People Who Never Gave Up

Abraham Lincoln: When he was young, he went to war a captain and returned a private. He failed to be a businessman. He tried to be a lawyer, but that did not work out too. Abraham Lincoln lost the senatorial election of 1854, vice presidency in 1856, and again senatorial election of 1858. Finally, in 1860, he was elected president.

Socrates: He was called an immoral corrupter of youth with his views. Now we look back to his teachings as one of the greatest philosophers to have ever lived.

Charles Darwin: He gave up a medical career. He was told by his father that he cared for "nothing but shootings, dogs, and rat catching". He wrote in his autobiography that he was considered below the common standard of intellect by his teachers and father. He soon evolved from this situation.

Thomas Edison: His teachers said that he was too stupid to learn anything. He fired from 2 different jobs for not being productive. He made 1,000 attempts to make the light bulb before it worked.

Albert Einstein: He did not speak until he was 4 years old and did not read until he was 7. His parents though he was below normal, and was expelled from school. He was even refused admittance to the Zurich polytechnic school. Later on, he learned to read and write, and became one of the most influential mathematicians of all time.

Henry Ford: He had to restart his company with a whole new idea 5 times before he succeeded, after becoming broke after each failure. Nowadays, the Ford Motor Company is a huge success.

R. H. Macy: He failed with seven different stores before his store at New York City, Macy's, caught on.

Alexander Graham Bell: He tried selling all of the right of the Bell telephone to western union, but was rejected with western union saying they had no need for an electronic toy. It soon became the precursor to all modern phones.

Michael Jordan: He was cut from high school basketball team. He later became a basketball legend.

Babe Ruth: He is famous for his home run record, but also famous for his strikeout record. He failed many times before he got a home run.

Walt Disney: He was fire by a newspaper editor because the editor said that he lacked imagination and never had any good ideas. Before building Disneyland, he went bankrupt several time. It was originally rejected by the city of Anaheim because the city thought it would only attract riffraff.

Ludwig Van Beethoven: When he was young, Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own composition instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer. He ended up writing five of his greatest symphonies while being completely deaf.

Vincent Van Gogh: He only sold one painting in high entire lifetime, and that was to one of his friend's sisters for about 400 francs ($50). However, he ended up painting over 800 paintings is now known as one of the greatest artists of all time.

J.K. Rowling: Her first Harry Potter book was rejected by 12 different publishers. However, a small London publishing house soon picked up Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Dr. Seuss: His first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected by 27 different publishers. He soon became one of the greatest children's book writers to have ever lived.

Many people have given up, and many people have succeeded. Do not let initial failure bring you down.