Famous Failures – It Takes One To Know One

This video has been showing up here and there. It’s all about “famous failures” – people who supposedly “failed” at something for which they were later renowned. The examples are supposed to teach us  “life=risk” or some such.

My first question was “But are these stories true?” Does it matter if these stories are true or not — as long as the Feel-good message is good? Why would anyone doubt such an authoritative voice? Can anyone say for certain that they are not true? Well, frankly, I don’t care. I have no interest at all in doing any harm to other people’s Feel-Goodisms. I just like to look stuff up and I’m curious: When it comes to the truth, does this video Pass or Fail? So let’s have a look at these claims. (References available.)

Claim #1: Lucille ball was “dismissed from drama school” with a letter from her teacher saying she was too shy.

True story: The only facts that are really known for sure is that she didn’t continue drama school. There isn’t any evidence at all that she was “dismissed” and it seems more likely she just went home and went back to her regular school. There was a letter sent to her mother but by all accounts the school made disparaging remarks about most of its students and Ball didn’t ever mention the letter as being of any influence, despite talking and writing about the experience quite a few times. Feel-Good Video Fail.

Claim #2: The Beatles were turned down by Decca, who said they didn’t like their sound.

True story: I’m going to give Feel-Good a passing grade on this one, even though they slightly changed the “guitar groups” quote. The story is basically true as told. Feel-Good Video Pass.

Claim #3: Ulysses S Grant was a “failed soldier, farmer, and real-estate agent”.

True story: Grant was a successful soldier. He graduated from West Point, served bravely and honorably in war, and resigned with the rank of captain. Like many veterans, he had trouble finding and keeping a good job. The description of him as a “failed soldier” is, quite simply, false. Feel-Good Video Fail.

Claim #4: Michael Jordan was “cut from the high school basketball team”.

True story: I don’t have to write much about this one; the claim has already been demolished several times, despite the fact that it has been used over and over again as an example of a famous failure. Michael Jordan, like nearly every player at his school — even the great ones — played on the junior varsity team his first year. He was the star player. He was never “cut” from any high school basketball team. Feel-Good Video Fail.

Claim #5: Thomas Edison was called “too stupid to learn anything” by a teacher.

True story: Variants of this story seem to have started around 1920 in children’s book accounts of Edison’s childhood. The only real reference that comes even close is a claim that he may have overheard a teacher once calling him “addled”. Nothing else about the urban legend repeated in the video is supported by any contemporary sources or any reliable biographies. Feel-Good Video Fail.

Claim #6: Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper and told he “lacked imagination” and had “no original ideas”.

True story: Disney was never fired from any newspaper. He asked for a job at the Kansas City Star and was told they already had a cartoonist. The account given in the video appears about 30 years ago and was never attested by any of his biographers or family. It’s just a story that gets the known facts wrong and adds some more falsehoods for good measure. Feel-Good Video Fail.

Claim #7: Lincoln suffered various failures in his life, including having his fiancé die, failing at business, losing many elections, having a nervous breakdown.

True story: Lincoln had his share of difficulties but the claims made about him in the video, like all of the claims in the video, are a mixture of truth, embellishment, make-believe, and error. He had mixed results at business, sometimes doing quite well. No one knows if he suffered any nervous breakdowns. He may or may not have been engaged to his woman friend who died. (Someone dying is a “failure”? Was he her physician or something? Gah. Whatever.) Feel-Good Video Fail.

Personally, I find the true stories much more interesting. For example, Jordan did apparently feel like a failure when he didn’t get on the varsity team. But the message of the story should be that it wasn’t a failure at all. The same goes for Ball: Nearly all of the members of Ball’s class failed or dropped out. So dropping out of that school was just normal, not a failure. Grant went back to soldiering and on to be the president of the US because he had been a successful soldier, not because he’d failed at it. So, all together, that’s 1 for 7. Only the Beatles story is true as told. The rest are either exaggerated, unverifiable tales, or outright falsehoods. I’d call that a big Fail. Don’t take it so bad, though, Feel-Good. It’s a great example of multiple failure.

Tags: beatles, biography, disney, failure, lincoln, lucille ball, michael jordan, thomas edison, ulysses s grant, urban legends