“Nine Tenths of Education is Encouragement.”

Never let the odds keep you from doing

what you know in your heart 

you were meant to do.
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 

Below is a graphic of the high school report

card of John Gurdon, this year's recipient of 

the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

"Gurdon attended Eton College, where he ranked last out of the 250 boys in his year group at biology, and was in the bottom set in every other science subject. A schoolmaster wrote a report stating "I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist; on his present showing this is quite ridiculous." Gurdon later had this report framed; he told a reporter "When you have problems like an experiment doesn't work, which often happens, it's nice to remind yourself that perhaps after all you are not so good at this job and the schoolmaster may have been right."

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gurdon

Mr. Gurdon's schoolmaster had obviously

 never heard the quote by Anatole, 

"Nine tenths of education is encouragement."

  The schoolmaster wasn't right.  Mr. Gurdon

 went on to become a British Developmental

 Biologist, earning several awards including

 the Nobel Peace Prize.  Despite this clear

 statement from his teacher, Mr. Gurdon

 believed in himself, persevered, and 

succeeded.  Mr. Gurdon also had a clear

 understanding that part of failure is always a

 part of success.

Only surround yourself with people

 who will lift you higher.
-Oprah Winfrey 

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.
Small people always do that,
but the really great make you feel that you, too,
can become great.
-Mark Twain 

Accept everything about yourself, I mean everything,
You are you and that is the beginning and the end,
no apologies, no regrets.
-Clark Moustakas 

I saw the photo, below, about 12 hours after publishing this post.  How apropos.