It's a bit long but it's worth reading
To succeed in business or life we must continually take remedial
actions. Putting yourself on the line day after day can be
extremely draining, especially when things do not work out as
desired. Hence, each time a disappointing event happens, I like
to get reminded of these famous failures:
Bill Gates founder and chairman of Microsoft has
literally changed the work culture of the world in the 21st
century, by simplifying the way computer is being used. He was
the world’s richest man for more than one decade. However, in
the 1970’s before starting out, he was a Harvard University
dropout. The most ironic part is that, he started a software
company (that was soon to become Microsoft) by purchasing the
software technology from “someone” for only $US50 back
then.
Abraham Lincoln received no more than 5 years of formal
education throughout his lifetime. When he grew up, he joined
politics and had 12 major failures before he was elected the 16th
President of the United States of America.
Isaac Newton was the greatest English mathematician of
his generation. His work on optics and gravitation made him one
of the greatest scientists the world has even known. Many thought
that Isaac was born a genius, but he wasn’t! When he was young,
he did very poorly in grade school, so poor that his teachers
became clueless in improving his grades.
Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer of classical
music, is widely regarded as one of history’s supreme
composers. His reputation has inspired? And in many cases
intimidated? Composers, musicians and audiences who were to come
after him. Before the start of his career, Beethoven’s music
teacher once said of him “as a composer, he is hopeless”. And
during his career, he lost his hearing yet he managed to produce
great music? A deaf man composing music, ironic
isn’t!
Thomas Edison who developed many devices that greatly
influenced life in the 20th century. Edison is considered one of
the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S patents
to his name. When he was a boy his teacher told him he was too
stupid to learn anything. When he set out on his own, he tried
more than 9,000 experiments before he created the first
successful light bulb.
The Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one
of the original five-and-ten- cent stores. The first
Woolworth’s store was founded in 1878 by Frank Winfield
Woolworth and soon grew to become one of the largest retail
chains in the world in the 20th century. Before starting his own
business, Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was
21. But his employer would not let him serve any customer because
he concluded that Frank “didn’t have enough common sense to
serve the customers”.
Walter Disney was American film producer, director,
screenwriter, voice actor and animator. One of the most
well-known motion picture producers in the world, Disney founded
a production company. The corporation, now known as The Walt
Disney Company, makes average revenue of US $30 billion annually.
Disney started his own business from his home garage and his very
first cartoon production went bankrupt. During his first press
conference, a newspaper editor ridiculed Walt Disney because he
had no good ideas in film production.
Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade. However, that
never stopped him to work harder! He strived and eventually
became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second
World War. Churchill is generally regarded as one of the most
important leaders in Britain and world history. In a poll
conducted by the BBC in 2002 to identify the “100 Greatest
Britons”, participants voted Churchill as the most important of
all.
Steven Spielberg is an American film director. He has
won 3 Academy Awards and ranks among the most successful
filmmakers in history. Most of all, Steven was recognized as the
financially most successful motion picture director of all time.
During his childhood, Spielberg dropped out of junior high
school. He was persuaded to come back and was placed in a
learning-disabled class. He only lasted a month and then dropped
out of school forever.
Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist widely
regarded as the most important scientist of the 20th century. He
was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation
of the photoelectric effect in 1905 and “for his services to
Theoretical Physics”. However, when Einstein was young, his
parents thought he was mentally retarded. His grades in school
were so poor that a teacher asked him to quit, saying,
“Einstein, you will never amount to anything!”
In 1947, one year into her contract, Marilyn Monroe was
dropped by 20th Century-Fox because her producer thought she was
unattractive and could not act. That didn’t deter her at all!
She kept on going and eventually she was recognized by the public
as the 20th century’s most famous movie star, s!x symbol and
pop icon.
Never give up because you never know how successful
something will turn out if you keep on trying.