Don’t Let Rejection Stop You
AFFIRMATIONS
for
Meditation and Reflection
I am asking with confidence, knowing that rejection is a myth and only exists in my mind.
I am persevering until I achieve my goals—or something better—because I know that what I want also wants me.
When someone says no to me, rather than getting discouraged, I move on knowing that someone else is waiting to say yes.
We keep going back stronger, not weaker,
because we will not allow rejection to beat us down.
It will only strengthen our resolve.
To be successful, there is no other way.
—EARL G. GRAVES
Founder and publisher of
Black Enterprise magazine
On your way to becoming successful, you’re going to encounter rejection somewhere along the line—it’s just a natural part of life. Your application might be denied, you might not be picked for the team, or you might not get the job.
To overcome rejection and keep moving forward, you have to see rejection for what it really is—a myth. When your application isn’t accepted or you’re not picked for the team, you actually aren’t any worse off than before you asked. Nothing has changed, nothing’s been taken away from you. You didn’t have that $50,000 line of credit before you asked the bank for it, and you don’t have it now.
So instead of feeling sad and rejected, ask why you were turned down, hone your proposal, and move on to ask other financial institutions. The reality is, you lose nothing by asking; all you have is something to potentially gain.
I am asking with confidence, knowing that rejection is a myth and only exists in my mind.
Today, make a point to accept the idea that you are going to encounter rejection along the way to success. Train your mind to translate the word “no” into “next!” When Colonel Harland Sanders left home with his pressure cooker and his special recipe for Southern fried chicken, he received 1,009 rejections before he found someone to believe in his dream. Because he rejected rejection over 1,000 times, there are now over 19,000 KFC locations in more than 100 countries and territories worldwide.
Maybe his story will help you think about rejection on a smaller scale. It may take a little longer to get what you want, but sometimes the Universe has different (or better) plans for you. In the final analysis, you’re really no worse off than before you asked. Don’t give up or sulk. Simply find another opportunity.
My Chicken Soup for the Soul coauthor Mark Victor Hansen is fond of saying, “What you want wants you.” Reject rejection and go for it.
I am persevering until I achieve my goals—or something better—because I know that what I want also wants me.
In the fall of 1991, Mark Victor Hansen and I began the progress of selling our first Chicken Soup for the Soul book to a publisher. We flew to New York and met with every major publisher that would see us. None of them were interested. We heard rejections like, “Collections of short stories don’t sell,” and “The title will never work.” After that, we were rejected by another 20 publishers who had received the manuscript through the mail. Over 30 rejections later, our agent gave the book back to us because he just couldn’t sell it. So, we said, “Next!”
The following spring, Mark and I attended the American Booksellers Association convention in Anaheim, California, and walked from booth to booth, talking to anyone who would listen. We were turned down again and again. Still we said, “Next!”
At the end of the second very long day, Peter Vegso and Gary Seidler, owners of Health Communications, Inc., a publisher of addiction and recovery books, agreed to look it over. They loved it. Those hundreds of “nexts” finally paid off. After more than 140 rejections, that first book went on to sell over 10 million copies and spawned a series of 250 unique titles. Those titles have been translated into 43 languages with worldwide sales of over 500 million copies! My advice to you? Believe you will succeed and learn to say, “Next!”
When someone says no to me, rather than getting discouraged, I move on knowing that someone else is waiting to say yes.