Truth be told, I am a competitive person. I'm not competitive in the sense where I need to win (although I wouldn't mind winning). I am competitive in the sense that I want for people to look at me and think, "That girl is going places." I want to be successful. And, for some reason, I, as well as many others, measure this success in comparison to the success of others. Which then leads to a whole lot of stress. Because then I just don't feel quite successful enough. I need to not only be great and awesome and successful, but I need to be great and awesome and successful now because everyone else is trying to be that now and I can't get left behind. However, I was watching "Saturday Night Live" a few weeks ago, when one of my favorite cast members Leslie Jones said the following during Weekend Update:
Which gave me a pretty simple revelation: I'm only 19 years old. I'm still in school. I don't need to write a best-selling novel just yet or find the answer for world peace. It's okay if I'm not successful just yet, and it's okay if I fail. Just like Oprah. So, without further ado, here are 12 other extremely successful people who failed at first – just like Oprah.
1. J.K. Rowling
Despite the last four books of her "Harry Potter" series garnering a combined sales total of approximately $450 million and setting records for the fastest-selling books, her original novel in the franchise, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," was rejected 12 times before Rowling was offered a deal with Bloomsbury. At the time of the book's publication, Rowling was 31.
2. Albert Einstein
In his early years, Einstein was asked to leave his school in Milan, Italy, for his lack of interest in the more popular subjects of the time and was rejected from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich on his first attempt because he failed the exams in botany, zoology and languages. However, at the ripe age of 26, Einstein developed his special theory of relativity, and, at 36, developed his general theory of relativity.
3. Shonda Rhimes
Rhimes is quite popular nowadays for her work with the shows "Grey's Anatomy," "Private Practice," "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder." However, the first screenplay that Rhimes ever sold, "Human Seeking Same," never actually made it to the screen. Despite this minor setback, Rhimes went on to receive a Golden Globe for best television series-drama for "Grey's Anatomy" in 2015. Rhimes was 45.
4. Vincent Van Gogh
While Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime, he painted over 800 works, which garner millions in revenue to this day. His painting "The Starry Night" is currently displayed in the Modern Museum of Art in New York City, and his "The Potato Eaters" is displayed in the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
5. Elvis Presley
Despite his lasting fame and the nickname, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll," Presley was originally fired from the Grand Ole Opry in 1954 by his manager Jimmy Denny after just one performance. In 1956, at the age of 21, Presley scored his first No. 1 hit with "Heartbreak Hotel."
6. Walt Disney
7. Steven Spielberg
Although he is well-known for directing such movies as "E.T: Extra-Terrestrial," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Jurassic Park," as well as many others, Spielberg was originally rejected three times from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television. Despite this minor setback, Spielberg went on to be nominated for his first Academy Award in 1978 at the age of 32 for his movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
8. George Clooney
Clooney's roots can get pretty interesting. A Kentucky native, Clooney was denied a baseball contract after trying out for the Cincinnati Reds, dropped out of Northern Kentucky University, worked as a shoe salesman and worked as a farmhand before he finally landed his first on-screen acting role. However, after years of hard work and good looks, Clooney landed his first big role as Dr. Doug Ross on the television series "ER" in 1992 at the age of 31.
9. Andrew Lloyd Webber
While many may know him for his work with the popular Broadway musicals "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera," Lloyd Webber's original collaboration with Tim Rice, titled "The Likes of Us," never made it to the stage. Despite the setback, Webber's "Cats" opened in London in 1981, eventually becoming the longest-running musical in the city's history. Webber was 33 at the time.
10. Michael Jordan
While many may refer to Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time, it is also well-known that Jordan was originally cut from his high school basketball team. Jordan came back from this rejection, of course, and was drafted to play for the Chicago Bulls at the surprisingly ripe age of 17.
11. Steve Jobs
Like many of the successful people on this list, Jobs dropped out of his college, which was Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Jobs's and Steve Wozniak's company Apple Computer became a publicly traded company in 1980 when Jobs was 25 years old.
12. Ellen DeGeneres
DeGeneres gave up her dream of becoming a veterinarian at a young age because she didn't feel that she was smart enough to make it. In the meantime, DeGeneres worked as a waitress, a vacuum cleaner salesman, house painter and legal secretary. She didn't begin performing stand up until 1981 at the age of 23 and landed her talk show, "Ellen," in 2003 at the age of 42.
