Ariana Huffington got rejected by 36 publishers.

It’s hard to believe that one of the most recognizable names in online publications was once rejected by three dozen major publishers. Huffington’s second book, which she tried to publish long before she created the now ubiquitously recognizable Huffington Post empire, was rejected 36 times before it was eventually accepted for publication.

Even Huffington Post did not become a success overnight. In fact, when it first came out, there were scores of negative evaluations concerning its quality and potential. Obviously, Huffington overcame her early failures and has established herself as one of the web's most successful sources.

Bill Gates watched his first company crumble.

Bill Gates is now one of the world's wealthiest people, but he didn't get there in a straight line. Gates debuted on the business scene with Traf-O-Data, a startup that attempted to handle and analyze data from traffic tapes (think of it as an early version of big data).

He attempted to sell the concept alongside his business partner, Paul Allen, but the device was barely functional. It was a total disaster. However, Gates was not deterred from seeking new options, and a few years later, he produced his first Microsoft product, forging a new road to success.

George Steinbrenner bankrupted man a team.

Before Steinbrenner made a name for himself when he acquired ownership of the New York Yankees, he owned a small basketball team called the Cleveland Pipers back in 1960. By 1962, as a result of Steinbrenner’s direction, the entire franchise went bankrupt.

That stretch of failure seemed to follow Steinbrenner when he took over the Yankees in the 1970s, as the team struggled with a number of setbacks and losses throughout the 1980s and 1990s. However, despite public fear and criticism of Steinbrenner’s controversial decisions, eventually, he led the team to an amazing comeback, with six World Series entries between 1996 and 2003, and a record as one of the most profitable teams in Major League Baseball.

Steve Jobs was booted from his own company.

Steve Jobs is an astonishing entrepreneur not just because of his endless innovations, but also because of his forceful recovery from a near-fatal failure. Jobs achieved success in his twenties as Apple grew into a gigantic empire, but when he reached thirty, Apple's board of directors chose to terminate him.

Undaunted by the failure, Jobs founded a new company, NeXT, which was eventually acquired by Apple. Once back at Apple, Jobs proved his capacity for greatness by reinventing the company’s image and taking the Apple brand to new heights.

Draw inspiration from these stories the next time you experience failure, no matter the scale. At the moment, some failure might seem like the end of the road, but remember, there are countless successful men and women in the world today who are only enjoying success because they decided to push past the inevitable bleakness of failure.

Learn from your mistakes, reflect and accept the failure, but revisit your passion and keep pursuing your goals no matter what.