Inspiration
July 8, 2024

15 Famous Failures Who Prove There’s Hope After Defeat

Worried you’re not making any waves with your life? These famous failures prove you should never give up. Read this article now to get inspired.

Key Takeaways

  • Failure is common even among those who achieve great success.
  • Many famous individuals faced significant obstacles before their achievements.
  • Perseverance and resilience often turn failure into eventual success.
  • Learning from setbacks is key to overcoming challenges and achieving goals.

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Use headings and subheadings throughout your resume to highlight key sections and make the information easier to read

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History is written by the victors, and rarely do people give the losers a second thought.

But even those who come out on top aren’t strangers to that chilling “f” word:

Failure.

The 15 people below are a huge success now, but they almost got lost in the pages of history.

Check out the story of these famous failures and see what they did to overcome their struggles and achieve success.

1. Maya Angelou

It’s hard to imagine one of the most influential poets and human rights activists in American history opening a famous failures list.

Still, success wasn’t a guarantee for Maya Angelou.

From a young age, she faced significant adversity, heartbreak, and trauma.

Angelou grew up in a heavily segregated town in Arkansas, suffered through harassment and physical abuse both at the hands of family and strangers, and struggled to find her way well into early adulthood.

A failed marriage and dancing career later, she moved to Africa, where she eventually connected with Malcolm X, a moment that kicked off her decades-spanning fight for African-American rights in the United States.

Main Lesson

It’s precisely all the adversity Maya Angelou faced throughout her early life that drove her to become one of the most influential voices in the country.

She leveraged the traumas of her personal life and used them as fuel to make her writing more honest and her thoughts more cutting.

The lesson you should take from this famous failure is that you can achieve success no matter how many scars you carry in your body or soul.

And sometimes, instead of burying your past pain, you can push it into the spotlight to help inspire and change the entire world.

2. Henry Ford

Henry Ford is now known as the founder of one of the most profitable automotive companies in the world and is a model for many hopeful entrepreneurs.

Then why’s he second on the famous failure list?

Well, before Ford Motor Company came to be, this businessman’s first two companies went under.

His first, Detroit Automobile Company, was dissolved only a year after Ford began production for his first car model.

The shareholders grew impatient with Ford’s meticulousness (and lack of fast results in the process) and withdrew their support for the company.

Then, his second business failed due to irreconcilable differences between Ford’s vision and that of his main investor. Eventually, he was pushed out of the company and left only with his ideas.

Main Lesson

Even great ideas aren’t always instant successes. Sometimes, it takes time for all the pieces to come together.

Ford made little change to his vision and way of operating over the years, even though his approach led to two previous business failures.

Still, he was confident enough to stand by his ideas and had the right amount of patience.

Ford had just turned 40 when he finally established Ford Motors and found an investor willing to fund him the money without interfering in the production process.

Many famous failures prove that sometimes you need to be patient if you want to be successful.

But Ford’s story also underlines that, in some cases, stubbornness can also pay off.

3. Marie Curie

The world remembers Marie Curie as the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in 1903, but her story could have taken a completely different turn.

Curie was born in 1867 in Poland, which at the time was under an oppressive tsarist regime.

Russian officials did not allow women access to higher education, leaving Curie’s passion for science potentially underdeveloped.

When she was 17, she started working as a tutor and governess to save money and eventually fled to Paris, where she enrolled at the Sorbonne University.

Though France was far more permissible, she would still face some gender adversity that could have potentially prevented worldwide recognition of her work.

Curie and her husband made waves in the scientific community for their research on radiation and the discovery of new elements, polonium and radium.

But the French academics wanted to leave her name out of the spotlight, arguing her husband, Pierre Curie, should receive the laurels for their discovery.

Main Lesson

Sometimes, it really can feel like the world is out to get you.

Though everyone likes to believe skills and merit are the only ways to achieve true greatness, reality shows that who and what you are can also factor in.

Curie’s story is essentially about going beyond what the world thinks you can or should do.

Russian tsarists could never even conceive that a woman would bring to light essential knowledge on radiation and even give us portable X-ray machines, but their belief regarding gender roles did little to hold Curie back.

You can even argue they motivated her to work even harder, change her context entirely, and become one of the most renowned scientists in the world.

4. Colonel Harland Sanders

Colonel Harland Sanders spent decades trying to find his purpose.

For 28 years, he worked odd jobs all over the country but always struggled to make ends meet.

He started running a gas station in Kentucky but needed to start serving food to keep his business afloat.

His food began to draw some attention, especially his pan-fried chicken.

He eventually opened his first restaurant in the 1930s, but by 1956, he was forced to sell it off.

He was in his 60s and living off Social Security and his shrinking savings, but he did have a perfected fried chicken recipe.

And he took that recipe on the road, visiting restaurants across the country to sell it.

It took years, and the process was often gruesome, but by 1964, Sanders had franchised over 600 restaurants and created the Kentucky Fried Chicken superbrand.

Main Lesson

Sanders flopped numerous times, and you could have said he was the biggest failure to ever live.

Being 60 years old and penniless looks like the end of the road for many, but for Sanders, it was only the beginning.

His determination to push through hardships and faith in his product motivated him for years as he slept in his car and begged for food while traveling the country.

It’s not impossible to imagine that those around him might have begged him to give up, but luckily, he only listened to his gut.

One of the world’s most famous failures proves you need to keep pushing, even if you’re going to face some hectic and difficult moments. Eventually, that hard work can pay off.

5. Steven Spielberg

A movie industry without Jaws, Schindler’s List, or the Indiana Jones franchise seems somber, but it could’ve happened since their creator didn’t have a good start in the entertainment industry.

Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of California’s film school because he lacked the grades to get in.

Many famous failures have a similar story, but Spielberg was rejected from film school three times. Formal education wasn’t on the cards for him.

Though he did get accepted to another school, he decided to dedicate his time to directing.

After contributing to several TV shows and made-for-TV movies, he released Jaws in 1975 and became a household name in the industry.

Spielberg then released his biggest flop in 1979—a comedy called “1941,” set just days after the Pearl Harbor attack.

The movie wasn’t a total loss for the studio, but the critics weren’t kind to Spielberg.

Luckily, he bounced back two years later with a little film called Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Main Lesson

The movie business is cruel and unforgiving, and it’s usually the norm for these famous failures to have many ups and downs throughout their careers.

But stories like Spielberg’s showcase how crucial it is to not let the opinions of others keep you from moving forward.

By all accounts, the director could have called it quits after releasing 1941; the critics certainly thought he should.

Instead, he disconnected from all that noise and focused on his craft.

6. 50 Cent

Curtis Jackson (also known as 50 Cent) has had a tumultuous life and career, which you can partly view in the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ feature film, which is somewhat inspired by the rapper’s life.

Both his mother and father were absent from his life from a young age, leaving only his grandmother to look after him.

Financial hardships led him to start dealing drugs at 12, and he was subsequently arrested and imprisoned when he was 19 years old.

After his release, he took the name of a local bank robber and began building his music career.

50 Cent was eventually in talks with Columbia Records, but the deal fell through after he was shot nine times in the chest in front of his grandmother’s house.

But one of the world’s most famous failures took this near-death experience as a lesson to seize each second.

Eventually, he released his first album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', which was certified 9x platinum.

Main Lesson

Perspective is key to everything: success, happiness, and fulfillment.

A major life event, such as your life flashing before your eyes, could always be the catalyst to change the way you view the world and your future.

In 50 Cent’s case, his experience drove him to push harder to make his music career happen and eventually achieve greatness as one of the biggest rappers in the world.

7. Abraham Lincoln

Mentioning the name of a U.S. president in a famous failure list almost feels like treason, but Abraham Lincoln’s pre-presidential life included numerous failures.

In the six years he served as a congressman in Illinois, he was a vocal supporter of legislation that aimed to improve the state’s infrastructure.

After a gruesome economic downturn hit the state, Abraham Lincoln took the blame for the depression, leaving his professional career hanging by a thread.

The following attempts at a thriving political career weren’t much better. Lincoln lost elections, businesses, the love of his life, and at one point, even his motivation, as he became deeply depressed.

And in 1861, after all these losses, he became President of the United States.

Main Lesson

The obvious lesson here would be something to the tune of “never give up,” but there is more to the story of this famous failure.

Lincoln’s journey underlines how much pushback you can get in certain fields.

It’s crucial to fully know what you’re up against in terms of competition, how the games are played behind the scenes, and even how volatile things are.

And this hectic rhythm doesn’t apply only to politics. Lots of business owners would probably tell you they faced several blows from their peers until they finally struck gold.

8. Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire is one of the most prominent faces of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but the path to success wasn’t exactly easy.

Though he started young, his career mostly revolved around vaudeville acts and Broadway shows, yet he wanted to make his big break into the movie business.

Screen test after screen test, producers told Astaire he didn’t have what it takes to appear in a film.

Sometimes, they weren’t even kind in their critique, citing the actor’s balding head, big years, and lack of singing abilities as the primary reasons for rejection.

Eventually, his dancing abilities landed him a role in Dancing Lady, alongside Joan Crawford and Clark Cable.

From there, Astaire built an impressive movie career that got him Emmys, Golden Globes, and even an Oscar for his contributions to the film industry.

Main Lesson

You need thick skin to make it in your industry. Famous failures are usually no strangers to criticism, but Astaire’s judges were slightly more vicious than you might expect.

One remark published in Life Magazine read, “Can’t sing; slightly bald; can dance a little.”

Yet, Astaire persevered despite what these people said about him, and if he allowed these remarks to affect him, he certainly didn’t show it. His career in the entertainment industry lasted 76 years.

9. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is widely considered one of the biggest famous failures in tech due to a string of huge mistakes that somehow he overcame.

First, he brought on a new CEO to Apple, who, within two years on the job, tried to organize a coup and remove Jobs from the company.

He bought Pixar from George Lucas, believing it would become the next big company in the hardware world, and later on struggled to sell it to break even on his investment.

He also lost money trying to sell the NeXT computer to a market that didn’t want it.

And that’s not even counting the many Apple products like the Apple Lisa or Macintosh TV, which even loyal iOS users don’t remember.

Main Lesson

Failure is par for the course when you’re trying to innovate.

Steve Jobs might have hoped all his new products could be an overnight success to the tune of the iPhone, but from the outside, it seems like he embraced the imperfection that comes with the territory.

Such setbacks always proved temporary, as Apple always seemed to bounce back.

Today, most people don’t even recall these failures in the visionary’s history. All they remember is how his products and company set the agenda for tech.

10. Beyonce

Whether you’re judging her solo career or her part in Destiny’s Child, there’s no denying that Beyonce is synonymous with the music industry.

Most people claim her lackluster stint in Star Search was the biggest setback of this famous failure, but the singer’s career would have many ups and downs along the way.

Her group, Destiny’s Child, was plagued by inner conflict and controversy, so much so that at one point, people were talking more about the fights between the members than the actual music.

Later on, when Beyonce was trying to go solo, her record label criticized her album, Dangerously in Love, claiming it didn’t have a single hit on it.

And, in Beyonce’s words, “I guess they were kind of right. I had five.”

Main Lesson

People can perceive you as successful, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to face pushback.

By all accounts, Beyonce was already a star before her debut solo album came out.

She had an existing fanbase, name recognition, and a distinct style people liked her for.

You’d think that by that point, her label would have trusted her creative process more, yet behind the scenes, support wasn’t really on the table.

Even when you “make it,” your fight’s not over. There will still be moments when you need to prove yourself, and while it may be frustrating, doing so can shut up your critics (at least for a while).

11. George Lucas

You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger movie franchise than Star Wars, yet at one point, it was unclear if the story of Luke Skywalker would even hit the big screens.

Several studios flat-out rejected George Lucas’ screenplay because they couldn’t wrap their heads around his visions.

Disney and Universal said no, but Lucas did get a green light from Fox, albeit reluctantly, it seems.

The director faced tensions with everyone involved in the movie, from the production company to the crew and even the actors.

You could argue Star Wars was too big of an idea for people to grasp, making Lucas one of the most famous failures in movie history.

Then, the movie was ready; it hit the cinemas, and the fan frenzy began. Almost fifty years later, the entire world still can’t get enough of this galaxy far, far away.

Main Lesson

George Lucas proves that sometimes you shouldn’t trust that voice in your head.

Though he successfully funded the movie, he was actually convinced it would flop, to the point where he even ignored the positive critiques that came out soon after the film’s release.

He even left for a vacation in Hawaii to escape the pressure of what he thought would be his biggest failure as a filmmaker.

After the first weekend, he got a call from an executive at Fox, urging him to turn on the news.

Only when he saw the massive line of people waiting to get into the cinema did he understand that yes, he'd made something special.

The voice of fear is powerful and can easily win any fight against reason and even hope.

Lucas’ example shows that it’s perfectly alright to ignore that voice because sometimes it has no idea what it’s talking about.

12. Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein is mentioned often in famous failures compilations, but for the wrong reason.

There’s an urban myth that he either flunked math or generally got bad grades in school.

While it’s certainly motivating to believe one of the most famous geniuses failed such an important subject in school, there’s no evidence of it.

Albert Einstein was a generally great student, as you might expect.

But there are other reasons to consider him another famous failure.

He had speech problems as a young child, leading those around him to believe he had an intellectual disability.

He flunked admission to the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School because of the history and language sections.

Once admitted, he found going to lectures and sitting through exams unbearable, so much so that after he finally graduated, it seemed he lost interest in science for a while.

Of course, he bounced back from all of this and eventually became a key figure in understanding modern physics.

Main Lesson

Albert Einstein is a major failure only if you consider the notion of compliance.

His shortcomings had less to do with his innate abilities or knowledge and more with his documented apprehension for authority.

Einstein didn’t like playing by the rules other people imposed on him and wasn’t shy about his annoyance with formal education, which he defined as “that which remains when one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”

His attitude likely led to him being misunderstood by professors and peers.

Luckily, he seemed to care little about perception and focused more on his work - which is the ultimate lesson to extract from his story.

13. JK Rowling

Harry Potter’s creator dubbed herself a failure before her world-changing book series was published.

Though JK Rowling always envisioned herself as a writer, life took an entirely different path early on.

She was divorced, raising a child by herself, and living on welfare support to cover expenses.

And in that busy schedule, she desperately fought to find the time to work on her first Harry Potter book.

Her resilience prevailed, and she went on to publish the book when she was 32 years old, which eventually kicked off an overwhelming journey that made Rowling one of the biggest (and richest) writers in the world.

Main Lesson

JK Rowling is one of those success stories built on a big dream and not a lot of resources.

She was writing her novel at a time in her life when financial stability was only a dream and while battling depression.

The author even credits her past failures as the reason why she succeeded in the end.

If she had experienced success in other areas of her life, Rowling may have never found the drive to work on something that truly mattered to her.

Harry Potter would have been one of those good ideas people have but never really leverage. Once in a while, it seems failure is only the opening chapter of success.

14. Walt Disney

Walt Disney's path toward building one of the biggest companies in entertainment history was defined by several moments of instability, both in his personal and professional life.

His first cartoon company went bankrupt, and he briefly tried to become an actor, an effort that led to another failure.

He tried his hand at cartooning again and found success with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, but his producer stole his animation team and his legal rights to the character.

He saw another glimpse of success once he created another company in his own namesake and brought Mickey Mouse to life, but even this was short-lived.

Walt Disney still struggled financially and had a nervous breakdown because the pressure was too much.

But he recovered and came back with a bigger intention: to create a full-length animation movie.

His first was called “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, a beloved fairytale classic for generations.

Main Lesson

Walt Disney’s legacy would have been lost in history if his previous business ventures had slashed his desire to make it in the cartoon business.

And failure often does just that: it makes you give up and change course. In this case, pushing through despite such shortcomings led to the Walt Disney Company, which achieved greater success than he even imagined.

Walt Disney somehow found a way to pick himself up after every lost battle.

His story proves that keeping your eye on the long game may be enough to get you through almost any stumble along the way.

15. Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson is now regarded as one of the most important names in American poetry, but people in the 19th century would likely be shocked to hear that.

To most, Dickinson was an eccentric recluse who preferred to communicate in writing rather than face-to-face.

Out of over 1,800 poems written by her, only ten were ever published during her lifetime and were heavily edited to suit the rules of poetry at the time.

The world only became aware of Dickinson’s unique poetic voice after her death, when her sister discovered her entire collection of writing and fought to have it published.

Main Lesson

It’s unclear if Emily Dickinson ever wanted her work to be public.

The ten poems were published anonymously, possibly without the poet’s knowledge, according to some historians.

Even so, considering how influential her voice still is, it’s bittersweet to think that Dickinson never got to see that her work would amass this level of admiration.

Her story teaches several lessons, but perhaps the most important one is to try.

Try to bring your ideas to light and see the fruit of your labor for yourself, regardless if the results ever make any waves.

Dickinson was a prolific writer, but the hopes of fame weren’t her motivator; the creative process was, in and of itself.

Wrapping Up

John Steinbeck said failure is a state of mind, similar to a sand trap made by an antlion.

Once you fall, the more you try to climb out of that hole in the ground, the more the trap pulls you back in.

The only way to get out is through “a hell of a jump,” to quote the author.

These famous failures stories all fall in line with this metaphor.

Setbacks kept each of them down, and the only way they overcame them was through something major, whether that was determination, conviction, or even pure luck.

None of these people are ashamed of failing, and you shouldn’t be either, or allow the fear of it keep you from trying.

What are your thoughts on these famous failures? Let us know in the comments, and share this article with anyone looking for some motivation.