Success and Failure

At the age of 5 he was writing sonatas and concertos for the piano. At seven he was performing the most difficult works of Handel and Bach. At 12 he wrote his first opera. Yet he died in poverty and obscurity at age 35. His widow was ill and indifferent as to his burial. A few friends attended his funeral, but was buried in an unmarked grave. Yet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s music lives on, is performed every day in Concert Halls, radio stations, and is considered one of the geniuses of the past millennium.

 A young English boy was called “carrot top” by other students and was given little chance of success by some teachers. He ranked third lowest in class, constantly failed Mathematics and Latin. He repeated his grade twice, and was said to have little understanding of his school work. He never gave up though, and became Prime Minister of England. His name was Winston Churchill.

She believed that her products would sell at home beauty shows. Her first show grossed $1.50. But Mary Kay Ash persevered and now has annual sales of over $200 million.

When Elvis Presley in 1953 tried out as a singer in the Grand Ole Opry, the main judge pulled him to the side and asked him, “What do you do for a living ?” And Elvis responded “I drive trucks, Sir” To which the judge responded, “Well, I suggest that you forget about singing and keep on trucking !” The world of music is truly glad Elvis didn’t give up on his singing career.

This boy was so slow to learn how to talk that his parents thought him abnormal, and his teachers called him “misfit.” His classmates avoided him and rarely invited him to play with them. He failed his first College entrance exam in Zurich, Switzerland. In time he became a world famous scientist. And TIME Magazine voted him the Man of the 20th century. He was Albert Einstein.