A talented artist can achieve greatness

I have recently written three biography articles on people who have achieved greatness within their own lifetime. I discovered that they all had something in common. Each of them knew from an early age exactly what it was that they wanted to devote their life to, and they all went on to become celebrated for their accomplishments.

1. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

British-born astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin received many accolades for her scientific work and her research into the composition, evolution, magnitude and distance of stars.

At the age of five Cecilia decided that she wanted to be an astronomer, after she had witnessed a meteor in the night sky. Her lifetime contribution to astrophysics and astronomy led her to be accepted as one of the greatest astronomers of her time, and she was born at a time when women did not have equal rights or many opportunities to advance in a career.
 
Read more about the life and achievements of  Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

2. Tintoretto
 
The great sixteenth-century Venetian artist, whose real name was Jacopo Robusti, was the son of a dyer. In Italian the name Tintoretto means 'little dyer', or 'a dyer's boy'.
 
It was as a young boy that Jacopo first began painting frescoes, using his father’s dyes to paint on the walls. Tintoretto devoted his whole adult life to his art and became one of the most innovative and influential artists of his time.

Read more about Tintoretto and his long and productive life

3. Sam Mendes

The multi-award-winning director, whose movies include the Oscar winning American Beauty and the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall, first began directing plays when he was a student at Cambridge University. He has since won several top awards for directing highly acclaimed theatrical productions. 

Skyfall is the highest-grossing movie in the UK and it broke box office records in the first week of opening in the USA. Within a month it had been viewed by 77 million people around the world.

Read more about Sam Mendes and his achievements

I do admire people who have always known what they wanted to do in life, and then go on to be great at what they do. I know I shall never achieve greatness but I have always had an interest in writing, and I've always been an avid reader. At least I can claim some success with my writing, ever since I started to write and publish content online in 2008. If you are interested in writing online you might want to follow my other blog: Writing Guidelines, take a look at Blogging for Writers, or visit the Freelance Writing Opportunities Project Board