Bankruptcy and Failure… then success

Posted on 23. Apr, 2010 by Michael in entrepreneurs

If you have ever been afraid of failure – don’t be, my failures have been my greatest teachers. And a lot of people say the same thing. I don’t consider my self a great entrepreneurial success YET! (I’m working on it!) but the author Brian Tracy says what defines the entrepreneurial spirit is that they are prepared to fail, fail and fail again in the pursuit of success. I take courage from this because lots of things I’ve tried haven’t worked.

I wasn’t a great student at school. In fact, I left school when I was 15 without a meaningful qualification to my name. I was a complete failure at school. To be honest, I hated school. I just wasn’t good at anything academic. I was only good at football and even then…well, only average I suppose. There are reasons for all that which we don’t need to go into here, but yes, I was school failure.

Academic failure had its consequences for me which were tough. But how did I get from that to getting a first class degree at university, a PhD, senior academic posts, and then my own business? Well, that’s a story for another time but the fact that I did it, against the odds, is the point I want to draw attention to here. I still don’t think I’m that smart – I just didn’t give up on what I wanted and put myself into it completely.

It is quite possible to get from a difficult beginning to success. There are plenty of other examples and I’m sure you have your own, but I have a friend who made it big in the property world then lost it all by making some very bad investments and living a foolish life. He was bankrupt but picked himself up and made it all over again in a completely different industry – furniture!

Here are 6 big time ‘failures’ who then made it…Donald Trump, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Robert Godard, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill:

Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and one of his teachers described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.” Einstein was actually expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. He even learnt to do a little mathematics sometimes!!!

Rocket scientist Robert Goddard found had his ideas completely rejected by the scientific world. They said that rocket propulsion would not work in outer space.

As a young man, Abraham Lincoln went to war as a captain and he returned as a private. Then he was a failure as a businessman. When he was a lawyer in Springfield, he failed at that too. He turned to his sights to politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature. He was defeated in his first attempt to be nominated for congress, he was defeated in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated in his efforts for the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial election of 1858. At about that time, he wrote in a letter to a friend, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth.” He is now probably America’s most famous man.

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty … Never, Never, Never, Never give up.”

And I think that is a good note to end on NEVER GIVE UP

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Bankruptcy and Failure… then success

Tags: bankrupt then success, bankuptcy then success, failure then success, famous bankrupts, famous failures, they went bankrupt then succeeded

15 Responses to “Bankruptcy and Failure… then success”

Er Ramalingam K S

25. Apr, 2010

Yes .I do accept this – not because I also failed in my first business .My first whole -some design of a Pharma Press was a success .My first prototyping of my own LD 3 wheeler was a technical success – but it was a costly proposal/design .Now I am on my way to assemble a cost effective second model shortly -which I hope will be a good success .I am confident of making the world’s unique multi purpose 3 wheeler next year.
I am not pushed down by my failures .But re-engineered by my failures.
Michael

25. Apr, 2010

Hi and thanks for your response – this is a great inspirational story. I am glad you are re-engineering your failures and your post will give inspiration to others.
Zuber

25. Apr, 2010

Very Inspiring…Thanks.
Jimi

25. Apr, 2010

Many thanks very encouraging and inspiring
danilo pacaña

26. Apr, 2010

Highly inspiring and motivating especially to those who have experienced failure in their entrepreneurial ventures.
Binod

26. Apr, 2010

Yes!! too much inspiring examples. like to do some thing in life to create value…not only 4 me 4 people 2.
Nepal
Herbert

27. Apr, 2010

Its encouraging. Its true. “Where determination is, failure shall never dismantle the flag of success”
lekan

29. Apr, 2010

This is a very encouraging write up
zubairu

01. May, 2010

Hi, this is a good one, encouraging enough to boost the determination in ones mind for him to attain success, which is the watch word of every entrepreneurial ventures.
thanks
Navaneethan

11. May, 2010

Hats-off to the Article.It inspires and motivates to the core…..
Michael

11. May, 2010

Glad you enjoyed the article – it’s amazing that we are all inspired when we see those we admire making mistakes and acknowledging their failures. Without these hard lessons it is unlikely that we succeed…!
Milind

15. May, 2010

Thanks Michael for giving the truely inspirational accounts. Like these people were great, you are also doing a great job of conveying their hard efforts that made all the difference, reach the people.
Bruce

21. May, 2010

Its encouraging. Its true. “Where determination is, failure shall never dismantle the flag of success”
Bruce

21. May, 2010

Hi, this is a good one, encouraging enough to boost the determination in ones mind for him to attain success, which is the watch word of every entrepreneurial ventures.
thanks
Bruce

22. May, 2010

Hats-off to the Article.It inspires and motivates to the core…..

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