and painful at times, but if we understand something first then and only then we can try to change it. You have to make sense of your character and why they do what they do. It is all about watching people and watching how the human species works. I have always felt like an observer and like an alien (again, partly due to being on the Asperger spectrum), kind of watching human species from the side. I don’t actually know the exact answer to that question.
Do you have new projects/movies coming up?
I do. Some are not confirmed just yet and some are work in progress. The production of the EP of my original songs has been delayed, but I hope to work on it soon. You can check some demo recordings on my website http://www.planetmaja.com. One thing confirmed and to be released in February 2019 was a really lovely cute story we worked on in September, commissioned by The Plymouth University. It’s based on a a true story. The director, Anya Lewin is an American artist. Her grandma Ada (played by me) was a Polish Jew that spent two years in Cairo, and set up a perfume shop there with her husband. The movie talks about their time in Egypt and then return to Berlin. I play Ada, a lovely lady who had a chance to be independent in 1930s Cairo and then, when her husband finally got his job back in Berlin, had to close it all and get back to being a housewife, which was kind of sad because I guess she really wanted to achieve something of her own. It will be out in February 2019. The movie was shot in 4 different languages which was just incredible. I am trilingual myself (a Brit and a Pole in one, with family in France) and had to act in English, Polish and French. And then of course, since the movie takes place in Egypt, we also had characters and actors speaking Arabic.
Can you explain that to us – You’re both British and Polish but French as well?
I am technically, nationality-wise both British and Polish. My sister is French and so I feel connected to France too. My sister left for France when I was 15. She is my oldest sister and works as a lawyer for French government, while her wife works for French tax office. That’s why I always joke I am probably safe in France since I have contacts in high places. My nephews and niece on that side of the family were born in France, and have French nationality, and so I get to cheer on France too in all sport events. I even learned the lovely French national anthem. It is very convenient to have 3 countries to cheer on in e.g. World Cup so when one of your team loses, you just move on to the other one. I’ve lived in the UK on and off for the past 22 years and I definitely feel very British. My accent unfortunately fluctuates so it can be a bit Eastern European, when I speak to my Polish family, it can be a bit French-y especially when I visit family in Paris, and I get to play French characters sometimes, and then when I travel it can just be a mixture of all, a kind of a neutral travelling accent. I do feel British and I admit I hate when people ask me where I am from on days when my accent is less than British. Or when they ask the worst question of all: ‘…but where are you REALLY from?’ which I consider rude and racist, to be blunt. Well… I wish I knew where I was from! From my mom, and from planet Maja for sure. I was brought up in Wrocław, a lovely city in Poland, which I still consider my home city, besides London, but I have lived so long in the UK and I always felt at least partly British because of British values. And I travelled since I was 17, having worked in Asia, and last year having a partner in Switzerland and being there often as well. So I am not really sure where my home is and where I am from… Nowadays in Poland there is sadly a lot of racism and hom*ophobia which I cannot identify with. I don’t know why, I never felt fully Polish, even though my grandad was in a way a minor war hero. He led a small battalion of young soldiers during The Warsaw Uprising of 1944. He was very Polish and he lost friends for freedom of Poland and Polish people. I think though he would be proud and happy that our family has become more than just Polish. There is nothing wrong in being just Polish, not at all, but I think it’s quite incredible that after all that Poland went through in its history, in 2018 I, his granddaughter, am also British and travel the world and worked in India or Malaysia, my sister is French living in Paris, my other sister lived in Germany and is fluent in German (she’s our family German expert), and my little brother has an Italian fiancee so he will probably have an Italian passport too one day. In that way, I always say, when we all have kids, we will have 4 difference chances for an Olympic medal… which will stay in the same family. 🙂
So nowadays you’re working as an actress, model and also a travel blogger. How do you
Ha, I wish I knew i.e I personally feel I do NOT manage it all at all! I have to prioritise and chose what is most important at the time. Sometimes I only act, e.g. when I am on set for 4 weeks non stop. Sometimes I only travel, and sometimes I take a rest from all and just plan ahead or enjoy the here and now. I have always loved travelling but despite visiting 5 continents and 36 countries, I only started on instagram 5 months ago and am very keen to start documenting my travels better and perhaps building a career around that. Acting and music will always be important for me, but travelling gives you a different perspective and some kind of rest from the world, so I would be over the moon to combine work with travelling. Thank you again for this interview request!
