1.
FROM FAILURE TO SUCCESS
Powerful Entrepreneurial Stories To Learn From!
@ SURVEYCREST

2.
It's fine to celebrate success but it
is more important to heed the
lessons of failure.
“
BILL GATES
Philanthropist | Founder, Microsoft
@ SURVEYCREST

3.
FAILURE
Bill Gates with his best bud, from Seattle’s Lakeside
High School, Paul Allen, laid foundation of Traf-O-Data
to address traffic congestion issues. But it
turned out to be a lofty goal when in a make-or-break
demo for local county officials,
microprocessor ditched and failed to start. Ouch!

4.
LESSON
Just Had A Great Idea? Hold That Thought.
The faster you can bring a product to the market
the better. True that. However, if you do not have
confidence in your product or if it’s still too young
to market, stop right there!

5.
Think like a queen. A queen is not
afraid to fail. Failure is another
steppingstone to greatness.
“
OPRAH WINFREY
American Media Proprietor | Actress
@ SURVEYCREST

6.
FAILURE
Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first television job
as an anchor in Baltimore, where she said she
faced sexism and harassment.

7.
LESSON
Giving Up Is Not An Option.
But Winfrey did not give up and rebounded to
turn out to be the undoubted queen of television
talk shows before amassing a media empire. She
is now worth an estimated $2.9 billion. Isn’t that
amazing?

8.
A person who never made a
mistake, never tried anything new.
“
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Theoretical Physicist and Philosopher
@ SURVEYCREST

9.
FAILURE
As a child, Albert Einstein had some difficulty
communicating and learning in a traditional
manner.

10.
LESSON
Everyone Has Their Own Strengths, Recognize Yours.
Obviously, Einstein’s behavioral deficiencies were
not suggestive of a lack of intellect. For the
discovery of the photoelectric effect, and his special
theory of relativity, Einstein won world’s most
prestigious award ‘Nobel Prize’ in Physics. Whoa,
Einstein must be really proud of himself!

11.
You only have to do a very few
things right in your life so long as
you don't do too many things
wrong.
“
WARREN BUFFETT
Investor and Philanthropist
@ SURVEYCREST

12.
FAILURE
Warren Buffet regards buying Berkshire Hathaway a
“200-billion-dollar mistake.” Buffet bought a
controlling interest in the company so that he could
fire Berkshire’s CEO who apparently insulted him
when he offered a price (for Berkshire Hathaway
shares) lower than the one they had agreed upon
earlier.

13.
LESSON
Never Mix Emotions With Business!
No doubt, Berkshire Hathaway acquisition would still
go down in history as one of the greatest investment
success stories. But it was a dreadful investment and
cost Buffet deeply in terms of opportunity cost. So,
the lesson here is to never risk a future prospect in
the wave of emotion. Definitely not, unless you’re
Warren Buffet!

14.
The greatest artists like Dylan,
Picasso and Newton risked failure.
And if we want to be great, we’ve
got to risk it too.
“
STEVE JOBS
Entrepreneur & Co-Founder, Apple Inc.
@ SURVEYCREST

15.
FAILURE
Recruiting John Sculley as CEO of Apple was
perhaps the worst mistake Steve Jobs made. Jobs
lured Sculley to take up the position with his
renowned pitch: “Do you want to sell sugared water
for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with
me and change the world?” *Sigh* Sculley no
wonder felt flattered and took the bait. Later, he
organized a board campaign to fire Jobs.

16.
LESSON
Recruit People Who Fit Your Business.
Recruiting the Right Person for the right job is
essential. Experience, qualification, skills and good
reference – everything counts! But when hiring
someone for a post as crucial as a CEO, invest time
to find someone who believes in your vision and
whom you can trust with your business.

17.
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
have failed by default.
“
J K ROWLING
British Novelist
@ SURVEYCREST

18.
FAILURE
J.K. Rowling was a single mom living in
poverty and depression when she started
writing her first book. Her first manuscript was
rejected by twelve publishing houses and one
of the publishers advised her to get a day job
since he thought she had little chance of
making money in children’s books. Sadness!

19.
LESSON
Don’t Get Caught Up In The Noise, Trust Your Instinct!
It is fine to listen to feedback or take advise
from the experienced. But in the end, trust
your own instincts. Do not let people distract
you from your goals and dreams.

20.
You shouldn't dream your film,
you should make it!
“
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Filmmaker and Business Magnate
@ SURVEYCREST

21.
FAILURE
Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University
of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts
multiple times.

22.
LESSON
If You’re Not Falling Then You’re Not Learning!
Make it a point, real life starts outside your
comfort zone. Most people don’t succeed
because they’re afraid to fail. Failure actually
makes you stronger and more likely to win the
next time around. Steven Spielberg has so far
won three Academy Awards for his blockbusters.

23.
You don't learn to walk by following
the rules. You learn by doing, and by
falling over.
“
RICHARD BRANSON
Founder of Virgin Group
@ SURVEYCREST

24.
FAILURE
At the age of 16, Richard Branson dropped out
from his school to launch a magazine for students.
He thought that a nationwide magazine for
students would make him a great success
overnight but things don’t always go as planned.
The student magazine idea was a fiasco, and at
the end he had to close it down.

25.
LESSON
Not Every Idea Is Worth The Opportunity.
It is important to do adequate research, collect
circumstantial data and understand the demand
before your enter the market. In Richard Branson’s
case, failed attempt to launch a nationwide
student magazine became the starting point to
launch the successful Virgin Records.

26.
I've missed more than 9000 shots in
my career. I've lost almost 300 games.
26 times, I've been trusted to take the
game winning shot and missed. I've
failed over and over and over again in
my life. And that is why I succeed.
“
MICHAEL JEFFREY JORDAN
Former basketball player and Entrepreneur
@ SURVEYCREST

27.
FAILURE
Michael Jordan was cut from his high
school’s basketball team.

28.
LESSON
Persistently Do What You’re Passionate About!
Despite initial setback, Michael Jordan did not
give up. He continued to pursue his passion for
basketball to become the world’s greatest
basketball player of all times.

29.
Life is like a wheel. Sooner or later,
it always comes around to where
you started again.
“
STEPHEN KING
American Author
@ SURVEYCREST

30.
FAILURE
Stephen King became so irritated over his
attempt to write the novel "Carrie" that he
threw away the entire early draft.

31.
LESSON
Know When It’s Time To Quit!
When you have poured a lot of time, energy and
focus into something, it is hard to say goodbye to
a beloved project. But it is important to know
when it’s time to call it quits. Because if you can’t,
you may end up losing more.

32.
I think it’s important to have a good
hard failure when you're young. I
learned a lot out of that. Because it
makes you kind of aware of what can
happen to you.
“
WALT DISNEY
Businessman, Cartoonist and Filmmaker
@ SURVEYCREST

33.
FAILURE
Did you know Walt Disney was fired by a
newspaper editor because he apparently did
not show a flair for imagination and lacked
good ideas? Duh, yea.

34.
LESSON
Paddle Your Own Canoe!
It is fine to assume that people have your best
interest in mind and that their intentions are good
but your dream is your own. And its success or
failure solely depends on what you make of it.
Don’t rely on others for your own success.

35.
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