President Barack Obama, in his speech (8 September 2009) to Wakefield High School students in Arlington, Virginia, makes this statement about success and illustrates it with this story:“Being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.”
“That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published.”
Link to Full Text
Barack Obama, Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama Back to School Event, White House Media Resources, 8 September.
More Stories about or by Barack Obama
Story for the US President about Gatekeepers, SFS.
Barack Obama and the Empathetic Person, SFS.
Ben Okri on Obama the Speechmaker, SFS.
Obama Tells Story of Anne Nixon Cooper, SFS.
Obama’s Speech on Election Night, SFS.
Obama’s Tribute to His Grandmother, SFS.
Obama on the Cost and Struggle of Change, SFS.
Obama’s Tribute to His Grandmother (from book), SFS.
Obama Expresses Debt to Mother and His Humble Beginnings, SFS.
Al Gore on Obama’s Youthfulness, SFS.
Why We in the UAE and Arab World Like President Obama, ETE.
Obama Books
Reviewing The Audacity of Hope, RBM.
Reviewing Dreams of My Father, RBM.
More on JK Rowling
Amnesty International’s Influence on J K Rowling, SFSAW
J K Rowling on the Value of Imagination, SFWAW
J K Rowling on the Value of Failure, SFSAW
J K Rowling: Giving a Commencement Address, SFSAW
J K Rowling’s Commencement Address at Harvard, SFSAW
J K Rowling on Friendships, SFSAW
On Related Sites
Photo Blogging Abu Dhabi UAE, Experiencing the Emirates, 7 September 2009.
Coming Second or Losing in the America’s Cup, America’s Cup in the UAE, 4 September 2009.
Dr Geoff Pound
Geoff can be contacted by email at geoffpound(at)gmail.com on Facebook and Twitter.
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Image: “JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published.”