What do Paul McCartney, Elvis Presley and George Harrison have in common, other than their musical genius and success? According to Ken Robinson in The Element, Sir Paul and George were given little encouragement as children in school for having musical talent, the Liverpool Cathedral choir rejected McCartney as a member, and the local glee club told Elvis that his voice would “ruin their sound.”
How about journalists Tom Brokaw and Meredith Vieira, and business giant and philanthropist Warren Buffet? They were all rejected by Harvard. Brokaw says, “The initial stumble was critical in getting me launched.” And Vieira believes that her rejection led to her career in journalism.
This time of year high school seniors and their parents are anxiously checking their mailboxes, hoping for those fat envelopes that signal a packet of college acceptance, roommate preference forms, and other documents. Our current culture places enormous importance on early success, getting into the right (best) college, going to college in the first place, and avoiding any missteps.
We can’t control which envelopes our teenagers receive, but we can do ourselves and our children a huge favor by thinking back on our own pasts and remembering how, sometimes, not getting what we wanted led to, in the words of philosophers Mick and Keith, getting what we really needed. Perhaps an overlooked part of Warren Buffet’s success is due to the perspective and support of his father, who responded to his Harvard rejection with “only this unconditional love…an unconditional belief in me.”
That’s a fat envelope we all can give our children.
Thanks to kd5ytx for the terrific photo!
