Before becoming one of the most important figures in American history, Abraham Lincoln was a professional failure. He lost elections for the state legislature, for Congress, for the Senate (twice), and for the vice presidential nomination. He went bankrupt. His business partner died. His fiancée died. He had what would now probably be diagnosed as clinical depression. If LinkedIn had existed in 1858, his profile would have been a disaster.
Lincoln's resume of failures is genuinely impressive. Lost his first run for the Illinois state legislature in 1832. Failed in business in 1833. Ran for the U.S. House and lost. Ran again and lost again. Sought the Senate seat twice; rejected both times. Tried for the vice presidential nomination in 1856 and got fewer than a hundred votes. By any reasonable measure, the data suggested that Abraham Lincoln should stop running for things.
The motivational speaker version of this story goes: "He never gave up, and eventually he became president! So don't give up on your dreams!" This misses the point almost entirely. Lincoln didn't succeed because he never gave up. Lots of people never give up and still fail. Lincoln succeeded because of specific historical circumstances — the fracturing of the Whig Party, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and a four-way presidential race in 1860 that split the opposition vote. He was the right person at the right time, and timing is not something you can will into existence by believing in yourself.
Persistence without adaptation is just stubbornness. Lincoln didn't just keep doing the same thing over and over. He changed parties. He changed his messaging. He positioned himself differently each time. The lesson isn't "never give up." It's "if what you're doing isn't working, change what you're doing, and also be lucky."