Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television three times. Eventually, perhaps taking the hint, he attended school somewhere else, and then dropped out to become a director. This has a happy ending as not only did he become a big budget director, but he also finished his degree thirty-five years after starting. Thomas Edison As a boy Edison was told by his teachers, “you’re too stupid to learn anything.” His working life fared no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for being unproductive. The trend continued, and even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When we think of Edison now, it’s not his 1,000 unsuccessful attempts that spring to mind. Walt Disney Many of us may not be able to imagine a childhood without Disney, but it could have happened. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” After that, he started a number of businesses that didn’t work out and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept trying though, and eventually found a recipe for success that has given us more classics than we can list here. Charles Darwin Charles Darwin initially gave up on having a medical career and was often berated by his father for being lazy and away with the fairies. Darwin himself wrote, “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.” A rather drab assessment considering he came up with the theory of evolution. Winston Churchill Churchill struggled in school and failed the sixth grade. He didn’t take to politics instantly either, and lost in every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the ripe old age of 62. Churchill’s list of achievements include a Nobel Prize, being elected prime minister twice, and more recently he was voted the greatest ever Briton. Tim Martin This name may not immediately ring any bells but what if we said to you Wetherspoon’s? Tim Martins teacher embarrassed him in front of the whole class by scolding him and saying he would never amount to anything. Tim went on to set up JD Wetherspoons, and what was his teachers name? Mr Wetherspoon. Michael Jordan Incredibly Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. This didn’t put him off though, and he is now recognised as one of, if not the greatest, basketball player ever. He sums it up best when he says, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Ludwig van Beethoven Beethoven seemed to have his priorities all wrong. He was so passionate about composing that he neglected to practice the violin, and his teachers thought him untalented. Nowadays he is famous for composing some of the best-loved symphonies of all time, five of which were done while he was completely deaf. F. W. Woolworth The famous high street retailer suffered its demise in 2009, but it was a huge presence in British high streets for decades. Before starting his own business, young Woolworth worked at a similar retail outlet but was not allowed to serve customers as his boss said he lacked the sense needed to do so. Bill Gates Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and started a business called Traf-O-Data, but it that failed. Not to be deterred, he kept on plugging away and set up Microsoft. Nowadays, if Bill Gates was a country, he’d be the 37th richest in the world. Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey, she is a serial problem solver and the richest woman in the world, what a lady. It hasn’t always been plain sailing for Oprah though; she suffered an abusive childhood and was once fired from her job as a television reporter for being “unfit for TV.” Vincent Van Gogh Perhaps most widely known for the Sunflowers’ paintings, Van Gogh is one of the most famous and respected artists of all time. He never knew it though, during his lifetime he sold only one painting, and that was to a friend for a minimal price. Today his paintings bring in hundreds of millions. Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson was prolific; during her life she completed over 1800 written pieces. Unfortunately for her only around a dozen of them were published. Nowadays the recluse is commonly read and widely acclaimed. JK. Rowling She was penniless, divorced, depressed, and trying to raise a child on her own. Multiple publishers rejected Harry Potter and she was surviving on welfare. Now she is one of the world’s richest women with a fiercely loyal fan-base, and it’s all because she never gave up. Albert Einstein Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped and anti-social. He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. It’s remarkable considering his name is now synonymous with genius. Einstein went on to win the Nobel Prize and change the face of modern physics. blog.graduate-fasttrack.co.uk/post/80180840949/take-a-look-at-me-now
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 10:05:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015