Everyone wants to grow up, make tons of money and be extremely successful like Bill Gates someday. However, not everyone wants to take the long route. While entrepreneurs are getting younger and younger, the goal of being taken seriously gets even harder.

Below are a few struggling prodigies who would make good role models for those aspiring to retire at a young age and live the good life.

1. Alec Niedenthal - 17-year-old Alabama writer who publicized himself by writing a snappy letter to the Times Book Review about the rattled MySpace generation. He caught the eye of a few publishers who agreed to meet with him, but sent him packing without any deal.

2. Darshi Keerthisena - The 25-year-old Sri Lankan designer tells us, “The apparel industry is huge and large in Sri Lanka, but the fashion industry is nowhere.” But so far she is doing really well winning numerous prestigious international competitions.

3. Ugly Betty - Most of you know the story of Ugly Betty, and though she is a fictional person, she is still a role model for many. Progressing in her entry-level job despite all the chaos and determent she receives, Betty is as real as the rest of us.

4. Michael Dunlop - Founder of RetireAt21.com, the 20-year-old college dropout faced numerous obstacles, such as not being able to find a job and suffering from Dyslexia. Like many wise kids with a good eye, Dunlop noticed the success of online business, and now his site is one of the leading platforms for youngsters to showcase their talents.

5. Annabel Osberg - This 19-year-old painting “prodigy” was dropped from the Yale MFA program because they felt she was too young and “immature”. Sadly, they collected her $52,000 tuition for the year before they gave her the boot. She had already graduated from California State University at San Bernadino at age 18.