If at First….
Saturday, April 11th, 2009 | Author:

successI just returned from a long week helping my daughter after she was burned out of her apartment. I marvel at her tenacious spirit and her positive attitude. Carrie has overcome a number of obstacles in her brief life; yet, she meets each obstacle with grace and humor. Now mind you, this is the daughter who failed chemistry in high school twice and struggled at various times in her school career. Her guidance counselor told her she did not have the skills to go into a medical field, so she went to college for Health and Wellness instead. After she graduated with that degree she came to us and said, “Mom, Dad…I want to be a Physician’s Assistant.” When I looked over the requirements of the program with her I groaned internally, and said, “Aren’t you worried about all the chemistry classes you would need to take?” Her reaction was firm, but gentle. “Mom, this is something I can do. Just help me with the application fees.”

success2I am sure you have figured out the rest of the story…she is currently a Physician’s Assistant in a family practice and she simply loves her work. Spending the last week with her was stressful (being burned out of a home is no fun), but as we lived through the turmoil of the last ten days I was impressed and amazed by her passion for her job and her good-natured fortitude as she worked through the dynamics of finding a new apartment. And you know….I have two other children who are just as tenacious and hard working (yes, I am very blessed). Still…I do not know what has given each of my children the drive and fortitude to overcome various obstacles…my husband tells me our kids take after him. :)

success3All kidding aside…I had a long time to think as we drove home from my daughter’s newly settled apartment. How many of our students fall through the cracks because they do not have the skills or fortitude to bounce back following a failure? Worse yet…how many times as educators have we given up on a student because the going got tough? How do we teach tenacity? I am pragmatic enough to realize that there is no technology in the world that will inject students with a tenacious spirit, but maybe we can use technology as a vehicle to relay stories about individuals who have managed to overcome obstacles and become famous or successful in life. We can also use technology to help students establish goals and track their progress (I will delve into using technology to help set goals in a future post). I have gathered a few resources that can be used to help students learn the connection between failure and success. I welcome your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions as we work together to teach our students tenacity in school and in life.

Honda’s Failure: The Secret to Success…

Michael Jordan “Failure” Nike Commercial…

This Sentimental Video features some powerful images and quotes…

Richard St. John: Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes…

The following Famous Failures video does an excellent job in highlighting examples of famous individuals who overcame obstacles to go forward and succeed…

Some additional famous people who faced obstacles only to succeed later in life….

  • Harry S. Truman was rejected by West Point and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis due to his poor eyesight. He also co-owned a haberdashery that failed as a result of the Depression.
  • Julia Child graduated from college with a C average, but went on to become the author of numerous cookbooks and host of her own TV show.
  • Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) was 18 when he volunteered to lead a 1792 expedition up the Missouri River and down the Columbia River, but he was rejected. He went on to become one of the most famous explorers of all times.
  • Jennifer Aniston didn’t make the cut when she auditioned to be a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” but she certainly faired well as a “Friend.”
  • Famous painter Salvador Dali was expelled from the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain (a famous college of art) when he refused to let his professors critique his paintings.
  • Actor Matt Damon dropped out of Harvard University 12 credits short of earning his degree.
  • Actress Nicole Kidman was nicknamed “Storky” in school because of her height; furthermore, no one asked her to dance at her first school dance.
  • Oprah Winfrey was demoted from her job as an evening news anchor in Baltimore after being told that she wasn’t fit for television.
  • Fred Astaire’s first screen test report read: “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”
  • Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school.
  • Beethoven’s music teacher told him “as a composer he was hopeless.”
  • Thomas Edison was a young boy when his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. Later in life, he tried more than 2,000 experiments before he created the first successful light bulb.
  • F.W. Woolworth got a job in a dry good store when he was 21, but he was not allowed to wait on customers because his employer did not feel he had enough sense.
  • Winston Churchill had a difficult time in school and failed the 6th grade.
  • Steven Spielberg dropped out of high school in his sophomore year. When he was persuaded to go back to school he was placed in a learning disabled class. He stayed in school one month at that point and then dropped out of school forever.
  • Einstein’s parents thought he was mentally retarded because his grades in school were so poor. A teacher told him to quit school, saying, ‘Einstein, you will never amount to anything.’”
  • Walt Disney’s first cartoon production company went bankrupt.
  • In 1947 Marilyn Monroe was dropped by 20th Century-Fox because Darryl Zanuck thought she was unattractive.
  • Barbra Streisand’s debut performance on stage (at the age of nineteen) closed after one performance.
  • John Grisham’s first novel was rejected by sixteen agents and a dozen publishing houses.

    • One last video featuring Harrison Ford…

    Some of the information included in this blog came from “Famous Failures” by Joey Green


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    Category: Sunday Inspiration, Valuable Videos