Some of the World’s greatest minds, inventors, scientists, leaders, and visionaries all learned the lesson of determination and to never give up.
Michael Jordan – He was cut from his high school basketball team. He never gave up and has stated, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Thomas Edison – Teachers told Edison he was “too stupid to learn anything”. Later he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.
Albert Einstein – He did not speak until he was four and did not read until seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social. Eventually he was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.
He went on to win the Nobel Prize and changed the face of modern physics and the world as we see it.
Babe Ruth – Made 714 home runs during his career and struck out 1,330 times. For decades he held the record for strikeouts. When asked about this he said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run”.
Dr. Seuss – 27 publishers rejected his first book before it was published.
Henry Ford – His early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he was successful with The Ford Motor Company.
Fred Astaire – On his first screen test at MGM The testing director noted that Astaire “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little”. Astaire kept that note in his Beverly Hills home to inspire him and to remind him where he came from.
