If you ever feel down or depressed because of a bad grade or a failed course, just remember that some of the most famous people; who are now very successful, have at some point failed exams, projects, and experiments. The list is extensive featuring names like Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, and even Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg.
To make the list short, below are 5 people who have failed in their exams.
JK Rowling
Yes, the very known JK Rowling, the author of many best sellers most famously known to have written the ‘Harry Potter’ book series.
JK Rowling’s dream from a young age was to study languages at Oxford, but she was unable to attend her university of choice. Although she did not fail in her exams, she was unable to obtain her desired A-level grades. Despite all of that she never gave up and now is worth roughly £1 billion.
In her own words about failure, “You might never fail on the scale I did, […] It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default."
Lord Alan Sugar
Lord Alan Sugar, the face of Dragons Den, a business magnate, media personality, author, politician, and political adviser has built his fortune from nothing and is now worth around £1.2 billion.
He was able to obtain all of this without passing any of his exams, and at times even had to repeat some of his exams to simply pass. This proving that being successful at collage, and only working towards top grades isn’t the only way forward.
He famously says, “Success comes more quickly to the entrepreneur that follows his instincts rather than following the progress of his competitors.”
Richard Branson
Despite dropping out of school at 16 and gaining a total of zero A-Levels Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, has risen to the top in the business world and is now worth almost £5 billion.
He voices his opinion about study life stating, “Young people need empowerment and encouragement, not sleepless nights worrying about hitting their exam targets.”
Dr. Mark Lythgoe
Dr. Mark Lythgoe may not be heard of worldwide, he is one of the world’s leading neurophysiologists and behavioral psychologists, often presenting tv and radio programs on his findings, and even gaining his PhD at 37 years of age.
His success was not achieved easily as he has failed drastically in his exams with his grades ranging between Fs and Es. He did not let his failure stop him from becoming widely successful in life.
“Over the years my sense of failure was my closest friend. I never doubted my abilities but, at moments of darkness when I’ve struggled academically, it’s the thing that’s got me up in the morning.”
Jon Snow
No, not the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen from The Game of Thrones series. Jon Snow, or Jonathan George Snow, best known as the longest-running presenter of Channel 4 News, and one of the most successful TV journalists in the UK has had struggles during his university days and failed miserably even in English.
His persistence to break into journalism paid off, he reached his goals despite his failed grades saying, “Toil in hope and you will get there.”
If any of the above 5 people, or the many other names known worldwide for failing and having difficulties in university is any example, you should never let one bad mark or a failed exam deter your desire to achieve success.
