Every successful person has a story of failure

J.K. Rowling was unemployed, divorced and raising a daughter on social security while writing the first Harry Potter novel.

J.K. Rowling is now internationally renowned for her 7 book Harry Potter series and is the first person to become a billionaire from writing. 

Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade. He was defeated in every public office role he ran for.

                    Then he became the British Prime Minister at the age of 62

Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was “too stupid to learn anything.” 

Thomas  also famously invented 1000 light bulbs before creating one that worked. 

Harlad Davind Sanders, the famous KFC “Colonel,” couldn’t sell his chicken. More than 1,000 restaurants rejected him. 

But then one did, and today there are KFC restaurants bearing his image all over the world. 

R.H. Macy had a history failing businesses, including a dud Macky’s in NYC. 

But Macy kept up the hard work and ended up with the biggest department store in the world.

Steven Spielberg was rejected from his dream school, the University of Southern California, three times.

      He sought out an education somewhere else and dropped out to be director.

Charlie Chaplin’s act was rejected by executives because they thought it was too obscure for people to understand.

But then they took a chance on Chaplin, who went on to become America’s first bona fide movie star.

Marilyn Monroe’s first contract with Columbia Pictures expired because they told her she wasn’t pretty or talented enough to be an actress.

Monroe kept plugging away and is one of the most iconic actresses and sex symbols of all time.

Soichiro Honda was passed over for an engineering job at Toyota and left unemployed.

But then he began making motorcycles, started a business and became a billionaire.

Vera Wang failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue and was passed over for the editor-in-chief position.

She began designing wedding gowns at 40 and today is the premier designer in the business, with a multi-billion dollar industry. 

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

Several more of his businesses failed before the premiere of his movie Snow White. Today, most childhoods wouldn’t be the same without his ideas.

Albert Einstein didn’t speak until age four and didn’t read until age seven. His teachers labeled him “slow” and “mentally handicapped.”

But Einstein just had a different way of thinking. He later won the Nobel prize in physics.

Charles Darwin was considered an average student. He gave up on a career in medicine and was going to school to become a parson.

          But as Darwin studied nature, he found his calling.

Sir Issac Newton was tasked with running the family farm but was a miserable failure.

 

Newton was sent off to Cambridge University and became a physics scholar.

In Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the judges wrote: “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”

Astaire went on to be the most famous dancer of all times and won the hearts of American women forever.

Oprah Winfrey was fired from her television reporting job because they told her she wasn’t fit to be on screen. 

But Winfrey rebounded and became the undisputed queen of television talk shows. She’s also a billionaire.

Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting in his entire life, to a friend.

He sometimes starved in order to create the 800 paintings he’d paintings eventually do. Today, his works are priceless.

Dr. Seuss’ first book was rejected by 27 different publishers.

                           He’s now the most popular children’s book author ever.

Henry Ford’s first auto company went out of business. 

He abandoned a second because of a fight and a third went downhill because of declining sales.

He went on to become one of the greatest American entrepreneurs ever.

While developing his vacuum, Sir James Dyson went through 5,126 failed prototypes and his savings over 15 years. 

But the 5,127^th prototype worked and now the Dyson brand is the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the United States.

Secrets of Self-mastery part-5

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us become 

better too.” -Paulo Coelho

• Learn the power of breathing and its relationship with your energy source. The mind is intimately connected with your breathing. For example, when the mind is agitated, your breathing becomes quick and shallow. When you are relaxed and focused, your breathing is deep and calm. By practising deep, abdominal breathing, you will develop a calm, serene demeanour that will remain cool in the hottest of circumstances. Remember the rule of the Eastern mountain men: "to breathe properly is to live properly.”

• Recognize and cultivate the power of autosuggestion. It works and is an essential tool in maintaining peak performance. We are all performers in one way or another and it is particularly valuable to use such techniques of athletes and public figures for our own enhancement. If you want to become more enthusiastic, repeat” I am more enthusiastic today and am improving this trait daily.”  Repeat it over and over. This is a strategy that Indian sages have employed for thousands of years to aid their spiritual and mental development. Do not be discouraged if the results are not immediate, they will certainly develop. The spoken word is a powerful influencer of the mind.

• Maintain a diary to measure your progress and to express your thoughts. Writing out not only your success but your troubles is one of the world’s most effective methods of erasing of the worry habit, staying in optimum state and developing precision of thought.

• Stress is simply a response which you create in the interpretation of an event. Two people might find that a given event results in quite different responses. For example, an after dinner speech might strike fear into the heart of an inexperienced speaker while a strong orator views it as a wonderful opportunity to share his thoughts. Understanding that the perceived negative effects of an event or task may be mentally manipulated and conditioned towards the positive, will allow you to be a peak performer in all instances.

• Try fasting one day every two weeks. During these fast days, drink fruit juice and eat fresh fruits only. You will feel more energetic, cleansed and alert. Fasting also has a salutary effect on your will-power as you are subverting the otherwise pressing impulses in your mind calling on you to eat more.

• Remember that forgiveness is a virtue that few develop, but one that is most important to maintaining peace of mind. Mark Twain wrote that forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. Practice forgiveness especially in those situations where it is seemingly difficult. By using your emotional forgiveness muscles more regularly, petty wrongs, remarks and slights will not touch you and nothing will penetrate your concentrated, serene mindset.

• Empty your cup. A full cup cannot accept anything more. Similarly, a person who believes that he cannot learn anything else will stagnate quickly and not move to higher levels. A true sign of a secure, mature individual is someone who sees every opportunity as a chance to learn. Even the teachers have teachers.

Secrets of Self-mastery part-4

“The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become”-Ben Herbster 

The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become. — Ben Herbster - See more at: http://larsoninstitute.com/quotes/#sthash.PakcBMDj.dpuf

The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become. — Ben Herbster - See more at: http://larsoninstitute.com/quotes/#sthash.PakcBMDj.dpu

• Stephen Hawking, one of the great modern physicists of the world, is reported to have said that we are on a minor planet of every average star located within the outer limits of one of a hundred thousand million galaxies. Are your problems really significant in light of this? You walk this Earth for but a short time. Why not become devoted to having only a wonderful experience. Why not dedicate yourself to leaving a powerful legacy to the world? Sit down now and write out a list of all that you have in your life. Start first with your health or your family, the things we often take for granted. Put down the country we live in and the food we eat. Do not stop until you have written down fifty items. Once every few days, go through this list, you will be uplifted and recognize the richness of your existence. 

• No one can insult or hurt you without your permission. One of the golden keys to happiness and great success is the way you interpret events which unfold before you. Highly successful people are master interpreters. People who have attained greatness have an ability which they have developed to interpret negative or disempowering events as positive challenges which will assist them in growing and moving even farther up the ladder of success. There are no negative experiences only experiences which aid in your development and toughen your character so that you may soar to new heights. There are no failures, only lessons. 

• Take speed reading course. Reading is a powerful way to gain many years of experience from a few hours of study. For example, most biographies reflect the strategies and philosophies of great leaders or courageous individuals. Read them and model them. Speed reading will allow you to digest large quantities of material in relatively small periods of time. 

• Remember people’s names and treat everyone well. This habit, along with enthusiasm, is one of the great success secrets. Everyone in this world wears an imaginary button that screams out “I WANT TO FEEL IMPORTANT AND APPRECIATED!”. 

• Be soft as a flower when it comes to kindness but tough as thunder when it comes to principle. Be courteous and polite at all times but never be pushed around. Ensure that you are always treated with respect. 

• Never discuss your health, wealth and other personal matters with anyone outside of your immediate family. Be disciplined in this regard. 

• Be truthful, patient, persevering, modest and generous. 

• Reward yourself for even the smallest of achievement. Take time out for renewal of your mind, body and spirit. Soon all your more important goals will be met and you will move to the next level of peak performance.  

• You must have a mission statement in life. This is simply a set of guiding principles which clearly state where you are going and where you want to be at the end of your life. A mission statement embodies your values. It is your personal lighthouse keeping you steadily on the course of your dreams. Over a period of one month, set a few hours aside to write down five or ten principles which will govern your life and which will keep you focused at all times. Examples might be to consistently serve others, to be a considerate citizen, to become highly wealthy or to serve as a powerful leader. Whatever the mission statement of your life, refine it and review it regularly. Then when something adverse happens or someone tries to pull you off course, you quickly and precisely return to your chosen path with the full knowledge that you are moving in the direction that you have selected.