John Carver Show - The Benefits to Failure - J. K. Rowling

J K Rolling is the author of the Harry Potter series of books.  Interesting that she's a BILLIONAIRE still gets nervous in front of people.  In her talk she says:

There are benefits of failure.  Imagination is very important in life.  Her parents hoped she would get a "real job."  J. K. Rolling pushed to live her dream.  The moment you are old enough to take the wheel the responsibility is up to you.  Poverty enails fear, struggle and depression.  It means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships.  Climbing out of poverty is difficult.

What she feared most was failure.  Talent and intellegence is not always enough.  In her twenties she was almost homeless and broke.  She thought she was a huge failure. She had no idea how long she was going to be broke.

Failure is stripping away of what's not important.  She began to direct all her energy to what she was meant to do...write books.  She had a big idea.  "Rock bottom was the solid foundation on which I built my life."

J. K. Rolling invested every waking hour developing her skills.  She says," The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned."

Truly, a lady who didn't give up.  Here is the text of her speech:

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/06/text-of-j-k-rowling-speech/