Failure is a part of life. For everyone. But it can be frustrating and demoralizing. Sometimes it is the result of poor choices or lack of preparation, but often times failure is beyond our control. While success is ultimately the goal, perhaps failure should be a more acceptable and expected companion along the path to achievement. It is only when we fail that we learn what doesn’t work. The act of failing means we gain more experience, and grow smarter and more efficient in our efforts to achieve a goal.

So, if you’ve ever failed at something, you are in good company!

Here are just a few examples of famous individuals, and even our national bird, who have known the sting of defeat. Embracing failure became a sometimes-daily part of life for those on this list. However, through perseverance and determination – and a lot of help from friends – these individuals (and avians) have eventually changed the world and become defined by their success.

The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers have been credited as the inventors of modern flight, but neither Orville nor Wilbur ever graduated from high school. It took them seven years before their first iconic flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Their original machine crashed after four flights on its first day out. Unfortunately, the flyer was so far beyond repair, it was crated and taken back to Ohio and was never flown again. Still, the efforts of the these two brothers eventually shifted the movement of the world from the ground to the sky.

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison eventually held over one thousand patents and is still famous for many inventions, including the lightbulb, but among his successes, he is also known for his failure. It took him thousands of tries to find the perfect filament for his lightbulb. He once told a reporter, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” And, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Walt Disney

Walt Disney created some of the world’s most recognizable characters, but his first company, Laugh-O-Gram, went bankrupt. He lost the ownerships rights to his first successful animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to a rival studio. This loss sent him back to the drawing board in an effort to save his studio, which was floundering at the time. It was this failure that resulted in the creation of Mickey Mouse, the most famous cartoon character in the world.

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling was a struggling single mother long before she became the most successful author of all time. It took her seven years to write the first Harry Potter book. When it was finished, it was initially rejected by all 12 major publishing houses in England. Rowling, however, did not give up, and it paid off and paid off big. To date, the Harry Potter books have sold more than 500 million copies. She is said to be worth more than 650 million dollars.

The Bald Eagle

The American Bald Eagle may be our national bird, but it also no stranger to failure. Biologists estimate that eagles snare prey only once out of every 18 tries. These daily failures do not disqualify it from being our national symbol. It stands today as an emblem of long life, great strength, and majesty – a perfect representation of our country’s hopes and strengths.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, the brilliant mind who gave us E=mc2 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in physics, didn’t speak until he was four years old. Following his college graduation, Einstein entered the insurance business, but was unsuccessful at that. Even his own father considered Einstein to be a failure. Despite this, he chose to define failure in his own words, “You never fail until you stop trying.”

Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss’ has sold more than 600 million copies of his classic books, but he was a college dropout. His first book, And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 28 times before it was eventually published.

The next time you find yourself discouraged by defeat and overwhelmed by failure, take heart. So it has been with some of the best who have lived. Failure is not what defines them, and it doesn’t define you. The choice to get up and try again is what defines YOU.

And will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

-Dr. Seuss-