Sometimes it seems like the end of the world, like there is no hope and all the odds are in favor of you quitting. Don’t, because if you do, you will never know what you will miss. All the names below would have stayed in the dark and deprived the world from their talents if they didn’t fight back.

1. JK Rowling: “ 12 NOs For HARRY POTTER”

**FILE ** British author J.K. Rowling poses for a photo at the release of her latest Harry Potter book titled "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at the Natural History Museum in London, in this July 20, 2007 file photo. Rowling is scheduled to testify Monday, April 14, 2008 in a trial that is sure to generate huge interest among Harry Potter fans and the public. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)

Though she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, and trying to raise a child on her own, Rowling hadn’t given up after “Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone” manuscript were rejected by twelve publishing houses. She fought back until she became the United Kingdom’s best-selling living author, and offered us one of the best-selling books in history.

 

2. Michael Jordan: “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

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Would you believe that Michael Jordan was actually cut from his high school basketball team? Though he missed more that 9,000 shots in his career, and almost 300 games, that still won’t change the fact that he is lauded as the best basketball player of all time.

 

3. Walt Disney: “You lack imagination and have no creative ideas.”

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Before firing Disney, a newspaper editor told him so. It was a rough ride for him; all of his projects failed and ended with bankruptcy. But he kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked. Today Disney’s empire makes billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world.

 

4. Harland David Sanders: “Don’t you understand the meaning of no?”

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Better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it.

 

5. Oprah Winfrey: “You’re unfit for TV.”

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The streets weren’t paved with gold for Winfrey in her early life. She faced a hard road to get to where she is now, a rough and often abusive childhood as well as numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for TV.” Oprah turned to be the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most successful women in the world.

 

6. Elvis Presley: “You’re not going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to driving a truck.”

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When the manager of Grande Ole Opry, the show that made country music famous, tells you that to your face before firing you, how can you ever again hold a mic? Not only did Presley hold a mic again, he became the best-selling artists of all time, and a household name even years after his death.

 

7. Bill Gates: “You’re nothing but a college dropout; you will achieve nothing.”

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After dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed business with Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder), Gates didn’t seem like a shoe-in for success. Though it seemed to be the end of the road, Gates created the global empire that is Microsoft.