They Said She Couldn’t Do It!
By Lisa Taggart
Often, great ideas are met with cries of, “It can’t be done!” At that point, many give up, but a rare few hunker down to prove they can do the impossible. Here, you’ll meet some of the fighters who’ve grabbed their dreams and hung on tight. What about you? Will you be one of them someday?
Pleasant Rowland Created American Girl Dolls!
Chances are, you’ve grown up loving one of Pleasant Rowland’s American Girl dolls. But there was a time when Pleasant called her company “the idea nobody thought would work.” She heard it from toy industry experts, focus groups, friends and neighbors: American Girl was going to be a huge failure. Why? Because Pleasant’s dolls were for 7- to 12-year-old girls, and girls that age just weren’t into dolls. But Pleasant didn’t listen. She was certain girls would love her dolls, which came with stories drawn from actual historical events. And although Pleasant had no experience running a toy company, she proved her critics wrong, making more than a million dollars in her first four months! When she retired, she sold her company to Mattel for $700 million.
Debra L. Lee Runs a TV Empire!
In 1986, Debra L. Lee left a safe career path as a lawyer to join a new TV network aimed at African-Americans called Black Entertainment Television (BET). At the time, Debra said, no one thought the cable network would last. “I took a step back and said, ‘This is something that I want to do, even though I don’t know whether it will be successful,’” she once told a reporter. Today, the cable network reaches more than 80 million households. Debra is now running the network, making her one of the most important African-American women in television today. She says she has been so successful because she just keeps pushing forward.
Julie Krone Won Millions Racing Horses!
When Julie Krone was growing up in Michigan, trainers said her dreams of becoming a jockey were a waste of time—girls couldn’t ride well enough to race horses. But Julie simply set her mind to proving them all wrong. She talked her way into jobs at the track, walking racehorses, cleaning stalls—whatever she could do to stay close to the horses. All the while, she kept practicing. When a trainer finally gave her a chance to ride, he was astonished at how skilled she was. Soon, trainers were begging her to ride their horses! Over her career, she won more times than any other woman jockey, earning $90 million in prizes! No wonder she was the first woman ever inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame!
