How Sleeping in His Car Led Steve Harvey to a $200 Million Dollar Empire

We all know Steve Harvey today as the sharply dressed, mustache-rocking, joke slinging king of TV. But what a lot of people don’t know is that there was a time when this man, now worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was homeless, broke, and sleeping in his car.

That’s right. Steve Harvey, the man with a house big enough to get lost in, used to sleep in a 1976 Ford Tempo with a cooler in the back for food. If that isn’t a before-and-after story worth learning from, I don’t know what is.

So what saved him?

Two things. Faith and a phone call.

Let’s rewind a bit.

In the late 1980s, Steve was chasing his dream of becoming a comedian. But things weren’t exactly going well. He had two kids to support, barely enough money to eat, and no place to stay. Every night he parked up somewhere new and tried to avoid getting kicked off the lot by security. You think your rent is high? Try living in a car where the only room service is the sound of police tapping on your window.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

While most people would have given up, Steve kept doing stand-up. Even when the shows paid peanuts. Even when the audience was cold. Even when the couch he didn’t have sounded better than another cold night in the car.

He kept saying yes to opportunity. He kept the faith.

And then one day… a phone call came. Showtime at the Apollo was looking for a comedian. Someone had seen one of his sets and passed on the word. That one gig changed everything. It paid $750, a fortune to Steve at the time. But more than the money, it gave him visibility. It gave him momentum.

That one shot pulled him out of the car and into his calling.

Here’s the part they don’t teach in school

Steve Harvey didn’t win because of luck. He won because he stayed in the game. Even when the scoreboard said zero. Even when life said, “Maybe this isn’t for you.” He didn’t listen.

The man had a vision so big, even his car couldn’t contain it.

That’s the secret most people miss. Success isn’t always pretty. Sometimes it’s ugly. Sometimes it smells like three-day-old fast food and stale coffee. But if your why is big enough, you’ll ride it out.

So what can we learn from this?

Persistence is louder than poverty. Belief is stronger than brokenness. And every one of us, no matter where we are, has a “Showtime at the Apollo” moment waiting, if we’re willing to hold on long enough to hear the phone ring.

If you’re struggling right now, ask yourself: What am I still saying yes to? What dream am I still willing to sleep in a car for, if that’s what it takes?

Because here’s the thing: Steve Harvey isn’t some magical man. He’s a man who decided to believe bigger than his circumstances.

And that’s available to all of us.

If he can do it , so can you.

Persistance pays…

What do you think?, do you have an opinion?, GREAT… let me know below..

Have a great day.

Keith

P.S Check out our latest books on persistence, resistance, and how to make it BIG in life….