When reading the title to this post you may have thought that I might do the old bait-and-switch trick. You know, promise one thing, and deliver another.
Not quite.
It may be hard to grasp but the title is true.
At some point in life each one of us quits at something. We cut our losses, or more likely, the pain associated with the failing. It could be a game of Monopoly or Grad school, reading a book or writing one.
We get discouraged and it becomes easier to quit. It’s easier to fail than to go on with uncertainty.
We like comfort. In fact, we like it a lot.
The good news is that if you are a quitter, success is close at hand.
Really? Can that really be true?
Yes, my friend, it is true. But I wouldn’t want you to take my word on such a serious matter. I’ve compiled a list of some famous quitters.
You have probably heard of them. Each one of these folks filed for bankruptcy at some point in their life. Some several times.
Bankrupt And Back Again
Abraham Lincoln-16th President of the United States
P.T. Barnum-The Great American circus owner
Toni Braxton-singer
Francis Ford Coppola-Oscar winning film writer, director, producer
Henry Ford-Automobile manufacturer
Charles Goodyear-19th century American inventorUlysses S. Grant-18th US President, Civil War general
Tony Gwynn-baseball player
Dorothy Hamill-Olympic gold-medal ice-skater
George Frideric Handel-composer
Robert Kiyosaki-Rich Dad, Poor Dad author and professional speaker
Stan Lee-Comic book industry pioneer , co-creator “Spider Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “The X-Men”, etc
Jerry Lewis-comic, actor, philanthropist
George McGovern-politician
William McKinley-25th US President
Lorrie Morgan-Country music star, author
Robert Morris-Politician who financed Revolutionary War
Willie Nelson-singer, songwriter, actor
Wayne Newton-singer, actor, entertainer
Thomas Paine-Common Sense activist
Tom Petty-rock star
Susan Powter-exercise/fitness expert, talk show host, best selling American Author
Sheryl Swoopes-Three-time WNBA MVP
J. Fife Symington-Governor of Arizona (while still in office)
Nikola Tesla-Invented alternating current
Donald Trump-billionaire entrepreneur
Mark Twain-author and humorist, Huckleberry Finn author
Mike Tyson-boxer
Johnny Unitas-legendary Hall of Fame football quarterback
Oscar Wilde-acclaimed poet and author
James Wilson-U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1789-1798
Believe me, this is just a small list. I wanted to make this list one that was representative of the many different areas of life. But, you may still be unconvinced. You may be thinking that bankruptcy isn’t quitting at all. Okay, I won’t debate it with you.
“Winners never quit, quitters never win.” Right?
Sorry Vince Lombardi, that just isn’t so.
sidenote-I love Coach Lombardi but, even he, was not immune to quitting. Lombardi enrolled at Fordham Law school in September, 1938. Although he did not fail any classes, he believed his grades were so poor that he dropped out after one semester. His teams also had a 90% winning percentage in the post season.
Let me offer up more examples for your examination:
Grandma Moses quit painting early in life only to take it up again at the age of 76.
Roberto Duran is famous for quitting during a fight with Ray Leonard. (he won two titles a-f-t-e-r this fight)
Michael Jordan quit basketball to play baseball. With little chance of ever becoming an everyday baseball player, Jordan quit baseball. (he then won three more titles in basketball)
Ronald Reagan quit acting.
Steven Pressfield was hardly the only author to quit writing prior to making it big.
The list goes on and on.
Here are some more quitters:
Famous High School Dropouts
This group either dropped out of elementary school or high school:
- H.G. Wells
- Jim Clark
- Jimmy Dean
- Andrew Jackson
- Leon Uris
- Walter L. Smith
- W. Clement Stone
- Jack London
- Arthur Ernest Morgan
- Ray Charles
- Cher
- Daniel Gilbert
- Peter Jennings
- Ansel Adams
- Brooke Astor
- Lucille Ball
- Bill Bartman
- Whoopie Goldberg
- Philip Emeagwali
- Kemmons Wilson
- Roy Rogers
- Walter Nash
- Sydney Poitier
- Frederick “Freddy” Laker
- Tommy Lasorda
- Anton van Leeuwenhoek
- Richard Branson
- Isaac Merrit Singer
- Alfred E. Smith
- Charles Chaplin
- Jack Kent Cooke
- Charles E. Culpeper
- Richard Desmond
- Thomas Dolby
- Carl Lindner
- John Llewellyn
- Marcus Loew
- Mary Lyon
- Horace Greeley
Want a more extensive list? Go and check out the huge list compiled at angelfire.com.
Famous College Dropouts
- Steve Jobs
- Bill Gates
- Mark Zuckerberg
- John D. Rockefeller
- Howard Hughes
- Lawrence Ellison
- Michael Dell
- Marc Rich
- Ty Warner
- Gautam Adani
- Micky Jagtiani
- Azim Premji
- Sheldon Adelson
- Kirk Kerkorian
- Donald Newhouse
- François Pinault
- Jack Taylor
- David Geffen
- David Murdock
- Ted Turner
- Henry Fok
- Ralph Lauren
- Micky Arison
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
Quitters come from all walks of life. They come in all shapes and sizes.
The common bond is quitting.
You wouldn’t consider most on these lists as quitters though, would you?
But, they did.
Why don’t we see them that way?
You see, each one on this list decided at some point that they were done. They were done quitting. They may fail but it wouldn’t be by way of quitting anymore.
Was it as simple as that? Yes. They purposed to keep going despite the history of quitting. They learned from the pain. Yes, bruises are painful.
Today can be that day that you look back on. The day that you purpose to see it through at any cost.
The day that you quit quitting.
There are giants that need facing.
As always my friends…
Live it LOUD!