26 Successful People Who Failed First But Won Eventually
Life can be unfair sometimes. While some are fortunate to savour success earlier in their life, some are destined to ‘keep trying’. For people belonging to the latter kind, patience and persistence play a key role in determining their success. Their achievements in life eventually bank upon their ‘never give up’ attitude.
So for tho
se who plan to give up on their dreams just because of some initial hiccups we thought of putting together a list of people who experienced such miserable failures early in their life that could’ve left them devastated. But as it is said, ‘Fortune favours the brave’, these people never gave up on their dreams and climbed the ladder only to be known as the most successful people in their respective fields.
Hope this gives you a new ray of hope and a reason to stick to your dream and follow your heart despite of a million obstacles:
1. Winston Churchill:
Who is he: British conservative politician, historian, writer & an artist.
Winston Churchill, before he became the prime minister of the Great Britain at the age of 62 had faced defeat in every public office role he ever ran for. He even failed the sixth grade but today, he is seen as a respected personality today all across the globe.
2. Thomas Alva Edison:
Who is he: Great inventor of all times.
Thomas Edison was told by his teachers that he was too slow to learn anything in life. Who knew then that this ‘slow’ kid would become the man who will give us the first electric bulb? But even that did not come as an instant success. He invented nearly a 1000 bulbs before inventing the one that worked!
3. Harland David Sanders:
Who is he: The famous KFC ‘Colonel’.
Sanders was rejected by more than a 1,000 restaurants before he could sell his chicken but then one bought his recipe and today we see his image at all KFC stores.
4. R.H. Macy:
Who is he: Owner of the biggest departmental store in the world.
Macy had a history of failing businesses including the dud Macy’s. But it was only his zeal to never give up that he succeeded and opened the biggest department store in the world running under his name.
Life can be unfair sometimes. While some are fortunate to savour success earlier in their life, some are destined to ‘keep trying’. For people belonging to the latter kind, patience and persistence play a key role in determining their success. Their achievements in life eventually bank upon their ‘never give up’ attitude.
So for tho
se who plan to give up on their dreams just because of some initial hiccups we thought of putting together a list of people who experienced such miserable failures early in their life that could’ve left them devastated. But as it is said, ‘Fortune favours the brave’, these people never gave up on their dreams and climbed the ladder only to be known as the most successful people in their respective fields.
Hope this gives you a new ray of hope and a reason to stick to your dream and follow your heart despite of a million obstacles:
1. Winston Churchill:
Who is he: British conservative politician, historian, writer & an artist.
Winston Churchill, before he became the prime minister of the Great Britain at the age of 62 had faced defeat in every public office role he ever ran for. He even failed the sixth grade but today, he is seen as a respected personality today all across the globe.
2. Thomas Alva Edison:
Who is he: Great inventor of all times.
Thomas Edison was told by his teachers that he was too slow to learn anything in life. Who knew then that this ‘slow’ kid would become the man who will give us the first electric bulb? But even that did not come as an instant success. He invented nearly a 1000 bulbs before inventing the one that worked!
3. Harland David Sanders:
Who is he: The famous KFC ‘Colonel’.
Sanders was rejected by more than a 1,000 restaurants before he could sell his chicken but then one bought his recipe and today we see his image at all KFC stores.
4. R.H. Macy:
Who is he: Owner of the biggest departmental store in the world.
Macy had a history of failing businesses including the dud Macy’s. But it was only his zeal to never give up that he succeeded and opened the biggest department store in the world running under his name.
5. Steven Spielberg:
Who is he: Oscar winning film-maker.
The ‘Star-Wars’ director was rejected admission in his dream school, the University of California three times in a row. He later joined a different school and dropped out to become a director. Today he has several hits in his bag and numerous awards.
6. Charlie Chaplin:
Who is he: World-renowned comedian.
Charlie Chaplin, the man who has made numerous people laugh their guts out with his silent acts was rejected by executives who found his acts to be too obscure for people to understand. He later rose to stardom to become America’s first authentic movie star.
7. Marilyn Monroe:
Who is she: Most iconic Hollywood actress.
Marilyn’s first contract with Columbia Pictures was thrashed because they felt that she was not pretty or talented enough to act in the movies. After several such refusals and derogatory comments, she is now known as the most iconic actress of her times who refined the term ‘sexy’.
8. Soichiro Honda:
Who is he: Founder of Honda Motors.
Honda was fired from Toyota where he was working as an engineer. He was left depressed and unemployed until he started making motorcycles. Later, he made a business out of it and became a billionaire founding the multi-billion dollar company Honda Motors.
9. Vera Wang:
Who is she: A premier designer.
Wang wanted to make it to the U.S. Olympic figure skating team but failed. She then joined Vogue as an editor only to be passes over for the Editor-in-chief position. She started designing wedding gowns at the age of 40 and today is a renowned designer in the industry.
10. Walt Disney:
Who is he: Founder of ‘The Walt Disney Company’.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who claimed that he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. He tried his luck in several other ventures before his movie Snow White struck gold. Today he is seen as an icon who has given us so many good movies and our beloved cartoon characters.
11. Albert Einstein:
Who is he: Nobel award winning physicist.
Einstein was seen as ‘slow’ and mentally retarded when he didn’t speak till the age of four and couldn’t read until the age of seven. They did not know that he has his own way of thinking. Later he gave the world so many theories including the theory of relativity.
12. Charles Darwin:
Who is he: The man who proposed scientific theory of evolution.
Charles was always looked upon as an average student. Sighting his failures in studies he gave up on his career in medicine and had almost become a parson. But has he studied nature he gave the world the revolutionary theory of evolution.
13. Sir Isaac Newton:
Who is he: Renowned physicist.
Newton was assigned with the task of running the family farm but he failed miserably. He later went to the Cambridge University only to become a physics scholar and giving the world the famous laws that still rule physics.
14. Dick Cheney:
Who is he: Ex- Vice President of United States of America.
After failing twice in Yale, Cheney dropped out from college only to become the Vice President of the U.S. later. George W Bush, the president during Cheney’s tenure once joked, "So now we know that if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president."
15. Jerry Seinfeld:
Who is he: Famous Comedian.
Jerry was booed away by the crowd when the first time he went onstage. Still he did not give up and found his way to become the most famous stage comedian of all times presenting some of the most loved sitcoms ever.
16. Fred Astaire:
Who is he: Most famous dancer.
When Astaire gave his first screen test the judges remarked that he could neither sing nor dance and is a little bald. He went on to become one of the most famous dancers of all times and stole hearts of millions of American women.
17. Sidney Poitier:
Who is he: Actor, director, author, diplomat.
At his first audition, Poitier was asked to stop wasting time in acting and start dishwashing instead. When such a comment would’ve broke anyone’s will to make a career in acting, he went ahead and became the first black man to win an academy award for the best actor.
18. Oprah Winfrey:
Who is she: Media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer.
Oprah Winfrey, the queen of television talk shows was once fired from her television reporting job as she was not deemed fit to be on screen. Today she is the host of the popular talk show ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ and is a billionaire.
19. Lucille Ball:
Who is she: Comedian, film, television, stage & radio actress, model.
After spending several years on the B-list and was asked to opt for a different career. Her patience bore fruit when she got her big break in the most famous sitcom; I Love Lucy after which she was nominated 13 times for an Emmy award.
20. Harrison Ford:
Who is he: Actor, producer.
After his first film, Ford was told by his producer that he lacked the qualities to become an actor and would never succeed. But today, he is the third highest grossing actor of all times having movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones under his belt.
21. Vincent Van Gogh:
Who is he: Post-impressionist painter.
In all of his life, Vincent sold only one painting to his friend and often starved to create those magnificent 800 paintings. Today, his paintings are considered priceless!
22. Dr. Seuss:
Who was he: Writer, poet, cartoonist.
His first book was rejected not once or twice or thrice but for 27 times before the 28th publisher took a chance by publishing his book. Today, he is considered as the most popular children’s books author ever.
23. Henry Ford:
Who is he: Founder of Ford Motor Company.
Before Ford Motor came into existence, Ford’s first auto company ran out of business and he had to abandon the second because of a fight. His third company was shut because of declining sales. He still did not quit and went on to become the founder of the world renowned auto company.
Who is he: Oscar winning film-maker.
The ‘Star-Wars’ director was rejected admission in his dream school, the University of California three times in a row. He later joined a different school and dropped out to become a director. Today he has several hits in his bag and numerous awards.
6. Charlie Chaplin:
Who is he: World-renowned comedian.
Charlie Chaplin, the man who has made numerous people laugh their guts out with his silent acts was rejected by executives who found his acts to be too obscure for people to understand. He later rose to stardom to become America’s first authentic movie star.
7. Marilyn Monroe:
Who is she: Most iconic Hollywood actress.
Marilyn’s first contract with Columbia Pictures was thrashed because they felt that she was not pretty or talented enough to act in the movies. After several such refusals and derogatory comments, she is now known as the most iconic actress of her times who refined the term ‘sexy’.
8. Soichiro Honda:
Who is he: Founder of Honda Motors.
Honda was fired from Toyota where he was working as an engineer. He was left depressed and unemployed until he started making motorcycles. Later, he made a business out of it and became a billionaire founding the multi-billion dollar company Honda Motors.
9. Vera Wang:
Who is she: A premier designer.
Wang wanted to make it to the U.S. Olympic figure skating team but failed. She then joined Vogue as an editor only to be passes over for the Editor-in-chief position. She started designing wedding gowns at the age of 40 and today is a renowned designer in the industry.
10. Walt Disney:
Who is he: Founder of ‘The Walt Disney Company’.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who claimed that he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. He tried his luck in several other ventures before his movie Snow White struck gold. Today he is seen as an icon who has given us so many good movies and our beloved cartoon characters.
11. Albert Einstein:
Who is he: Nobel award winning physicist.
Einstein was seen as ‘slow’ and mentally retarded when he didn’t speak till the age of four and couldn’t read until the age of seven. They did not know that he has his own way of thinking. Later he gave the world so many theories including the theory of relativity.
12. Charles Darwin:
Who is he: The man who proposed scientific theory of evolution.
Charles was always looked upon as an average student. Sighting his failures in studies he gave up on his career in medicine and had almost become a parson. But has he studied nature he gave the world the revolutionary theory of evolution.
13. Sir Isaac Newton:
Who is he: Renowned physicist.
Newton was assigned with the task of running the family farm but he failed miserably. He later went to the Cambridge University only to become a physics scholar and giving the world the famous laws that still rule physics.
14. Dick Cheney:
Who is he: Ex- Vice President of United States of America.
After failing twice in Yale, Cheney dropped out from college only to become the Vice President of the U.S. later. George W Bush, the president during Cheney’s tenure once joked, "So now we know that if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president."
15. Jerry Seinfeld:
Who is he: Famous Comedian.
Jerry was booed away by the crowd when the first time he went onstage. Still he did not give up and found his way to become the most famous stage comedian of all times presenting some of the most loved sitcoms ever.
16. Fred Astaire:
Who is he: Most famous dancer.
When Astaire gave his first screen test the judges remarked that he could neither sing nor dance and is a little bald. He went on to become one of the most famous dancers of all times and stole hearts of millions of American women.
17. Sidney Poitier:
Who is he: Actor, director, author, diplomat.
At his first audition, Poitier was asked to stop wasting time in acting and start dishwashing instead. When such a comment would’ve broke anyone’s will to make a career in acting, he went ahead and became the first black man to win an academy award for the best actor.
18. Oprah Winfrey:
Who is she: Media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer.
Oprah Winfrey, the queen of television talk shows was once fired from her television reporting job as she was not deemed fit to be on screen. Today she is the host of the popular talk show ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ and is a billionaire.
19. Lucille Ball:
Who is she: Comedian, film, television, stage & radio actress, model.
After spending several years on the B-list and was asked to opt for a different career. Her patience bore fruit when she got her big break in the most famous sitcom; I Love Lucy after which she was nominated 13 times for an Emmy award.
20. Harrison Ford:
Who is he: Actor, producer.
After his first film, Ford was told by his producer that he lacked the qualities to become an actor and would never succeed. But today, he is the third highest grossing actor of all times having movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones under his belt.
21. Vincent Van Gogh:
Who is he: Post-impressionist painter.
In all of his life, Vincent sold only one painting to his friend and often starved to create those magnificent 800 paintings. Today, his paintings are considered priceless!
22. Dr. Seuss:
Who was he: Writer, poet, cartoonist.
His first book was rejected not once or twice or thrice but for 27 times before the 28th publisher took a chance by publishing his book. Today, he is considered as the most popular children’s books author ever.
23. Henry Ford:
Who is he: Founder of Ford Motor Company.
Before Ford Motor came into existence, Ford’s first auto company ran out of business and he had to abandon the second because of a fight. His third company was shut because of declining sales. He still did not quit and went on to become the founder of the world renowned auto company.