Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
Several more of his businesses failed before the premiere of his movie “Snow White.” He went onto become the guy who redefined American childhood.
Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts multiple times.
He went on to create the first summer blockbuster with “Jaws” in 1975, has won three Academy Awards, 4 Emmys, 7 Daytime Emmys, and his 27 movies have grossed more than $9 billion.
Colonel Harland David Sanders was fired from dozens of jobs before founding a fried chicken empire at the age of 65.
He traveled across the U.S. looking for someone to sell his fried chicken, and after finally getting a business deal in Utah, Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. KFC is now one of the most recognizable franchises in the world, with over 18,000 locations.
Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was “too stupid to learn anything.”
After that, things stayed bleak for a while, as Edison went onto be fired from his first two jobs, for not being suitably productive.
Edison went on to hold more than 1,000 patents and invented some world-changing devices, like the phonograph, practical electrical lamp, and a movie camera.