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