Five Successful People Who Refused to Take 'No' For an Answer

Among some circles, the name Florence Foster Jenkins is notorious. If you have never heard her dulcet tones, then check out the video below. In fact, even if you're well aware of who Jenkins is, it's worth reminding yourself of her 'talents'. 

Let's face it, old Florence, could not sing. She was famous for her lack of ability and was, essentially, a 'freak show' act - very similar to some of the poor souls who are publicly ridiculed by American Idol and X Factor type shows.

Nevertheless, Florence Foster Jenkins refused to let laughter or critics' scorn stand in her way, claiming, "People may say I can't sing, but they can never say I didn't sing." And sing she did!

Despite a very clear lack of talent, Jenkins was hugely in demand, performing often at the Ritz-Carlton ballroom and, eventually, in 1944, gracing the stage of Carnegie Hall. Tickets for that performance sold out weeks in advance and 2,000 people were turned away.

There can be no doubt, Jenkins did not quite have the career or esteem she had envisaged, but by golly she gained fame and fortune through sheer pigheaded determination.  

Now widely considered to be one of the finest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood and named by the American Film Institute as the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time, there was a time when views of his talents were not quite so kind.

In a now infamous memo regarding a screen test for RKO Pictures, the summation of Astaire's talents read, "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little." Astaire claimed that the report actually read, "Can't act. Slightly Bald. Also Dances."

In any event, Fred Astaire didn't let his receding hairline or disparaging comments about his acting and singing abilities get in his way. And thank goodness he didn't because, if he had, we wouldn't have great scenes like this one...

Professor Hawking was a fairly unexceptional student in his early years. However, unlike, our other famous faces who refused to take 'no' for an answer, Stephen Hawking's defying of the odds is much more miraculous.

When, in 1963, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, he was given just months to live. Fifty years later (at the writing of this article), and Stephen Hawking is not just still with us, but, at the ripe age of 70, he continues to make massive contributions to the field of physics.

It's thought that only 5% of motor neuron disease sufferers survive a decade - to have survived five is truly baffling to the medical community. 

Now, of course, I'm not suggesting that someone who does not survive simply doesn't want to or accepts the fate the doctor's dish out. I'm not a subscriber to the belief that positive thinking will cure all that ails you. But I do think that Stephen Hawking is a great inspiration, and a constant reminder that experts don't always know everything. Just because our limited knowledge of medicine says that Hawking should be long dead, doesn't make it so.

Currently, Judy Blume is one of the most famous authors in children's and young adults' fiction. She has sold over 80 million books worldwide and has won more than 90 literary awards.

However, things weren't always so rosy for Blume, who tells of how she received rejections for more than two years. She's said of that period,

"I would go to sleep at night feeling that I'd never be published. But I'd wake up in the morning convinced I would be. Each time I sent a story or book off to a publisher, I would sit down and begin something new. I was learning more with each effort. I was determined. Determination and hard work are as important as talent."

Two years is a long time to hear nothing but 'no'. However, Judy Blume not only persisted, but ensured she was learning along the way. 

There can be no denying that in all of the cases above, luck played a huge role. Success in following your dreams is a game of long odds.

But, let's face it, our whole lives are a game of long odds. Life emerging on this rock of ours was incredibly unlikely - if you subscribe to the 'rare Earth' hypothesis. 

Is 'follow your dreams' terrible career advice? In some cases, it might be. In other cases, it most definitely is not. To me, whether it is good advice or lousy advice is irrelevant, because maybe, just maybe, it's nobody else's business.

You're the one who has to live your life and come to terms with the decisions you make; the things you did and the things you did not do. You're the one who knows what is most important to you.

A common truism of the acting profession is: if you can imagine yourself being happy doing anything else, do that something else.

Maybe that's all following your dreams boils down to. If there is nothing else in the world you can imagine making you happy, then don't spend your life doing something that makes you miserable. And, most of all, if you have a passion, don't let anyone tell you that you can't pursue it.