The road to success is not easy. And never has been. Despite what our current X Factor, TikTok, quick fix society may think this road is littered with failure. And these failures are always a key determining factor in shaping and defining the character of the person who ultimately succeeds in whatever endeavour they are focused on. And one other thing they all have in common? They never, ever give up.

Although I have witnessed this first hand in many diverse individuals you don't need to take my word for it. Below I have listed a few famous examples who embraced their failures and went onto to bigger successes:

Henry Ford is the undisputed godfather of the motoring industry. He actually failed twice and despite the whole industry losing faith in him he eventually succeeded. In spectacular fashion.

Walt Disney was fired in his early career for not being creative enough and his first cartoon and film company went bankrupt within a year. Undeterred he went on to build a global empire.

Thomas Edison had a unique take on failure. He famously said "I have not failed a 1,000 times - I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways NOT to make a light bulb"

Richard Branson dropped out of school and started a student magazine that didn't really take off. Everyone knows how successful Virgin has been but do you remember the failures? Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Clothes, Virgin Vie, Virgin cards? They havent stopped Richard forging ahead in his successful ventures.

Oprah Winfrey has been ranked No 1 in the Forbes celebrity list and is recognised as the queen of entertainment based on an amazing career. She is an iconic talk show host, media proprietor, actress and producer. However, in her earlier career she had numerous set-backs, including being fired as a reporter because she was 'unfit for television'.........

J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame has sold over 400 million books and created one of the most successful and lucrative book and film series ever. But what we don't see is the endless rejections from publishers for reasons such as 'it was far too long for a children's book' or 'children’s books never make any money'. and she kept on going whilst being a divorced single mum surviving on benefits.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and his first company ran up debts before failing miserably. The next venture called Microsoft however was a different story.

So next time your next venture doesn't work or you fail in a difficult task - remember you are in great company and every set back is an opportunity to learn. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself down and never, ever give up.