Businesspeople
This person dropped out of Harvard and started a business that failed (Traf-O-Data). He later created Microsoft.
Who is Bill Gates?
This famous basketball player did not make his high school's team. He shared "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed," but he is still considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Who is Michael Jordan?
One of the best-selling artists of all time, this person is very well known even years after his death. Millions visit his Memphis mansion, Graceland each year. Back in 1954, the manager of the Grand Ole Opry told him "You're going nowhere. You should go back to driving a truck."
Who is Elvis Presley?
This Scottish author began writing as an umemployed and struggling single-mother who famously wrote her first book in a coffee shop during her daughter's naps. It went on to be the most popular children's book series ever written and a highly profitable movie franchise that now has it's own theme park.
Who is JK Rowling?
This inventor made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. However, he persisted and we continue to use his work today.
Who is Thomas Edison?
This person was fired by the newspaper editor at his first job because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He started a number of businesses that ended in bankruptcy, but eventually went on to create the "happiest place on earth".
Who is Walt Disney?
This famous baseball player is well known for his record number of home runs (714). However, he also held the record for the number of strikeouts with almost twice as many (1,330).
Who is Babe Ruth?
This famous boy band was originally told "we don't like your sound and guitar music is on the way out".They later went on to create hits like "Help" and "Here Comes the Sun."
Who are The Beatles?
This person has risen to the very top of the daytime TV ratings and is widely recognized as one the world's most successful businesswomen. However, she was fired from her first job as a television reporter because she was "unfit for TV." She now has her own network.
Who is Oprah Winfrey?
In his youth, the 16th president went to war a captain and returned a private (private is the lowest possible rank). He started numerous failed businesses and was defeated in 8 previous elections before he was elected to a public office.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
This person's now-famous chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it. By 1965, he had over 600 franchises selling his trademark fried chicken. He later sold his business for 2 million dollars.
A well-known and somewhat successful professional football player, this athlete briefly tried his hand at professional baseball. The New York Post called him "a more athletic Garth Brooks." He later went on to author multiple books, and work as a broadcaster for ESPN.
Who is Tim Tebow?
After being a part of Girl's Tyme, Star Search, and a girl group the Split Up, her later group had hits like "Say My Name." She was one of the most successful recording artists in history. She is a Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade and has 28 Grammy Awards.
Who is Beyonce?
At his first comedy show this person was booed off the stage. However, he went on to create one of the most acclaimed and popular American sitcoms of all time. The title of this show is his last name. In 2004, Comedy Central named him the 12th-greatest stand-up comedian of all time. He has received twenty Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work.
Who is Jerry Seinfeld?
This scientist is regarded as the father of physics and has won a noble prize for his Theory of Relativity. However, he did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven. He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School.
Who is Albert Einstein?
After being turned down an engineering job at Toyota Motor Company and being unemployed for some time, this inventor began making scooters at home. He later went on to create one of the largest car brands in the world. While this business is based in Japan its cars are sold and driven all over the world.
Who is Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motors?
In 2003, a terrible tragedy struck when a shark bit off this surfer's left arm. After only 26 days, she was surfing again and is now ranked as among the top 50 female surfers in the world. She also won first prize in the Explorer Women’s Division National Championships.
Who is Bethany Hamilton?
She started off as a struggling dancer, singer, and actress. She even had to move home and with her mother until her hit role in the movie, Selena. Now she is one of the most popular Latina singers in the world. She has released 8 albums, starred in more than a dozen movies, and performed during the 2020 Superbowl halftime show.
Who is Jennifer Lopez?
Today this artist's work sells for millions of dollars and hangs in some of the most prestigious museums in the world. However, in the beginning of his career it was mocked and rejected. He kept at his signature style, and today is most famous for his paintings, "Water Lilies".
Who is Claude Monet?
This person was fired as the CEO of his own company. His product was voted one of the 10 worst business ideas by PayPal. He now owns Tesla and SpaceX.
Who is Elon Musk?
You may not have heard of this person's name, but you have heard of his company. This person's first product was a rice cooker that didn't cook rice and sold less than 100 units. This founder later went on to create a multi-billion dollar company that created the CD and the PlayStation. Name or company is fine here!
Who is Aiko Morita, Founder of Sony?
This athlete was suspended for the entire 2014 MLB season after use of performance enhancing drugs. After retiring as a player, he served as a broadcaster for Fox Sports, a cast member of Shark Tank, and a member of the broadcast team for Sunday Night Baseball. In 2017, he became the host of the show Back In The Game, where he would help former athletes make a comeback in their personal lives.
Who is Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod)?
This famous musican and composer died in 1827 in Vienna, Austria. His teachers called him hopeless on the violin and he eventually lost all of his hearing. He went on to become one of the most famous composers of all time. His works are sometimes referred to by their numbers ex: Blahblahblah's Fifth.
Who is Ludwig Van Beethoven?
This person was rejected from the University of Southern California (USC) Film School three times. He eventually attended another school, only to drop out. He later became a director and created films like Jaws, Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan, Jurssic Park and ET. Thirty-five years after starting his degree, he returned to school in 2002 to finally complete his work and earn his BA.
Who is Steven Spielberg?
Born on a farm in Louisiana in 1867, she became an orphan at the age of 7. She struggled as a sales person at the St. Louis World fair and her first business went bankrupt. She later she went onto become the first female self made millionaire with her famous hair products for African American women
Who is Madame CJ Walker?