A friend of mine, Mike Michalowicz – author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur book and blog of the same name (www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com), recently did a post on his blog and I liked it enough that I asked his permission to repost it here. So, without further ado, here is his post in total about Famous Failures.
To succeed as an entrepreneur there is one thing you are going to have to master… never quit, especially when you fail. It’s the great irony of success… it requires countless failures. Don’t believe me? Watch this video, and check out the list of “famous failures” I have prepared for you. If you work hard enough, and if you never stop… perhaps you will be the next famous failure on this list:
Famous Failure 1: Hillary Clinton failed the D.C. bar exam in the 1970’s yet went on to contend for the President of the United States.
Famous Failure 2: Isaac Newton was the greatest mind of his generation, often labeled a genius. Yet he failed throughout grade school, to the utter frustration of his teachers.
Famous Failure 3: JK Rowling lived on welfare for years. A failing author, she went on to write the Harry Potter series, and today has an estimated worth over $1B. Among many recent notable successes, she performed Harvard’s commencement speech.
Famous Failure 4: Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most epic composers of classical music. Yet at the early stages of his career, his music instructor labeled him “as a composer, he is hopeless”. Of course, we all know that he also lost his hearing, yet went on to make the world’s most famous music!
Famous Failure 5: Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade and now he is regarded as one of the most important leaders in British and world history.
Famous Failure 6: Michael Jordon is, well, Michael Jordon. He still is one of the most recognized name in sports, even though he retired from basketball years ago. Yet as a high school player, he was cut from his team because of his “lack of skill”.
Famous Failure 7: Walter Disney is the entrepreneur behind the Disney conglomerate, a company generating over $30B annually. Starting his first cartoon production out of his garage he quickly went bankrupt. And ultimately was rejected by over 300 banks when he went to seek funding for his theme park.
Famous Failure 8: Henry Ford’s first two automobile companies failed.
The Next Famous Failure: Is it going to be you? Are you going to give up at your next failure… or are you going to be inspired forward?
Moral of the story, keep going. If you do what others won’t, you will receive the rewards that others will not. Thanks for the post Mike.
Tags: failure, henry ford, isaac newton, jk rowling, ludwig van beethoven, michael jordon, mike michalowicz, toilet paper entrepreneur, walter disney, winston churchhill
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