Famous Failures

Don’t let others keep you from meeting your goals and obtaining your dreams. We all fail. It is going to happen. What matters is that you get back up and keep going.

10 “Failures” who Became Successful

1. Walt Disney: Before creating the Disney empire, Walt Disney faced rejection and failure. He was told that he lacked creativity and had no good ideas. Yet, he persisted, and his creations have become iconic.
2. Thomas Edison: Edison is famous for his numerous attempts to invent the light bulb. He reportedly made over a thousand unsuccessful attempts before finding the right materials. His determination led to one of the most transformative inventions in history.
3. J.K. Rowling: The author of the immensely popular Harry Potter series faced numerous rejections from publishers before one finally accepted her manuscript. Today, she is one of the wealthiest authors in the world.
4. Oprah Winfrey: Oprah faced a tumultuous and challenging childhood, including abuse and poverty. However, her resilience and determination allowed her to become a highly successful media mogul and philanthropist.
5. Stephen King: The “King of Horror” received numerous rejection letters for his early novels. He even threw his first novel, “Carrie,” in the trash, but his wife encouraged him to resubmit it. Now, he’s one of the most prolific and successful authors in the world.
6. Colonel Sanders (Harland David Sanders): The founder of KFC faced rejection after rejection when trying to sell his fried chicken recipe. It wasn’t until he was in his 60s that he found a restaurant willing to partner with him. KFC is now a global fast-food giant.
7. Elon Musk: While Musk is widely recognized for his success with SpaceX and Tesla, he also experienced failures. His early companies, such as Zip2 and X.com (which later became PayPal), faced significant challenges. He persisted and is now a pioneer in the tech and space industries.
8. Steve Jobs: Although he co-founded Apple, Steve Jobs was fired from his own company in 1985. However, he returned to Apple in 1997 and played a pivotal role in transforming it into one of the most valuable and innovative companies in the world.
9. Albert Einstein: The renowned physicist struggled with language development as a child and faced academic challenges. He persisted, and his groundbreaking theories revolutionized our understanding of the universe.
10. Michael Jordan: Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. His response to failure was to work even harder, ultimately achieving six NBA championships.

Leadership and Failure Quotes

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”  ~Winston Churchill

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”  ~Sam Walton

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”  ~Napoleon Hill

“To me, football is so much about mental toughness, it’s digging deep, it’s doing whatever you need to do to help a team win and that comes in a lot of shapes and forms.”  ~Tom Brady

“Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”  ~Lance Armstrong

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”  ~Johnny Cash

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” ~Henry Ford

“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.”  ~Ellen DeGeneres

“We all fail.  It is how you react to failure that determines if you are a success.” ~Dave Waters

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be”  ~John Wooden

“It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re No. 1. What you’ve got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not yet a winner.”  ~Vince Lombardi

Inspirational videos you may find interesting.

• Do Something Different if you want to make a difference
• Don’t let fear keep you from your dreams. Amazing story.
• Great Minds on Leadership. Learn from best.
• I am a champion – the greatest coach speech ever. 15 million views.
• John Wooden: The difference between winning and succeeding
• Motivation and Inspiration: The One Thing Only 1% of People Do.
• Rocky Speech: It is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. 1 min video, 93k views.
• The Valedictorian Speech that will change your life. 2.3 million views
• Top Motivation Quotes – Make Your Dreams Come True.
• 15-Yr-Old Kelvin Doe Wows M.I.T. Innovative minds are everywhere. 7.2 million views

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