We live in a society that keeps telling us we should be resisting anything that looks like failure. From childhood, failure is looked upon as the ultimate disaster. It has somehow grown to mean you have reached your limitation and that you have let yourself and others down. We cower in shame after those around us get wind that we have failed at something.
The cold hard reality is this; failure is not the end, it is the beginning. As you stumble across the threshold of failure you discover a brand new world filled with possibilities. The price for such admittance is to fail.
To fail means to place your faith in your ability to win. It means you pulled the trigger. You made the tough decision. You let it all ride on your hunch. That shows character that represents will power.
After all, this great world we live in wasn’t discovered by some dude who wanted to play it safe. It was born from the heart of men who stood up, cried out and declared they would make a difference. Without them, we would know no modern innovation.
• Walt Disney – Fired from the Kansas City Star in 1919 because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
• JK Rowling – Rejected by dozens of companies, including Penguin and HarperCollins, until a small publisher in London took a chance on her work.
• Oprah Winfrey – Fired as an evening news reporter of Baltimore’s WJZ-TV because she couldn’t separate her own emotions from her stories.
• George Orwell – A publisher turned down his legendary novel, Animal Farm, with the words “It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA”.
• Jerry Seinfeld – Didn’t find out he was cut from a minor role on a sitcom until he read the script and discovered his part missing.
• Elvis Presley – After a performance in Nashville, he was told by a manager that he was better off driving trucks in Memphis (his former career).
• Steve Jobs – Fired from the company he started, Apple, but was desperately brought back in 1997 to save the company. Apple is now the most valuable company in the world.
• Stephen King – His first book, Carrie, was rejected thirty times. One quote was “we are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.”
• Marilyn Monroe – At the start of her storied modeling and acting career, she was told she should consider becoming a secretary.
• Abraham Lincoln – Demoted from Captain to Private during war, failed as a businessman, and lost several times as a political candidate before becoming President.
Where are you in life? What hopes come alive in you daily? I must also ask you, what are you waiting for? Life responds to those willing to chase the beauty of their own dreams. It boils down to this; you will either live your dreams or work for someone who was willing to live theirs. Period! As it was once put; “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I could show you more, but the list would never end because no one has ever won without first experiencing many failures and rejections. We can choose to learn from these lessons or let them destroy our spirit. The ones who ultimately succeed are those who never, ever stop trying. Share this list and inspire others to keep chasing their dreams!
See ya at the top!
Early Jackson
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Early L. Jackson Jr., is a successful life coach, speaker, and author. He has a special ability to build leaders, while developing people to a life of happiness, with deep, lasting satisfaction and fulfillment. His overarching belief “If we are to exercise our full status and potential in this life we must be retrained in our daily behavior and mind sets” is a prevalent and recurring theme in his teachings. Visit him here.
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