1.  Oprah was fired from her first job as a television news anchor. Oprah is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.

2.  Steve Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985. Steven Paul Jobs is an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known as the co-founder of Apple. Jobs was also chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar, and the founder of NeXT. 

3.  Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because the editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” His major accomplishments include producing the first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie (1928); initiating the use of the three-color process in animation for motion pictures; producing the first feature-length animated picture, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937); and creating the family theme park. In 1933, Disney produced The Three Little Pigs, a film described by the media historian Adrian Danks as “the most successful short animation of all time”.

4.  Marie Condo struggled to find clients early in her career because her methods were unconventional and untested. Marie Kondo, also known as Konmari, is a Japanese organizing consultant, author, and TV presenter. Kondo has written four books on organizing, which have collectively sold millions of copies around the world.

5.  Colonel Sanders was rejected by over 1,000 restaurants before establishing KFC. Colonel Harland David Sanders (September 9, 1890 – December 16, 1980) was an American businessman and founder of fast food chicken restaurant chain.

6.  Coco Chanel was rejected by several apprenticeships and struggled to secure funding for her early ventures. Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel  19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post–World War I era with popularizing a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style. This replaced the “corseted silhouette” that had earlier been dominant with a style that was simpler, far less time-consuming to put on and remove, more comfortable, and less expensive, all without sacrificing elegance. She is the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

7.  Coco Chanel was rejected by several apprenticeships and struggled to secure funding for her early ventures. Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel  19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post–World War I era with popularizing a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style. This replaced the “corseted silhouette” that had earlier been dominant with a style that was simpler, far less time-consuming to put on and remove, more comfortable, and less expensive, all without sacrificing elegance. She is the only fashion designer listed on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

8.  Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, experienced numerous rejections from manufacturers and retailers. Sara Treleaven Blakely (born February 27, 1971) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the founder of Spanx, an American intimate apparel company with pants and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2012, Blakely was named in Time magazine’s “Time 100” annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2014, she was listed as the 93rd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

9.  Henry Ford’s first 2 automotive companies failed.
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist and business magnate. He was the founder of Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. Ford created the first automobile that was affordable by middle-class Americans. His conversion of the automobile from an expensive luxury into an accessible conveyance profoundly affected many aspects of life in the 20th century.

10.  “Star Wars” was rejected by several film studios for being too unconventional and risky.
Star Wars is an American epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television series, video games, novels, comic books, theme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. Star Wars is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.