by Zoro the Drummer
Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent. ~ Marilyn vos Savant
Hello Friends,
I want to encourage you with some lesser-known truths about some of the most successful people of all time.
ELVIS PRESLEY flunked his music classes in high school and was told by a gospel group he wanted to join that he wasn’t a good enough singer.
WALT DISNEY was fired from his newspaper job because his editor said he, “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
27 publishers rejected DR. SUESS’S first book before finally getting published.
HENRY FORDS’s first business ventures broke him five times before he started the Ford Motor Company.
Every cartoon submitted by CHARLES SCHULTZ to his high school yearbook staff was rejected. He later created the Peanuts/Charlie Brown comic strip, one of the most successful of all time.
STEVEN SPIELBERG was denied admission to the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film, and Television three times.
ALBERT EINSTEIN initially failed much of the entrance exam to the elite Swiss Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich, Switzerland.
Before founding Microsoft, BILL GATES and partner PAUL ALLEN started a company called Traf-O Data which failed.
Before starring in I Love Lucy, LUCILLE BALL was told by her drama instructors to consider another profession because they didn’t feel she had what it took to make it in acting. I Love Lucy became one of the most successful and longest-running shows in television history.
At his first movie screen test, the MGM director stated this on paper about FRED ASTAIRE: “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Fred became one of the greatest dancers of all time, a Hollywood film legend and singer who changed entertainment history and fashion.
These stories are not unique, as almost anyone who has experienced success has similar experiences.
ON A MORE PERSONAL NOTE:
I was turned away from joining the school band program as a drummer in the fourth grade and rejected year after year. It wasn’t until my junior year in high school that I could join. But despite that, I went on to become a world-renowned drummer.
When I first set out to do drum clinics, I was turned down by every college and drum shop in the country; eventually, I was voted the number one drum clinician in the world for several years.
Multiple publishers turned down my books until they were eventually published. Each achieved success, received various awards, and impacted people globally.
My forthcoming memoir, Maria’s Scarf: A Memoir of a Mother’s Love, a Son’s Perseverance, and Dreaming Big, was turned down over 100 times in the last 15 years! On April 30, 2024, it will be released as a book, e-book, and audiobook by Blackstone Publishing.
I could go on and on about the rejection I’ve endured throughout my life. But my situation is not unique. Most of us face rejection regularly, be it personal or vocational. The important thing is not to let disappointments and setbacks define you or determine your future. Rejection is just a part of the human experience. But we alone have the power to overcome it by choice and march on.
Sometimes, I’ve had to set dreams on the shelf and wait on the divine timing for those doors to open. Other times, I had to re-assess, re-tool, and re-calibrate the vision, product, dream, or skill and bring it to a higher level. Bottom line: Be willing to re-work and refine whatever you’re working on until it stands above the rest, and never give up. Let’s do this!
Wishing you all the best,
Zoro
Connect with Zoro:
Website: zorothedrummer.com / Instagram: @zorothedrummer / YouTube: @SuperFunkyFan / Facebook: @zorothedrummermusic
If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
~ Thomas Edison
Zoro the Drummer is available to visit with book clubs via NovelNetwork.com.