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Failure: The Blog  

August 2018

  • When This Executive Was Fired, He Took Charge
  • Obeying The Speed Limit Has Never Been More Fun
  • London Black Cabs Helped Uber Grow
  • Bette Graham Created A Product To Fix Her Mistakes
  • Flamin' Hot Cheetos Had An Interesting Start

July 2018

  • Fear This Instead Of Failure
  • Re-Releasing Songs Created Success
  • A CEO's Purposeful Mistake
  • The Tardy Student And The Unsolvable Problem
  • Fixing Potholes Through Graffiti

June 2018

  • A Surprising Mistake In The Oxford English Dictionary
  • US Army Embraces Mistakes
  • Blocking A Hymn
  • Eddie Shore Was Truly A Tough Guy
  • [Video] Elon Musk Didn't "Pivot" He Failed

May 2018

  • 8 Examples of Mental Toughness Part 2
  • Necessity Turned Accessory: Allen Iverson's Sleeve
  • This Doctor Has Continued To Fail
  • 8 Examples of Mental Toughness
  • MIT Accidentally Creates New Smelting Process

April 2018

  • Johnny Cash Quit Singing Lessons
  • Cruise Control Came Out of Frustration
  • Time Spent Gaming Pays Off In The Navy
  • Rock Around The Clock Was a Commercial Failure
  • Sigmund Freud Should Have Been Discouraged

March 2018

  • Superman Couldn't Fly
  • This School Shares Failures
  • Jim Croce's Parents Hoped He Would Fail

[More archives...]

« Abraham Lincoln Faced Many Setbacks
Bronze VS Silver Medalists: How Happy Are They? »

Sidney Poitier Was Told To “Go Wash Dishes”

December 28th, 2016 - by Alyssa Shea

Growing up poor in the Bahamas, Sidney Poitier had one dream which was to become an actor. He began his career with the American Negro Theatre in Harlem but wanted more. Even with that under his belt, he still hit resistance on his road to fame.

Poitier recalled in an interview with the Academy of Achievement just how difficult it was for him to reach his goals, especially because when he first started acting, he couldn’t read. He buckled down and really took the time to learn, albeit a bit slower than others. Poitier had an experience with a director when he tried out for one particular role on stage that changed his life. In fact, the man told him to just go get a job as a dishwasher instead!

Sidney Poitier failed
Photo © Flickr User basheertome

“And I realized then and there that what he said was his perception of my worth. He perceived me to be of no value beyond something that I could do with my hands. And while he was correct in his anger to characterize me that way, I was offended. I was offended deeply. And I said to myself, “I have to rectify that. I have to show him that he was wrong about me.”

Don’t be afraid to fail. Those who came before you failed first before they succeeded!

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