Famous people who failed before being successful

Charles Chaplin was a British actor, comedian, composer, producer, and writer. He is considered a one of the most important figures in the film industry due to the success of his movies in which he played the role of “the Tramp”.

The actor and director had an innovative way of thinking. Studios and producers initially rejected him because they didn’t understand his vision. Nowadays, films like Modern Times and The Great Dictator, are considered timeless and cult films.

He was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and he invented the modern production lines used for mass production. The introduction of the Model T in the automobile market revolutionized transportation in the United States. He was a prolific inventor who obtained 161 registered patents; as the owner of Ford Motor Company, he became one of the most famous and wealthiest people in the world.

In 1885, as soon as the Germans began manufacturing cars, Ford began designing his own prototypes. However, his first attempts failed. With the launch of Ford Motor Company, he achieved success, becoming the founder of one of the most famous car brands worldwide.

Rowling is a British writer and film producer, best known as the writer of the Harry Potter book series. The Harry Potter series became quite famous, winning multiple awards and selling over 450 million copies.

The British writer became a famous millionaire thanks to the adventures of a young wizard and his friends Howards. Before the publication of Harry Potter, Rowling was unemployed and in a very difficult economic situation.

He was an American producer, director, screenwriter, and entertainer. He became an international icon thanks to his important contributions to the entertainment industry during the twentieth century. He founded, along with his brother, Walt Disney Productions Company. Today it is the largest company in media and the entertainment world.

Just one year after founding the company Laugh- O-Gram Films, in 1922, he ended up bankrupt. He was going through a very difficult situation so he even had to sell his house to pay for a trip to Hollywood, the place in which he decided to start again, to found The Walt Disney Company.

He was an entrepreneur and business mogul in the computer industry and the American entertainment industry. He was co-founder and CEO of Apple and the majority shareholder of The Walt Disney Company.

He had unsuccessful projects such as Apple III and Lisa; he was even fired from his own company in 1985.After leaving Apple he founded NeXT and Pixar; this company was purchased by Apple so he became the CEO once again. When he returned to Apple, he revolutionized the technology industry and made the company successful again.

He was an American entrepreneur and inventor who patented more than a thousand inventions during life. Some of his inventions were the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

One of his most popular inventions was the light-bulb; Edison tried many times to make it work, he even lost one of his jobs for setting fire to a train wagon while he was experimenting.

Oprah Winfrey is an American TV presenter, producer, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She has won several Emmy Awards for “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, the most popular talk show in American television history. She’s also an influential book critic, and she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1986.

Oprah was fired from her first job as a television reporter for not "having the right image for television". Nowadays she is an influential book critic, presenter, director of her own magazine and ranked as one of the most powerful women in the world according to Forbes magazine.

He was a Dutch painter born on March 30, 1853; he is considered one of the most influential painters of post-impressionism. He made about 900 paintings (including 27 self-portraits and 148 watercolors) and more than 1600 drawings.

The only painting he sold while he was alive was bought by one of his friends. His work was not appreciated until he passed away.

He was a Japanese engineer and entrepreneur who founded Honda Motor Company in 1946. The company manufactures automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment and it is worth billions of dollars.  Honda remained president of his company until his retirement in 1973.

Soichiro Honda founded Tokai Seiki, an industrial company producing piston rings, but without scientific knowledge, he failed, leaving behind several ships burned and eventually falling into depression. After he attended college, he returned to his company and developed high-quality pistons. Tokai Seiki became a successful company thanks to his hard work; years later he became a millionaire thanks to Honda Motor Company.