Famous failures in the world

[KansaiBen]

Famous failures in the world.... ( A guy I went to school with was cut from the school rugby team, later went on to play for the All Blacks and was captain for 10 years)



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[kurogane]

Winston Churchill???????????

[Agitator]

Famous failures in the world.... ( A guy I went to school with was cut from the school rugby team, later went on to play for the All Blacks and was captain for 10 years)



Attachment 16300

Everybody fails at something.

But some people never succeed at anything.

Philosophically,
A.

[sunnysideup]

KB starts a thread about failure?

I'd make a joke, but he'd only go running to the mods and get the thread pulled.....

[Super Grover]

I'm not stalking you, Kansai Ben, but before your bacon was saved because the previous thread in Coming to Japan was deleted, you made a rather large claim.

These are more like famous rejections as opposed to failures.
Reginald Fessenden. Prime Minister Noda

[KansaiBen]

Everybody fails at something.

But some people never succeed at anything.

Philosophically,
A.

You shouldnt put yourself down so much, its demeaning.

[kurogane]

Everybody fails at something.

But some people never succeed at anything.

Philosophically,
A.

What about people that never fail to fail??? That seems a success of sorts....................

As Stephen Stills once noted, it is the easiest thing to do

Quizzically,

KG

[KansaiBen]

I'm not stalking you, Kansai Ben, but before your bacon was saved because the previous thread in Coming to Japan was deleted, you made a rather large claim.

These are more like famous rejections as opposed to failures.
Reginald Fessenden. Prime Minister Noda

OK you want to split hairs. They were rejected because of perceived personal failings.

Oprah failed to be hired as a newscaster as they thought she was no good.

Beatles failed to be signed to make a record as the record company thought they couldnt sing.

Steve Jobs failed to stop being fired from his own company.

Noda failed because the Japanese population would rather stick its head in the sand than deal with a 14 trillion yen deficit.

[Super Grover]

Not really splitting hairs. The two who I've mentioned were repeatedly and repeatedly rejected and told that they were failures.

No one can really say that Steve Jobs failed. In his case he was driven to do what it was that he wanted to do and that made him make the choices that he did. Like all of the others he was completely driven. George Michael is a famous failure!

BTW, the Beatles were poor singers, IMO.
Noda was a failure before becoming Prime Minister. But he kept trying and trying and trying and now he's in a situation where he'll be forced out and will collect a nice little pension.

[KansaiBen]

. In his case he was driven to do what it was that he wanted to do and that made him make the choices that he did. Like all of the others he was completely driven. George Michael is a famous failure!

Matter of opinion, has a massive drug problem but he can still sing. Their failures are excused because they are famous.

We can all find excuses for why people fail at some point in our lives. I have my own but in my case just happened to get a mass lynching.

I think life would be pretty boring if we all didnt f--k up once in a while.

[kurogane]

Those threads got pulled????

Yet another Haughty Watergate Coverup, and another perfectly good thread, gone to a Haughty Grave.

[KansaiBen]

Noda was a failure before becoming Prime Minister. But he kept trying and trying and trying and now he's in a situation where he'll be forced out and will collect a nice little pension.

Japanese Prime Ministers last on average a year. Kan lasted 9 months. Hatoyama about 18 months before he imploded.

That job is a poisoned chalice. He only became Prime Minister because they could not find anyone else willing to take it on. He is the only one it seems who has had the b-alls to stand up and say what needs to be done to get Japan out of its fiscal hole, but the rest of the party don't want to know about it.

Not only that he is President of the Democratic Party which carries with it the post of Prime Minister. If he gets voted out as president then he steps down as PM. He can only resign as Prime Minister and go to the back benches.

BTW has our little noobie friend been banned?

[Super Grover]

Japanese Prime Ministers last on average a year. Kan lasted 9 months. Hatoyama about 18 months before he imploded.

That job is a poisoned chalice. He only became Prime Minister because they could not find anyone else willing to take it on. He is the only one it seems who has had the b-alls to stand up and say what needs to be done to get Japan out of its fiscal hole, but the rest of the party don't want to know about it.

Not only that he is President of the Democratic Party which carries with it the post of Prime Minister. If he gets voted out as president then he steps down as PM. He can only resign as Prime Minister and go to the back benches.

You do get that the people who I listed were bona fide failures, right? They were told that they were failures. They believed it, too. At least for a while. George Michael was a failure because of his amazing antics public washrooms.

I think a lot of us have setbacks. I don't think that so many of us have outright failures. Sometimes we might think of ourselves as failures temporarily, but that's just a normal part of the human condition.

[KansaiBen]

George Michael was a failure because of his amazing antics public washrooms.
.

He was a failure because he got caught. Same with Hugh Grant. Simply people tut-tutting and moralising even though prostitution is legal.

People do stupid-____, lack of good judgement, more than anything else.

[Super Grover]

Disagree!!! They were failures because they did it in the first place and also because it was a pattern of behavior.

Anyway, you still have to retract your statement that it is forbidden to ask applicants which university they have graduated from. It was a gross misstatement.

[KansaiBen]

Disagree!!! They were failures because they did it in the first place and also because it was a pattern of behavior..

Im sure none of them had people attack them like a pack of hyenas or had ever tried to teach English for a living. So what is Oprah's pattern of behavior? Oprah's was to come from a poor and disadvantaged home. Einstein's? Einstein apparently was married but had lots of affairs.

Essentially its a double standard. If you are a nobody and fail you are still a failure but if you are rich and famous and fail then there will always be someone to offer an excuse or an out-clause.

[kurogane]

Disagree!!! They were failures because they did it in the first place and also because it was a pattern of behavior. .

Okay, first things first: I get what KB means, even if SGroover's objections are cogent.

Surely Failure is as nebulous a term as its preening cousin, Success.

The main thing is that these are people that experienced what could be termed a failure, and they got back up and walked that 500 miles to the finish line.

Anyway, you still have to retract your statement that it is forbidden to ask applicants which university they have graduated from. It was a gross misstatement.

I am going to go down to the basement and turn on the heat.

I just had a funny premonition that hell might yet freeze over.......................


Besides, as long as he minces and refuses to retract it, we can tease the livin' poopoo out of him for baldly stating something as fact that is plainly the fictive product of a demented mind.

[kurogane]

BTW, the Beatles were poor singers, IMO. .

Heathen. I DON'T Wanna Hold Your Hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[INDENT]
I think a lot of us have setbacks. I don't think that so many of us have outright failures. .

I would go the other way, Mon Ami de bleu.

People are such gobsmackingly mendaciously delusional turdheads, they fail, and claim it to only be a setback.

The real education comes when you accept that failure, buy a nice prickly hair shirt, and beat yourself into a raging mass of writhing, mouth foaming agony over things you can't change and probably couldn't have foreseen.

Since grief is now a public event, it gives those of us too bored and lazy to get up and go outside something to laugh at.




BTW, the Beatles were good singers, and John Lennon was the greatest Rock n Roll singer.

Nobody wants fat Eyetalians singing Please Please Me, anyways.

And Robert Plant just isn't John Lennon, is he?????

[KansaiBen]

Can we have a thread called something like 'banned posters' where banned posters are listed, so that if I log on to continue a disscussion with a poster and can't find them in a few threads where I thought I remembered they were, I can then go check the 'Banned Posters' and see if they have been kicked out?

You would have to send them a PM which you cant as they have been banned.

There is no chair in the corner for banned posters on GP.

If they are banned their names may appear in the Members list but have Banned under them.

[KansaiBen]

There is a members list, will go look, thanks alot.

Just checked, A.W. is gone. So is the new guy I suspect.

[YokohamaTommy]

[Super Grover]

Heathen. I DON'T Wanna Hold Your Hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!








I would go the other way, Mon Ami de bleu.

People are such gobsmackingly mendaciously delusional turdheads, they fail, and claim it to only be a setback.

The real education comes when you accept that failure, buy a nice prickly hair shirt, and beat yourself into a raging mass of writhing, mouth foaming agony over things you can't change and probably couldn't have foreseen.

Since grief is now a public event, it gives those of us too bored and lazy to get up and go outside something to laugh at.




BTW, the Beatles were good singers, and John Lennon was the greatest Rock n Roll singer.

Nobody wants fat Eyetalians singing Please Please Me, anyways.

And Robert Plant just isn't John Lennon, is he?????

Argh! John Lennon, the greatest? Tu blagues! My vote would go to Freddie Mercury now, unless I think of someone else after this is posted. The Beatles were initially okay (She Loves You Blah, Blah, Blah) and moved to being awesome and then back to being so-so. They were definitely in the right place at the right time and executed things masterfully. Later songs were brilliant (the Double White album is one of my all-time favourites). Lennon's later work with Yoko was outright embarrassing as were the sideburns. Even the Bare Naked Ladies make fun of it. I am a The Who man myself with sprinkles of Jefferson Airplane.

No, I think the list of great overachievers (certainly not every one -- of course not) tend to view stuff as setbacks. Whether or not they are being honest, only they can know -- well, duh (maybe their mommies know). Not everyone suffers an enormous, life-changing colossal failure. But, yeah, if we do, it is the realisation, soul-searching and whatever else that may come with it, that lead us to renewal.

My latest batch of sangria was a failure -- too many blueberries. Blackberries, raspberries, apple and medium body red plus cinnamon and cloves is the way to go.

[KansaiBen]

Besides, as long as he minces and refuses to retract it, we can tease the livin' poopoo out of him for baldly stating something as fact that is plainly the fictive product of a demented mind.

Says he, who if I'm not mistaken was calling another poster a pedophile a few months back.

But hey my memory is kind of shonky right now, right?

[kurogane]

Argh! John Lennon, the greatest? .

Hee Hee. Thought that might work.

Agreed that Freddie had a great voice, but Queen's oeuvre is pretty lame.

Fat Bottomed Girls is the only genuine R&R song I can think of.

The rest were esoteric operatic bores.

I actually consider John Lennon the greatest R&R singer, but that is my taste. The raw energy and pathos in his voice is heads and shoulders above the rest. IHOMO.

I actually prefer Townsend's voice to Daltrey's. The latter was always a bit too hysterical for me.

My latest batch of sangria was a failure -- too many blueberries. Blackberries, raspberries, apple and medium body red plus cinnamon and cloves is the way to go.

You see!!!!!!!!

Like you said, reflection, retrenchment, and the blaming of the Booberries.


I was always more of a Count Chocula guy meself.

[Seattlegirl]

Agreed that Freddie had a great voice, but Queen's oeuvre is pretty lame.

Fat Bottomed Girls is the only genuine R&R song I can think of.

The rest were esoteric operatic bores.

I actually consider John Lennon the greatest R&R singer, but that is my taste. The raw energy and pathos in his voice is heads and shoulders above the rest. IHOMO.

Put yourself in the corner and STAY THERE. You are a very, very naughty boy and need your fingers smacked for writing this.

My latest batch of sangria was a failure -- too many blueberries. Blackberries, raspberries, apple and medium body red plus cinnamon and cloves is the way to go.

It's not that there were too many blueberries, it's that you used blueberries!! See, everyone DOES fail at something. Aren't you glad it was something so easily fixed??

[Super Grover]

Im sure none of them had people attack them like a pack of hyenas or had ever tried to teach English for a living. So what is Oprah's pattern of behavior? Oprah's was to come from a poor and disadvantaged home. Einstein's? Einstein apparently was married but had lots of affairs.

Essentially its a double standard. If you are a nobody and fail you are still a failure but if you are rich and famous and fail then there will always be someone to offer an excuse or an out-clause.

I think you may have misunderstood. When I wrote about a pattern of behavior, I was referring specifically to Hugh Grant and George Michael. Being caught had nothing to do with it, what made them failures was the actual pattern of behavior. I suppose they're happy in a sense that they were caught, however. Maybe it was something that stopped the self-destructive behavior.

I don't really know too much about Oprah Winfrey's entire life story, but it strikes me that she has been a person who has overcome many obstacles and setbacks and has never given up. I believe that I heard or read that when she was very young she was raped. She has a wonderful husband who supports her endeavors. From what little I know of her, I admire her greatly.

I think the main reason why you are a target on this bulletin board is because sometimes you make what seem to be ridiculous statements and then go out of your way to try to say that they are not. Sometimes some of the information that you provide to new posters is incorrect. And in order to prevent attacks from happening, all you have to do is wait a minute or two before hitting the Submit button. Personally, I would never have a go at you because of your ruminations about past marital troubles because I think that's totally unfair and obviously no one's business but your own.

[Super Grover]

Put yourself in the corner and STAY THERE. You are a very, very naughty boy and need your fingers smacked for writing this.



It's not that there were too many blueberries, it's that you used blueberries!! See, everyone DOES fail at something. Aren't you glad it was something so easily fixed??

Well, for my next batch I'll make sure to consult to you as to the proper mix of fruit. Indeed, blueberries destroy the taste. My bad.

[Seattlegirl]

I never use berries when I make sangria. Strictly citrus. But your post makes me want to make some with raspberries!! And we are having a bumper crop of cascade berries this year, so maybe after I make jam I'll try to use some in sangria. Damn, guess what I want RIGHT NOW?!

[KansaiBen]

Personally, I would never have a go at you because of your ruminations about past marital troubles because I think that's totally unfair and obviously no one's business but your own.

I have since learned that whatever you do in life, someone is going to disagree, have an opinion on. So now I dont let it bother me so much. As much as it annoys people I now pretty much have an internal kill-switch where I tune out a lot of personal criticism.

Dont advance yourself in this country and you end up on the lower rungs, penniless. Misery loves company. If you go as far as you possibly can then you are branded an elitist and trying to dump on people who come after you. I have been branded as trying to talk people out of coming to Japan which is a gross distortion of the facts. You are only supposed to do what other people think is their idea of the "proper" course of action which is entirely subjective.

I will admit I said too much about my personal life but once it was out there then I was fair game. There is no underestimating the power of peoples low threshold for good manners and once they get behind a key board then all that goes flying out the window. A bit like road rage in a way.

I just used to see all these young guys come here, gaga over Japanese girls, wanting a bite of the cherry, but having seen the dark side (in a limited way) it kind of mestastized into an anti-Japanese woman rant which probably offended a lot of people. Cant have you taking their dreams and ideals taken away from them. I will add I have known of several people who are in a similar predicament to me so its not just idle chatter or me p-ssing and windmills. Im probably one of the few people for better or worse actually vocalised his thoughts rather than cover them up. My bad for doing that.

[Agitator]

What about people that never fail to fail??? That seems a success of sorts....................

Aw, they usually screw up and do something right by accident every now and then.

The old broken clock theory.

Cheerily,
A.

[thefg]

i had an idea for something and approached my then boss and suggested we do it.

he was quite dismissive and discouraging and said "that will never work" which was annoying given I was the company expert on the subject and he was basically just admin.

I got together some investors, resigned then started my own company to develop the technology.

After a hugely successful first year I went back to my old company as a customer (they were trying to sell me some of their technology) as i pulled into the carpark in my brand new 250,000 dollar car my ex boss was just leaving in his pride and joy (a 3 year old merc) He looked at me, looked at the car, looked back at me and said "oh hows it going?" To which i simply replied.... "it worked"





when my form head physically threw me out the school gates aged 16 his last words to me was "you will never amount to anything"


20 years later i was visiting my home town and bumped into him. He asked me how was it going and I said :"I amounted to something"

As we parted he said "see you XX" to which i replied "its DR XX to you"




Personally I am never more challenged than when Im told I cant do something.

[Super Grover]

I never use berries when I make sangria. Strictly citrus. But your post makes me want to make some with raspberries!! And we are having a bumper crop of cascade berries this year, so maybe after I make jam I'll try to use some in sangria. Damn, guess what I want RIGHT NOW?!

I have begun the Bon holidays, so between chores I can post as I like.

I "discovered" that raspberries and blackberries work very well with medium red. I suspect it would be too much if I were to use a cheap, but heavy Shiraz (syrah). Previously I had been using squeezed sweet orange (not mikan), apple, and occasionally I tiny bit of banana. The banana added a nice bouquet but actually added nothing to the taste and probably stole some. Best to strain the pieces out. Anyway, that flavour was good and quite standard (I always added cloves in a strainer). My "discovery" was due to a lack of orange, so I just threw in some frozen fruit I had, plus apple. Apple is key for mine. It turned out great. So, feeling empowered, most recently I decided to be "creative" and I crushed and threw in the blueberries, which ended up soaking up most of the other flavours. But, damn, even when drunk I could see so much better.

[Super Grover]

Um, this is the wrong section. You need to put it in Forum Forum.
Threads never actually disappear, they just become rearranged Higgs-Boson particles and such.

[Andun]

I know people who in real life who try to equate themselves with famous and or successful people who appear to have gotten big on little talent or have 'failed' in some way.
Sorry, but it doesn't work that way. None of the people in the above list are failures because they kept on pushing ahead and succeeded despite setbacks and criticisms. That's what separates them from Joe Average. But even Joe Average is not a failure as long as he never gives up. He or she may not have what it takes to be a big shot but as long as they are putting in their best and not lying to themselves and others about who they are (what they are capable of), then they are not failures.
Failures are people who can't face the truth about who they really are and keep making the same mistakes again and again and again ... and keep getting shit kicked in their faces again and again and again because of their own stupidity.

[EsteemedGaijin]

My old man used to say to me "son you aren't going to amount to ____" I could be successful if I wanted to, I just don't want to make a liar out of my old man.

[Piethrower]

Interesting. Having engaged in more than a few merry flame wars myself, I hesitate to label KB a homosexual but I have noticed for quite some time (years really) that he deliberately walks onto subway gratings to have his skirt blown up but then disingenuously cries foul when we laugh at his junk.

[thefg]

I have since learned that whatever you do in life, someone is going to disagree, have an opinion on. So now I dont let it bother me so much. As much as it annoys people I now pretty much have an internal kill-switch where I tune out a lot of personal criticism.
.

patently this isnt true....

[liamoko]

‎Seeing how this is the 67th anniversary of atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki this week. Would like to think we have learned from that experience but I'm not too convinced... in any case epic fail.

Back to your rants...

[Relic]

he deliberately walks onto subway gratings to have his skirt blown up

That mental image has scarred me for life. Damn you.

[KansaiBen]

That mental image has scarred me for life. Damn you.

Except I usually wear a Scottish kilt, not a skirt. Au naturel.