NEVER GIVE UP

Dr. Wendy Ghiora
Posting #95 - August 13, 2011

As I teacher, “Never give up,” was my mantra. Time after time, the most unlikely students would wind up finding the genius within and become my “brightest star.” As a teacher, leader, mentor, boss, whatever, you can help others find their own” hidden genius.” I believe there is a way to find that special something in every student; and when you do, all I can say is “WOW!”

See if you can guess who each one of these supposed ne'er-do-well’s is: (answers at the bottom)

1.This person’s teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, he made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at his invention until he finally succeeded.

2.This person failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.

3.This person failed sixth grade and was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." (his capitals, mind you)

4.This person did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school .

One interesting anecdote, told by Otto Neugebauer, a historian of science, goes like this:

As he was a late talker, his parents were worried. At last, at the supper table one night, he broke his silence to say, "The soup is too hot."
Greatly relieved, his parents asked why he had never said a word before.
He replied, "Because up to now everything was in order."

5.This person was cut from his high school basketball team. He once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."

6.After his first audition, this person was told by the casting director, "Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?" It was at that moment, that he decided to devote his life to acting.

7.This person flunked out of college. He was described as both "unable and unwilling to learn." No doubt a slow developer.

8.was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times. The “bright idea” he proposed was rejected by the local city on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.


1.Thomas Edison
2.Henry Ford
3.Winston Churchill
4.Albert Einstein
5.Michael Jordan
6.Sidney Portier
7. Leo Tolstoy
8. Walt Disney

Next time you are just about to give up on someone, I hope you will think about these examples. The “I CAN,” is there in everyone. Just find it.