Some encouragment from the life of Jacques Derrida

Apparently, Derrida wasn't always the genius that people recognize now in his writings. In June 1947, Derrida failed his baccalaureat, which according to Wikipedia is both a high school diploma and an entrance exam for university education. Derrida passed the test the following year. A few years later, he twice failed the entrance exam to the Ecole Normal Superieure in Paris, before passing in 1952. Then in 1955, Derrida failed the oral portion of the philosophy agregation, which ensures that a candidate will receive life-long tenure as a university professor. He passed the exam the following year in 1956.

Derrida may still be a genius, but at least he stumbled along the way like us ordinary humans.