Author Roald Dahl held onto a school report he had written as a kid. You know him from his books, James and The Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among many others. The teacher wrote, “I have never met anybody who so persistently writes words meaning the exact opposite of what is intended.”
Was that a compliment or an insult?
But then hearing of his English boarding school experience I wouldn’t trust anything a teacher wrote about him or any other student for that matter.
How often have we heard famous artists say that someone told them they would never be an actor (John Travolta,) that they would never be an artist, (Vincent van Gogh) or that selling their stupid chicken recipe is a dumb idea. (Colonel Sanders.) And imagine, a movie producer didn’t want Sylvester Stallone to play the part of Rocky.
After a performance at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, Elvis was told by the concert hall manager that he was better off returning to Memphis and driving trucks (his former career).
J.K Rowling was told not to quit her day job.
Steven King’s most renowned and first book, Carrie, was rejected thirty times. King decided to toss the book, which his wife then went through the trash to rescue and convinced him to re-submit it.
Think of Babe Ruth who said, “Every strikeout brings me closer to a home run.
Success comes from vulnerability, rejection, discomfort, and a hell of a lot of effort – with no guarantee of a payoff.
Darn.
Darn.
