An inspirational piece, particularly appropriate for younger folk: "But They Did Not Give Up". It doesn't even mention the travails and eventual triumph of Milton Hershey.

But . . . it's worth remembering that, at least every once in a while, you should give up. As Kenny Rogers sings, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em".

Comments

[Eric]

All good advice, like having persistence, courage, forgiveness...can go too far. Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it. So I think the best advice is "use good judgment", and leave the implementation as an exercise for the listener.

[Acad Ronin]

So there are false negatives. There are also false positives. What is the odds ratio or the log odds for the sorting process? That's what is interesting, albeit probably unknowable in general.

[Ed]

Well, there is at least one error in the list:

"Rocket scientist Robert Goddard found his ideas bitterly rejected by his scientific peers on the grounds that rocket propulsion would not work in the rarefied atmosphere of outer space."

It wasn't his peers but, rather, a New York Times editorial. Eventually they did publish a retraction (some decades later).

[david foster]

"They told the young man that it couldn't be done
With a smile he went right to it
He tackled the thing that couldn't be done
And you know, he couldn't do it!"

[JorgXMcKie]

"(Churchill) was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister." You know, I somehow figured that before he became Prime Minister he had at least been elected to Parliament. Hmmmmm.

And Abraham Lincoln's job just prior to being elected President was corporate lawyer for the Illinois Central Railroad (Casey Jones' railroad, too), and he was the first lawyer in the US (maybe the world) to earn a $5000 commission (although he had to sue the IC to get it).

These are fun, but I'd take the details with at least a grain of salt.

;->=

[William Sjostrom]

It was of course W.C. Fields who said that if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use making a damn fool of yourself.