Methuselah
Don Juan
Many of the men that I have met, taught, and befriended have been close to giving up due to the fact that they weren't catching on as fast as others. They become very frustrated and talk about quitting, thus returning to their chumpish ways and just crawling back into their holes. Very quickly, I would like to go over a few examples of famous people who achieved great things in their lifetimes. They all could have quit when they faced the challenges of life, but they didn't, and it paid off.
1) The basketball super-stars Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were both cut from their high school basketball teams (varsity) because they weren't performing well. Jordan once said, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."
2) Abraham Lincoln, a hero of the civil war and one of the greatest American Presidents ever, went to war as a captain and was demoted to the rank of a private. He was a terrible businessman and failed miserable at law as well. When he tried his luck in politics, he was destroyed and mocked in his first attempt to run for congress. He was defeated in his first 5 attempts at any type of public office. However, this did not discourage him, he went on to live forever in the history books of the world with his radical stance on keeping the country united, no matter what.
3) WWII hero Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade. He lost every election for public office until the age of 62. He later wrote in his memoirs, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." If he would have given in, the course of world history would have been quite different, perhaps WWII wouldn't have ended the way that it had.
4) The great philosopher Socrates was called "an immoral corrupter of youth" because he asked questions and provoked thought that was not good for the rulers at the time. Even after he was sentenced to death for his so-called crimes, he kept teaching and seeking enlightenment. His story and teachings have inspired great minds that followed him for 1,000s of years.
5) The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud was booed and mocked from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe. He returned to his office and kept on writing, eventually becoming the founder of many theories that set-up the structure for psychology as we know it today.
6) Charles Darwin turned down a up a medical career and was told by his father, "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching." In his autobiography, Darwin wrote, "I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect." Clearly, if he had accepted failure and went the way that everyone said he should have, the world would not be the same today.
7) Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
8) "Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."
~ Confucius
9) The scientific, philosophical, and social genius Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7 years of age. His parents thought he was mentally challenged and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school several times. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math. And quantum physics.
10) Henry Ford's initial designs failed and he went dead broke over 5 times before he developed the highly successful Ford Motors Company.
11) R. H. Macy, the founder of Macy's Departments stores, failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on, and when it did, he became ridiculously rich.
12) When the Bell telephone was struggling to get started, its owners offered all their rights to the Western Union company for $100,000. The offer was laughed at and replied with "What use could this company make of an electrical toy?" I guess the joke is on them.
13) "Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly."
~ Robert F. Kennedy
14) "It's no whether youAn expert said of Vince Lombardi: "He possesses m get knocked down or not, it's whether you get back up." ~ Vince Lomardi
15) Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth is famous for his past home run record, but for decades he also held the record for most strikeouts. He hit 714 home runs and struck out 1,330 times in his career. The man who broke his record for home-runs, Mark McGuire, also broke his record for strike-outs. Funny huh?
16) Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron went 0 for 5 his first time at bat with the Milwakee Braves. Later to become one of the biggest sluggers of all times.
17) Johnny Unitas's first pass in the NFL was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Joe Montana's first pass was also intercepted. And while we're on quarterbacks, during his first season Troy Aikman threw twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdowns (9) . . . oh, and he didn't win a single game. You think there's a lesson here?
18) After Carl Lewis won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1996 Olympic games, he was asked to what he attributed his longevity, having competed for almost 20 years. He said, "Remembering that you have both wins and losses along the way. I don't take either one too seriously."
19) The first time Jerry Seinfeld walked on-stage at a comedy club as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, and forgot the English language. He stumbled through his act, was booed terrible, and walked offstage. He returned the next night, started fresh, and was wildly loved by the audience.
20) Beethoven couldn't hold the violin properly and played his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him "hopeless as a composer." And, yet he went on to write five of the greatest symphonies of all time, while completely deaf.
21) Various Paris art dealers refused Picasso shelter when he asked if he could bring in his paintings from out of the rain. Stupid move on their part, huh?
22) Van Gogh sold only ONE painting during his life, and it was to one of his friend's sisters for 50 bucks. One painting out of over 800 that he painted in total throughout his lifetime.
23) The famous poet Emily ****inson had only seven poems published in her lifetime. Now, you can't open an American Literature textbook without reading her name several times.
24) Twenty-seven publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. He goes down in history as THE CHILDREN'S STORY writer.
25) American Philosopher and Writer Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story. He later goes on to write such famous novels as "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".
I hope these 25 examples shed some light for those of you who find yourself frustrated with failure. There are countless other stories of success through staying on track and not letting failure get in your way. Feel free to add them or comment on the ones I have provided.
1) The basketball super-stars Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were both cut from their high school basketball teams (varsity) because they weren't performing well. Jordan once said, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."
2) Abraham Lincoln, a hero of the civil war and one of the greatest American Presidents ever, went to war as a captain and was demoted to the rank of a private. He was a terrible businessman and failed miserable at law as well. When he tried his luck in politics, he was destroyed and mocked in his first attempt to run for congress. He was defeated in his first 5 attempts at any type of public office. However, this did not discourage him, he went on to live forever in the history books of the world with his radical stance on keeping the country united, no matter what.
3) WWII hero Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade. He lost every election for public office until the age of 62. He later wrote in his memoirs, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." If he would have given in, the course of world history would have been quite different, perhaps WWII wouldn't have ended the way that it had.
4) The great philosopher Socrates was called "an immoral corrupter of youth" because he asked questions and provoked thought that was not good for the rulers at the time. Even after he was sentenced to death for his so-called crimes, he kept teaching and seeking enlightenment. His story and teachings have inspired great minds that followed him for 1,000s of years.
5) The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud was booed and mocked from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe. He returned to his office and kept on writing, eventually becoming the founder of many theories that set-up the structure for psychology as we know it today.
6) Charles Darwin turned down a up a medical career and was told by his father, "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching." In his autobiography, Darwin wrote, "I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect." Clearly, if he had accepted failure and went the way that everyone said he should have, the world would not be the same today.
7) Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
8) "Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall."
~ Confucius
9) The scientific, philosophical, and social genius Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7 years of age. His parents thought he was mentally challenged and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school several times. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math. And quantum physics.
10) Henry Ford's initial designs failed and he went dead broke over 5 times before he developed the highly successful Ford Motors Company.
11) R. H. Macy, the founder of Macy's Departments stores, failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on, and when it did, he became ridiculously rich.
12) When the Bell telephone was struggling to get started, its owners offered all their rights to the Western Union company for $100,000. The offer was laughed at and replied with "What use could this company make of an electrical toy?" I guess the joke is on them.
13) "Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly."
~ Robert F. Kennedy
14) "It's no whether youAn expert said of Vince Lombardi: "He possesses m get knocked down or not, it's whether you get back up." ~ Vince Lomardi
15) Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth is famous for his past home run record, but for decades he also held the record for most strikeouts. He hit 714 home runs and struck out 1,330 times in his career. The man who broke his record for home-runs, Mark McGuire, also broke his record for strike-outs. Funny huh?
16) Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron went 0 for 5 his first time at bat with the Milwakee Braves. Later to become one of the biggest sluggers of all times.
17) Johnny Unitas's first pass in the NFL was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Joe Montana's first pass was also intercepted. And while we're on quarterbacks, during his first season Troy Aikman threw twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdowns (9) . . . oh, and he didn't win a single game. You think there's a lesson here?
18) After Carl Lewis won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1996 Olympic games, he was asked to what he attributed his longevity, having competed for almost 20 years. He said, "Remembering that you have both wins and losses along the way. I don't take either one too seriously."
19) The first time Jerry Seinfeld walked on-stage at a comedy club as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, and forgot the English language. He stumbled through his act, was booed terrible, and walked offstage. He returned the next night, started fresh, and was wildly loved by the audience.
20) Beethoven couldn't hold the violin properly and played his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him "hopeless as a composer." And, yet he went on to write five of the greatest symphonies of all time, while completely deaf.
21) Various Paris art dealers refused Picasso shelter when he asked if he could bring in his paintings from out of the rain. Stupid move on their part, huh?
22) Van Gogh sold only ONE painting during his life, and it was to one of his friend's sisters for 50 bucks. One painting out of over 800 that he painted in total throughout his lifetime.
23) The famous poet Emily ****inson had only seven poems published in her lifetime. Now, you can't open an American Literature textbook without reading her name several times.
24) Twenty-seven publishers rejected Dr. Seuss's first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. He goes down in history as THE CHILDREN'S STORY writer.
25) American Philosopher and Writer Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story. He later goes on to write such famous novels as "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".
I hope these 25 examples shed some light for those of you who find yourself frustrated with failure. There are countless other stories of success through staying on track and not letting failure get in your way. Feel free to add them or comment on the ones I have provided.
