Good grades do not guarantee future success. There are many examples when twos and threes became outstanding scientists, writers, businessmen, and excellent students did not achieve anything in life.
We will tell you about the fate of five great people who were even expelled from school for poor performance. And this did not prevent them from achieving amazing success.
1. Steve Jobs
The well-known Steve Jobs was temporarily expelled from school several times for bad behavior and not doing his homework - he flatly refused to do what he considered a waste of time. Steve himself said about this: “I was very bored at school, and I became a real daredevil” (from the book).
Due to problems at school, at the age of 11, Steve even had to convince his parents to move to another city. After graduation, Jobs chose Reed College in Portland for admission. It's private, very expensive educational institution with a serious reputation attracted the most talented people into its ranks. Steve managed to make his mark in this college, but not with outstanding academic success, but solely thanks to outstanding personality. In Steve's system of priorities, study occupied a secondary position. Jobs' first semester grades were poor, so he dropped out and got his parents' money back.
2. Henry Ford
Self-taught engineer, industrialist, revolutionary in the automotive industry, who brought to life " american dream”, Henry Ford was born into a family of farmers in a provincial town in Michigan. Henry was the eldest child in a large family, and his father laid on his son great expectations as the successor of the farming dynasty. The boy hated physical work and from an early age I thought that it would be nice to mechanize it somehow.
Henry had a great passion for mechanics. Any mechanical toys, watches and other devices were disassembled by him and reassembled several times. At the age of 12, the boy had already equipped a workshop for himself, where he spent all free time. True, in a rural parish school, the future "father of the automotive industry" studied reluctantly and frankly poorly (mathematics was an exception). At the age of 15, Ford left home and got a job at a factory. He did not receive a higher education and wrote with gross errors all his life. However, this did not prevent him from not only becoming a billionaire, but also from writing.
3. Richard Branson
As a child, Britain's most famous businessman, Richard Branson, was diagnosed with dyslexia. With this disease, coordination is impaired, in addition, the patient does not understand the meaning of letters and numbers. Teaching such a child to read and count is very difficult. In those days, dyslexia was not yet known, and the teachers were convinced that Richard was just lazy, and gave him bad grades.
To somehow remedy the situation, Branson learned to memorize everything. Now Richard has a good memory, and she, as he writes in his book, has become one of the main tools in his business.
4. Dmitry Mendeleev
Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was born in 1834 near Tobolsk in the family of the director of the local gymnasium. He was the youngest, seventeenth child in the family. Despite the fact that Dmitry, like all his other brothers and sisters, learned to read at the age of 4-5, his academic success was more than modest. The "mediocre" rating was a frequent guest on his report card. Latin was especially not given to Mitya. This subject was so unloved that after graduating from the gymnasium, the guys gave him a "demonstrative execution." Latin textbooks were piled up and, dancing, they threw stones at them. Mendeleev also had favorite subjects: Russian literature, taught by Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov, later the famous author of The Little Humpbacked Horse, as well as mathematics and physics.
Young Mendeleev was a boy with a lively temperament and opposed the routine "cramming". According to him own confession, to classical school he retained the disgust for life. However, this did not prevent him from quite decently graduating from school and entering the Main pedagogical institute in St. Petersburg.
In the first year of the institute, in all subjects except mathematics, Dmitry received an "unsatisfactory" grade. Most likely, this can be explained by his poor health, which was upset in the St. Petersburg climate, and forced absences from classes, because later successes future genius improved markedly. You will soon be able to read more about this outstanding scientist in the mini-book about him "A Genuine Innovator", which will soon appear in our Library " the main idea».
5 Paul Orfala
Future billionaire Paul Orfala primary school I couldn't even learn the alphabet. No wonder he became a double. Four of the city's eight schools dropped him. In the third grade, the teachers sent the boy to a school for mentally retarded children. Most of Paul's new classmates had Down syndrome or other serious illnesses. Fortunately, Orfala passed the IQ test, scoring 130 points, and re-entered the system general education. But nothing has changed for the better. In the report card of the future billionaire, threes, twos and ones usually flaunted. Somehow the young man graduated from high school. There were 1,200 students in Paul Orfal's class and he was eighth from the bottom in academic achievement.
Orfal's parents gave him invaluable support: “My mother helped me develop my own view of the world. One day, after I was kicked out of school at the age of 13, the vice principal said to my mother, “Maybe one day he will learn how to make carpets.” Mom came home that day in tears and said, “I know Paul can do more than just lay carpets.” Mom never paid attention to the harsh assessments of other people. And when I was down, when I wondered which homeless shelter I was going to die in, she encouraged me by saying, “You know, Paul, A’s work for B’s, C’s run companies, and A’s run their own companies” (from his
Thomas Edison is perhaps the most famous and prolific inventor of all time, with over 1,000 patents issued in his name, including the electric lamp, the phonograph, and the movie camera. He became a multimillionaire and won the Congressional Gold Medal. Edison started his studies late after an illness, which resulted in his mind wandering frequently, and this prompted one of his teachers to refer to him as "absolute". He dropped out of school after only three months of formal education. Fortunately, his mother was a school teacher in Canada and taught the young Edison at home.
Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin is known in many ways: politician, diplomat, author, printer, publisher, scientist, inventor, founding father and co-author of the Declaration of Independence. The only thing he wasn't was a high school graduate. Franklin was the fifteenth child and younger son in a family of 20. He spent two years at Boston Latin School before leaving at the age of ten to work for his father and then his brother as a printer.
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III, known as Bill Gates, entered Harvard University in 1973 and was expelled after only 2 years. After being expelled, he took up the creation software, founded Microsoft, became one of the the richest people in the world and constantly provided gratuitous financial and technical assistance to the "native" Harvard University. Considering his merits, 32 years after being expelled, Bill Gates was awarded a Harvard graduate diploma "backdated".
Albert Einstein
Although he was named "Man of the Century" by The Times magazine, Albert Einstein was not the "Einstein" at school at all. Nobel Laureate, theoretical physicist, known for his theory of relativity, as well as contributions to quantum theory and statistical mechanics, left school at the age of 15. Deciding to continue his education a year later, Einstein took the entrance exams to the prestigious Swiss Federal technological Institute, but unsuccessfully. He returned to high school, received a diploma and then nevertheless entered the university, passing the entrance exams on the second attempt.
John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
Two months before high school graduation, the first recorded billionaire in history, John D. Rockefeller Sr., dropped out to enroll in business courses at Folsom Commercial College. He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870, made billions of dollars before his company was broken up by the government to remove its monopoly on the US petroleum market, and spent the last 40 years of his life giving away his wealth, primarily to projects related to health and education. This man, who dropped out of high school without regret, helped millions of people get a good education.
Walt Disney
In 1918, while a high school student, future producer, Oscar winner, and amusement park pioneer, Walt Disney began taking night courses at the Art Academy in Chicago. Disney left high school at 16 to join the army, but because he was too young to be drafted, he joined the Red Cross with a forged birth certificate. Disney was sent to France, where he drove an ambulance that was covered from top to bottom with cartoons that eventually became characters in his films. After Disney became a multimillionaire, founder of Walt Disney Company and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he received an honorary high school diploma at age 58.
Richard Branson
British Sir Richard Branson is a self-made billionaire businessman. He founded Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Records, Virgin Mobile and even the space travel company, which organizes suborbital trips into space to anyone who wishes. Suffering from dyslexia, Branson was a poor student. He had to leave school at 16 and move to London, where he started his first successful entrepreneurial activity, publishing Student magazine.
George Burns
George Burns, born Nathan Birnbaum, was a successful vaudeville actor, TV and film comedian for almost nine decades. After his father's death, Burns left school in the fourth grade to find work as a shoe shiner, running errands and selling newspapers. While working at a local candy store, Burns and his young colleagues decided to enter show business as the Peewee Quartet. After the group disbanded, Burns continued to work with a partner, usually a girl, until he met Gracie Allen in 1923. Burns and Allen married, but did not become stars until George radically changed ideas and created a funny role in them for Gracie as well. . They continued to collaborate in vaudeville, radio, television, and films until Gracie retired from performing in 1958. Burns continued to perform until almost the day he died in March 1996.
Harland Sanders
Colonel Harland Sanders overcame his lack of education. His father died when he was six years old and the way his mother worked, he was forced to cook for the whole family. He couldn't even finish elementary school. Sanders had many jobs, including a fireman, a steamboat helmsman, and an insurance salesman. He later earned a degree in law through a correspondence school. Sanders' culinary skills and business experience helped him make millions as the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken empire.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens, author of numerous classics including Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol, attended elementary school until his life took a turn when his father was imprisoned for debt. At 12, he left school and began working ten hours a day in a boot-tarring factory. Dickens later worked as a clerk and stenographer at court. At 22, he became a journalist, reporting on parliamentary debates and covering election campaigns for a newspaper. His first collection of stories was The Essays of Boz (Boz was his nickname) and his first novel Posthumous notes Pickwick Club, published in 1836.
Elton John
Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sir Elton John has sold more than 250 million records and has over fifty Top 40 hits making him one of the most successful musicians of all time. At the age of 11, Elton John was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of London in piano. When he got bored classical works Elton preferred rock and roll, and after five years he left school to become a weekend pianist at a local pub. At 17, he formed a band called Bluesology and, by the mid-1960s, they were touring with Soul and R&B musicians such as the Isley Brothers, Patti LaBelle, and the Bluebelles. The Elton John album was released in the spring of 1970, and after the first single "Your Song" hit the American "Top Ten", Elton was on his way to superstardom.
Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc didn't create McDonald's, but he turned it into the world's largest restaurant chain fast food after buying the firm from Dick and Mack McDonald's in 1955. Kroc made a fortune of $500 million during his lifetime, and in 2000 was included by Time magazine in the list of the 100 most influential manufacturers and industry titans of the 20th century. During World War I, Kroc left high school at the age of 15 and lied about his age to become a Red Cross ambulance driver, but the war ended before he was sent overseas.
Harry Houdini
The name Houdini is synonymous with magic. Before becoming the world-famous magician and escape artist named Harry Houdini, Erich Weiss left school at the age of 12, working several jobs, including as an apprentice locksmith. At 17, he teamed up with fellow magic enthusiasts to form the Houdini Brothers, named after Jean Eugène Robert Houdin, the era's most famous magician. At the age of 24, Houdini came up with the "Defying the Law" gimmick, offering to get away from any pair of handcuffs offered by the audience. "Disobedience to the Law" became turning point for Houdini. With his success came the development of spectacular shoots that turned him into a legend.
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey is better known as Ringo Starr, Beatles drummer. Born in Liverpool in 1940, Ringo suffered two serious illnesses at the age of six. After spending in total three years in the hospital, he lagged far behind in school. He left school after his last hospital visit at 15, barely able to read and write. While working for an engineering firm, 17-year-old Starkey joined the band and taught himself how to play the drums. His stepfather bought him his first real drum kit, and Ringo played with various bands, eventually joining Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He changed his name to Ringo Starr, accepted an invitation from the Beatles in 1962, and is now one of the most famous drummers in the history of music.
Princess Diana (Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales)
The late Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales attended West Heath Girls School, where she was regarded as below average academically, failing to pass all of her "zero level" exams. At the age of 16, she left West Heath and briefly studied at graduation classes in Switzerland before leaving from there as well. Diana was a talented amateur singer and aspired to be a ballerina. Diana went to work part-time as an assistant at a kindergarten giving basics elementary school. Contrary to claims, she was not a caregiver kindergarten since she had no educational qualifications to teach children. In 1981, at the age of 19, Diana became engaged to Prince Charles and her working days were over.
If suddenly you have problems with your studies - do not rush to get upset. In general, problems are good. By going through them, you yourself will only become better. And do not rush to give up on yourself if you got a deuce. Time always correctly dots all the “i”. It often happens that grades in a diary or a record book are not the most objective indicator of a person’s abilities. In support of our hypothesis - some of the clearest examples from history. Great people who studied poorly.
What can I say? From childhood, we are told that we need to study well, earning high marks. They also say that Santa Claus brings gifts to New Year. It turns out that both are not true. After all, the education system, like any system created by people, is imperfect. The end result matters much more. personal growth than a grade in the test. This article is a great incentive not to lose heart because of bad grades, but to engage in self-development. In it we will talk about scientists and not only scientists people who did poorly in school, for one reason or another, could not stand learning and the approach applied to it.
Problems with study? Do not rush to get upset!
- Albert Einstein . A classic example of a great scientist who did poorly in school. The man who made a revolution in modern physics, the author of The Theory of Relativity, he changed the very idea of time and space. But before that happened, young Einstein was expelled from the gymnasium for poor progress. Until the age of 3, little Albert did not speak at all, as a child he was slow. His mother hoped that her son would be able to get at least the simplest and most low-paid job. As you know, everything in the world is relative, and what, on the one hand, is called poor progress, on the other, may turn out to be the ability to think at a qualitatively different level. Albert Einstein, in addition to revolutionizing physics, also played the violin beautifully. He knew that imagination was more important than knowledge. Interesting fact: Einstein, despite the fact that he made a breakthrough in understanding the universe, believed in God and believed that the universe did not arise by chance.
Albert Einstein
- Thomas Edison . Another person who had a tremendous impact on the world and its modern appearance. As you know, Edison great inventor and the author of over a thousand patents. Among his inventions are an electric incandescent light bulb, an electric meter, and a phonograph. With all this, Edison studied disgustingly at school and was always absent-minded. What is called, "flying in the clouds." After Edison was expelled from school, his mother was engaged in the education of the future genius. And, I must say, not in vain. Interesting fact: Thomas Edison created an electric car in 1899 and was actively engaged in improving his invention. Who knows what the world would look like now if Thomas hadn't had to abandon his research, as gasoline appeared, the use of which was much more cost-effective.
Thomas Edison
- Winston Churchill . Distinguished Politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Laureate Nobel Prize on literature. Well, he was completely on “you” with mathematics, at school he was considered the last student in the class and entered the military college only from the 3rd time. It is known that Churchill was a great orator. At the same time, the analysis of one of his speeches through modern program for check school essays showed that Churchill's speech abounded lexical errors and too wordy. Did it interfere with the prime minister? Certainly not. Interesting fact: Churchill was the first politician to wear a tattoo. In addition, he was an avid smoker and lover of strong drinks, among which he preferred Armenian cognac. Cognac was sent to Churchill by Stalin. Once Churchill noticed that the cognac had lost its former taste, and complained about this to Stalin. It turned out that the chief technologist of the Yerevan brandy factory Makar Sedrakyan was exiled to Siberia. After Churchill's complaint, Sedrakyan was immediately returned and reinstated in the party.
Winston Churchill
- George Bernard Shaw . A man of brilliant and sharp mind, a famous playwright, he really did not like school, which he left at the age of 16. Nevertheless, hard work on himself allowed Bernard Shaw to hone his talent and eventually become what he became. Interesting fact: Bernard Shaw was a vegetarian and lived to be 94 years old. At 70, he was asked - "How do you feel?", To which Shaw replied - "Fine, only I get tired of doctors who say that I will die if I do not eat meat." Answering the same question 20 years later, Bernard Shaw said, “Fine, no one bothers me anymore. All the doctors who predicted my death without meat have already died.”
George Bernard Shaw
- Ludwig van Beethoven . Due to the fact that the father of the future great composer wanted to raise a second Mozart from his son, Beethoven was forced to leave school early. So he didn’t just study poorly - he didn’t study at all, one might say. However, Beethoven taught himself several languages and read extensively. Interesting fact: at the age of 27, Beethoven began to lose his hearing. In his profession, this was a disaster on a double scale. By the age of 48, Beethoven had lost his hearing completely. At the same time, thanks to the absolute inner ear, the composer was able to compose music even in such a difficult situation.
Ludwig van Beethoven
It does not matter what grades you study for - the main thing is what is in your head. Evaluation according to a common system for all can often be biased, and this, as we have learned, is bright examples. Studying "under pressure" does not give any positive result and is most often a waste of precious time. Do not "bury" your self-esteem, do self-development, do what you love, do not hang your nose and be successful. Remember, the best teachers in the country are always ready to support you.
Ideally, the most intelligent and talented people planets that studied a lot, learned life, worked hard and as a result reached the top of Olympus, as an example to everyone else. In reality, only a few, like Sharon Stone, can boast an IQ of 154 and a college degree. What's more, some stars not only didn't get a master's degree, but even failed to graduate from high school. At the present time, for most young and ambitious stars, school is just an obstacle on the way to their quick glory. And they do not think about the fact that in due time the gaps in education will still have to be filled.
I propose to meet the stars who failed to finish school.
Gerard Depardieu
One of the most famous and scandalous actors France in childhood was distinguished by a sultry character. He not only stole cars with friends and resold them to earn money, but also sold contraband goods. In order to go on tour in Europe, Depardieu left school when he was only 12 years old. Nowhere else is there evidence that the actor returned to any educational institution in the future. It is possible that famous actor still can't write well.
Al Pacino
Al Pacino, keeping up with his French counterpart, was also spoiled by the street and excessive free. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming an athlete and for a long time played on the baseball team. But then, at the age of 17, Pacino dropped out of school, without finishing just a little, and went to earn money. Before his breakthrough in Hollywood, the future actor worked not only as an office courier and washed dishes in bars, but also swept floors. To study, except for the acting school, he never returned.
Nicole Kidman
The Australian actress studied at her home in Sydney at a school for girls. There she studied not only standard school subjects, but also studied singing and choreography. Nicole studied very well and could have graduated with honors. She was forced to leave school by her mother's illness, for whom, except for her daughter, there was no one to look after. To school future star so never came back.
Kate Winslet
The actress, best known for her role as Rose in Titanic, has been overweight since childhood. She was pushed to leave school by her classmates, who all the time mocked her, calling her names. offensive nickname Bubble. The girl did not return to school, but this terrible period tempered the character of the actress so much that she managed to achieve great success. Now malicious classmates can look enviously at the slender and successful Kate on their TV screens.
Angelina Jolie
It's hard to believe that the most sexy woman planets, in childhood, classmates considered terrible and called Scarecrow. AT school years Jolie was very thin, while tall and wore braces on her teeth. The future actress was either bullied every day, or did not notice her presence at all. Because of this, the girl was depressed all the time, felt unnecessary and ugly. Due to constant stress, Jolie dropped out of school and never returned to school.
Pierce Brosnan
It is hard to believe that the performer of the role of the main spy of the world, James Bond, also dropped out of school. Irish by birth, Brosnan moved to London when he was 11 years old. Classmates began to mock the boy because of his pronunciation and called him "dirty Irish". After surviving for five years, Brosnan ran away from school at 16 and joined a traveling circus. Before acting career he worked for some time modeling business but never returned to education.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp early childhood dreamed of becoming a rock musician, to which he devoted all his time, often forgetting about school education. Due to the rehearsals of his group, Depp missed classes, did not homework, for which he constantly received bad grades. In the end, at the age of 15, he was forced to leave school. Instead of higher education, Johnny graduated from acting classes, and now earns $ 50 million a year.
Quentin Tarantino
Hollywood's most extraordinary director, Quentin Tarantino, was a truly inveterate loser. The reason for his failure was own laziness. Quentin was so uninterested in the classroom and generally incomprehensible to the purpose of education at school that he dropped it. Quentin's mother supported her son's decision only if he finds a job. And he found her. First worked in ticket office cinema, where they showed porn pictures, and later at the box office, which determined his future career.
Tom Cruise
Future actor and idol of millions early years considered ... mentally retarded. Tom was dyslexic. Because of this illness, all the words in his brain were mixed up, and he could neither read nor write. He was bullied all the time by classmates in all fifteen schools he tried to attend. Emotional and mental stress, in which Tom stayed all the time, prompted him to leave school and go to serve the Lord. But he soon changed his mind in favor of acting career.
Jim carrey
Comedian Jim Carrey tried very hard at school, studied his lessons diligently, but became a loser because of a cruel fate. When his parents had financial difficulties, Jim was forced to work 8 hours after school in a factory. The boy was so tired that he had no strength left to study. He stayed in the 10th grade for three years in a row, after which he finally dropped out of school.
Anthony Hopkins
Like Tom Cruise, the Oscar winner suffered from dyslexia. But in those distant times, the existence of such a disease was not even known, so the boy was considered simply mentally retarded. The only thing he could do was play the piano. But this did not save Hopkins, and he was forced to drop out of school.
Did not receive a school education and such stars as Julia Roberts, Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Cameron Diaz, Marlon Brando, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Liv Tyler, Winona Ryder, Orlando Bloom, Keanu Reeves, John Travolta, Guy Ritchie, Demi Moore, Marilyn Monroe, Kristen Stewart and many others.
Everyone wants to be like their famous, successful, rich idol. And you can learn from the stars perseverance, determination and endurance. That's just not worth it, imitating them, drop out of school. What do you think?
Alla Borisovna was not an excellent student, on the contrary: future celebrity chemistry, drawing, geography and foreign language. But in music, of course, there was a solid five.
RIA Novosti / Vitaly Arutyunov Mikhail Derzhavin was an inveterate loser - in some subjects the teachers could not even certify him. He completed his secondary education at night school - but not only because of poor academic performance: his father died, and the boy had to work to help his family. 
The future musician, in principle, didn’t really like the idea of going to school every day - so he often skipped school, and this, of course, was not reflected in academic performance. in the best way. And after school, he went to study for ... an electrician. 
RIA Novosti/Galina Kmit Viktor Tsoi could not boast of good grades: he was bored at school, already in the fifth grade he became interested in music, and soon gathered his first group. AT art school he liked it much more, but the musician never received a higher education. 
Fyodor Bondarchuk grew up in the famous and famous family but despite this, he was not at all interested in studying. On the contrary, parents were constantly called to school: Fedya played truant, smoked at breaks, argued with teachers and regularly received deuces. Maria Aronova
The future actress had good grades only in Russian and literature, exact sciences she didn't get it at all. But her parents did not scold her for deuces and triples. Marat Basharov
Marat Basharov was a bully and a loser at school - but this did not stop him from enrolling in Faculty of Law. Jim carrey
Jim Carrey had to study in the tenth grade for three years - but it's not that he was lazy or didn't understand anything. The family was bad with money, and the boy had to go to work early, he was so tired that he simply could not pay enough attention to his studies. Winona Ryder
The actress just dropped out of school after the seventh grade. And not only because of the studies that were not given to her: unusual girl, which looked different from most of the students, was teased and beaten by classmates. Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise changed more than a dozen schools, and everywhere he had problems with his studies. The reason turned out to be dyslexia - the boy simply could not perceive the written text, reading was an impossible task for him. 
Kevin Spacey has been very active since childhood: from the military school where his parents sent him, the boy was soon expelled for hooliganism, fights and indiscipline. But at the acting school, where he went at the age of 16 at the insistence of his mother, he liked it - and success immediately appeared. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp simply ignored his studies - after all, from childhood he decided that he would be a rock star, and founded his own musical group. Absenteeism, deuces, absenteeism again - and at the age of 15, the future world celebrity simply closed the issue of school for herself.
