Robert Redford grew up with mild polio, struggled in school and felt like an outsider.
 
Teachers thought he wasn’t smart enough, and classmates teased him.
 
After working odd jobs and getting expelled from college for heavy drinking and poor academic performance, he turned to art and acting.
 
His start was humble.
 
He got small parts on Broadway, guest spots on TV shows, and a few film roles.
 
It wasn't instant fame, but he kept showing up, taking whatever role he could, hoping people would take notice.
 
His breakthrough came alongside Paul Newman in 1969 with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
 
The movie turned him into a bankable star and in the 1970s, he was consistently ranked among the top 5 box office draws in America.
 
He later founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 with  $500,000 of his own money, giving unknown filmmakers a chance to tell their stories.
 
As Redford said, “The measure of our success will be the condition on which we leave the world for the next generation.”
 
From a boy labeled ‘slow’ to one of Hollywood’s greatest actors and directors, Robert Redford rose to the top and used his success to open doors for others.
 
The labels others put on you don’t decide your future, you do.