I was sitting on the beach in Key West last weekend, enjoying the music and sipping a cold sweet tea (with a little Jack in it, I’m a Tennessee girl at heart) when I decided to check my email.
Bad idea. When you are having a moment of bliss, put your phone away!!
I saw an email from my literary agent and the words, “Simon and Schuster”. My heart sank and I couldn’t breathe. I was expecting something awesome to be in that email!
But it wasn’t… it was a rejection. They said wonderful things about me and my book, however, it was still a rejection.
Apparently I didn’t learn my lesson. Four hours later, I was sitting in Sloppy Joes swaying to the sweet sound of country music (my fav), when I checked my email again. Being the positive person that I am, I knew it would be good news this time.
Nope. It was another rejection from a large publishing house, sprinkled with lovely compliments.
I threw my phone out the window and decided to have another Jack and sweet tea.
Let’s face it. Rejection isn’t fun. But it’s a necessary part of success so we need to learn how to handle it right.
We don’t just want to endure it, overcome it, deal with it….. we need to enjoy it.
Yes that’s right, when we change the way we see things, the things we are seeing change.
So I was determined to do just that. Enjoy the heck out of it.
I decided to play a game. JK Rowling was rejected 12 times. Tim Ferriss was rejected 26 times. Stephen King was rejected by 30. So I decided that I wanted to go for it and be rejected 35 times. This would make my success story so much greater!
So now, I am excited to be rejected by 35 publishers before I become a bestselling author. Two down and 33 to go.
This may sound like a negative way of looking at things, but it really sets you up to succeed. It eliminates the fear of putting yourself out there and asking for what you want.
If you are looking for a mate and I told you that you are guaranteed to find your ideal man or woman after 150 bad dates. Would you go through it to find the love of your life? Absolutely!
If I told you that you would have success beyond your wildest dreams, but you will fail 43 times before you reached it, would you keep moving with a good attitude? Absolutely.
See the truth is that if you just keep going, and don’t quit, you will ultimately have success. We give up too soon. We don’t like the feeling of failure or the sting of rejection.
We start believing that it may never happen for us. It may not be our destiny. We become consumed with self-doubt and fear. Our dreams end up dying inside us and we settle for less than we really want.
Don’t let this be your fate. Welcome failure. Enjoy rejection. It brings you one step closer to your desires.
In order to get something you have never gotten you must think in a new way, act in a new way and talk in a new way.
I know there is something you want. Don’t let anything stand in your way. Nothing can stop what is suppose to be yours ….. except YOU!
Get out of your own way. Change your perception of rejection and failure. Then sit back and wait for your dreams to come true!!!
