29 incredibly successful people who failed at first

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REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Instant success isn't the only kind of success.

Rejection can feel genuinely devastating. But before you retreat into your tear-stained hovel to plot a new, anonymous life as a subsistence farmer in rural Australia (not that there's anything wrong with that!), consider this: Some of the world's most successful people have failed - sometimes more than once.

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We've put together a list of indisputably successes, from movie stars to scientists, who experienced massive failure before they found fame and fortune.

Weaker people might have given up. Instead, these folks remained focused on their goals.

Scroll on to see the underdogs who went on to change the world.