I did not know this about this person...

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Subject: I did not know this about this person...

What is “holding you back” from creating the life of your dreams?

Have you “failed” in the past? Or, are you just scared to try anything because you might “fail”?

Throughout history, there have been thousands of famous failures.

Let’s take another look at some very successful failures and see what we can learn from their stories.

Charles Darwin

Born in the same year as Abraham Lincoln, in 1809, Charles Darwin’s life was once considered a major failure by even his own father.

In fact, it was due to his interest in nature that Darwin ended up neglecting his medical studies at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1827, dropped out and quit school.

Leading his father to say, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching.”

In a second attempt at school, Darwin enrolled in Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge the following winter semester.

In 1831, he realized that this wasn’t for him either, as he was too distracted to finish schooling.

Once again, he quit and dropped out of college for the second time.

In his autobiography, Darwin knew that others, including his father, were displeased in him.

He stated, “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.”

In effect, he was summed up as a failure in life, or as an “idle gentlemen,” which was another phrase used by his father.

Of course, things didn’t remain that way for Darwin.

Today, he is considered as one of the most influential scientific minds of our time.

His theories on natural selection and evolution have had a major impact on our understanding of species and life here on earth, along with the progress of biological organisms.

James Dyson

Born in 1947, James Dyson is an English inventor and entrepreneur who launched the wildly-popular Dyson brand of products.

In the late 1970’s, Dyson had the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that wouldn’t lose suction.

At the time, he was supported by his wife, who had to start working as an art teacher to make ends meet.

Dyson states that, “There are countless times an inventor can give up on an idea. By the time I made my 15th prototype, my third child was born. By prototype #2,627, my wife and I were really counting our pennies. By prototype #3,727, my wife was giving art lessons for some extra cash. These were tough times, but each failure brought me closer to solving the problem.”

By 1991, he had a great product, but was unable to convince any of the major retailers to sell it since the vacuum bag replacement industry was so large and none of the retailers wanted to buck that trend.

So, Dyson created a company after his namesake, Dyson, Inc., in 1993. He was 46-years old at the time.

However, through Dyson’s failures, he never lost hope.

By 2005, Dyson had become the market leader in United States by volume sold.

This allowed him to launch a range of other products that are notoriously well-manufactured and work extremely efficiently, delivering a value-driven concept that the brand has become synonymous for.

Steven Spielberg

Born in 1946, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Steven Spielberg is an American Academy Award-winning director, producer and entrepreneur responsible for some of the biggest and most successful movies and movie franchises in history such as E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws and Jurassic Park.

After his parents’ divorce, Spielberg moved to Los Angeles, California with his father where he applied to the University of Souther California’s film school.

Unfortunately, her was rejected for his poor grades, instead opting to attend the less-prominent California State University at Long Beach.

In 1979, Spielberg released a film that flopped, entitled 1941.

He had been riding high on the success of his previous films such as Jaws.

Although 1941 was not a financial failure, it was a critical failure, and resulted in the loss some of Spielberg’s notoriety at the time.

Ultimately, however, Spielberg refused to give up, even after that major failure.

He could have called it quits, but he refused to do so.

He pushed forward, and because of it, we’ve had some incredible blockbusters such as Schindler’s List, The Color Purple, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and so many more.

Madonna Ciccone

Born in 1958, Madonna Veronica Ciccone, who goes by the stage name, Madonna, is an American pop culture icon who’s often referred to as the Queen of Pop.

Born in Michigan, where her father worked as an engineer in the automotive industry.

Madonna lost her mother early on to breast cancer at the age of just 5-years old, which had a great impact on her life.

In 1978, while attending the University Michigan School of Music on a dance scholarship, she dropped out to move to New York City to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional dancer.

With little money to support herself, she took a job at Dunkin’ Donuts.

However, after an incident that occurred shortly after she was hired, where she squirted jelly on a customer accidentally, she was fired.

With only $35 in her pocket on arrival in New York City, Madonna searched for other work.

She took random jobs where she could, primarily dancing as a backup dancer for modern dance troupes.

One night, when she was returning home after a rehearsal, she was robbed at knife point by two men, leaving her scorned and fearful about her choices to abruptly move to New York City.

However, instead of giving up, even through all the failure and setbacks, she pushed forward.

She landed small parts singing and performing with bands such as the Breakfast Club, and eventually she caught the eye of Sire Records founder, Seymour Stein.

In 1982, at the age of 24-years old, she debuted her single, Everybody, followed by, Burning Up, both which became huge club hits.

Subsequently, she released her self-titled album, Madonna, and has since become one of the most famous singers to have ever lived, influencing many other modern-day singers and professional dancers.

“No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you’ve come from, you can always become a better version of yourself.” - Madonna

Source – wanderlustworker

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So, what can we learn from these historical Successful Failures?

They were beaten down and “lost” at many things, yet they kept persevering.

They didn’t give up.

It didn’t matter that people called them a failure, they kept pushing towards their dream to succeed.

Their desire to succeed overrode any fears they may have had.

Do you give up when failure strikes?

Or, do you take your failures and find the “silver lining” and learn from the situation?

I hope you take these examples and examine your own life and make any necessary adjustments to turn the corner.

Take these famous Successful Failures and use them to build the desire and determination to “pick yourself up” and keep reaching for your dreams just like Darwin, Dyson, Spielberg and Madonna did.

Are you willing to become a better version of yourself? I hope so!

To your future success,

- Duane Eberhard

PS – Watch this video of another Successful Failure. From multiple failures to millionaire. It’s pretty inspiring!

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