A homeless man.

A single mother of twins.

An Iraq war veteran who lost her arm in the war.

You're probably not going to assume that this is a list of people that have become successful, million dollar earning entrepreneurs. Yet that is exactly what these people have done. I always enjoy reading stories about people that have overcome the difficulties that life has given them and instead rise above them. I found a story about unlikely entrepreneurs on Yahoo recently. Determination, vision and passion instead of self pity, excuses and blame are the daily drive for these people. They have chosen to not let their circumstances define them but rather as the reason to work that much harder. Oprah Winfrey was raped at the age of 9. I imagine that type of devastating event would forever prevent hope of any sort of normal life for most people. Yet she was able to rise above her nightmarish childhood and will never be defined by that horrible incident. Life is harsh at times and success never comes easy. But it is always inspiring to see what people can achieve when they set their minds to it.