Even Geniuses Get Bad Grades Sometimes (2024)

Here's the best news you've heard all day: If you struggle with getting bad grades, you might be following in the footsteps of greatness. No, seriously. Read on to see a list of famous people who also struggled with school. This article is intended to encourage you in spite of your bad gradesand remind you that becoming really good at something may require failing miserably. When it comes tohealthcare degrees (or a diploma), earning yours will be challenging. That's why people will respect you for graduating.

Giving up is the only true failure.

This just in. You're not perfect. Neither am I. That's why the saying, “Practice makes perfect,” has been around since the mid 1500s.¹ If you want to become skilled enough at something for an employer to choose you over another candidate, the more experience you have at failure the better. Knowing what doesn't work means you know more about what does work. And knowing why you failed once can prevent you from failing again later. However, if you let failure beat you and you quit, then you only know what doesn't work. Finding the answer for what does work is what leads to success. That's why giving up is the only true failure.

The longer you hang in there, the more admirable you become.

Let's imagine we give 100 people the same problem to solve. The longer it takes to solve, the more people will quit. If only one person out of the 100 actually solves the problem and it takes a month, two things can be said about that person. First, they're admirable for hanging in there long enough to solve the problem. Second, that person may be considered an expert about that subject because they spent so much time with it.

Failure is considered experience as long as you keep on trying.
See Also
Average GPA of Millionaires – Know My Plan – Financial Advisors Mark Zuckerberg | Biography & Facts Elon Musk's IQ is What?FBI: Steve Jobs had 2.65 GPA, avoided the gym, wasn't a communist

You'll learn more about yourself by refusing to give up.

One time I hiked down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to go camping. In the morning, I made the mistake of eating a small breakfast before I tried to hike up and out of the canyon. After a few miles of hiking straight uphill, carrying my equipment, I became weak. I was stuck halfway and I had two choices: Hike back down and leave my friends behind or continue hiking up in spite of the fact that I felt unable to do it. I discovered a new place in my willpower that enabled me to get out of the canyon that day. My point is, when you challenge yourself and refuse to fail, you'll discover you can do more than you thought possible.

Who the heck is Lowell Wood?

I was inspired to write this blog article to encourage you to hang in there after I read an article about Lowell Wood. I know, I had never heard of him either. Turns out this guy has invented more things, and patented them, than anyone else in US history. And he really had a hard time in school. Read this excerpt from “How an F Student Became America's Most Prolific Inventor” by Ashlee Vance.²

Wood insists that if he’s smart, he didn’t start out that way. Growing up in Southern California, he says, “I didn’t do well in any classes.” He often failed or received the lowest score on the first exam given in a particular course and improved his marks through repetition and intense effort. The strategy worked. He skipped a couple of grades and enrolled at UCLA at 16, where he tested into an honors-level calculus class. The worst score on the first exam—once again—was his.

Other really successfulpeople who struggled with school:

Iconic actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Aniston were diagnosed with dyslexia and struggled inschool.^3,4
Thomas Edison, one of the most successful inventors in human history, was kicked out of school at age 12 for being poor at math and unable to concentrate.⁵
Winston Churchill, a famouspolitician, had to repeat a grade in elementary school.⁵
Steven Spielburg, a famous movie producer, temporarily dropped out of high school and when he returned, he was put in a “special ed” class.⁵

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