Reject Rejection

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #18

Today, Jack Canfield reminds us that rejection is a part of life. It happens at all ages, from the time we get snubbed by little friends on the playground to being fired from a job just as retirement nears. We can't let it get to us, though. He offers the following encouragement to help us get past rejection.

(1) Understand that rejection is a myth.
When you try to do something and you fail, you're no worse off afterward than you were before you began. Rejection is a myth that only exists in our heads.

In my former church, I kept offering to help with various ministries, but I was repeatedly turned down. Eventually, I moved on to another church, where they embraced my eagerness to serve. I felt rejected in the first church, but now I understand that it was only in my head. God had better plans for me, and the rejection I experienced nudged me onward to where I could better serve others.

(2) SWSWSWSW
This is code for "Some will, some won't; so what--someone's waiting."

When we ask someone to help us, some people will say yes, and some will say no. We must shrug off thoughts of rejection with the understanding that someone out there needs us. If we keep trying, eventually, we'll find our YES!

(3) Just say "Next!"
When someone turns down a request that we make, we just turn to the next person and say, "Next!" Colonel Sanders was rejected by 300 companies when he tried to market his recipe for fried chicken. He kept saying, "Next!" until he succeeded. Today, there are 11,000 KFC restaurants in 80 countries.

(4) Learn from other rejects.
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were turned down 130 times by publishers who told them that their book would never sell. They kept trying, and they eventually sold over 8 million copies of their original manuscript, wrote 80 other related books, and saw them translated into 39 languages.

A young man named Rick Little wanted to help kids. His idea got rejected by 155 foundations. Eventually, the Kellogg Foundation gave him $130,000 to start Quest, an organization designed to help kids succeed.

Chiropractor Ignatius Piazza knocked on 12,500 doors in Monterey Bay, California to inquire of the residents how he could best establish a new office in their community. Many people had told him they didn't need another chiropractor, but he didn't give up. After months of talking to over 6,500 people, he opened his office and did $72,000 worth of business in the first month.

(5) Think about these famous rejections.
Alexander Graham Bell was turned down by Western Union when he proposed selling the telephone to them for $100,000. They didn't think people would pay good money to play with an electric toy.

Stephen King threw his manuscript for Carrie into the trash, because he was tired of receiving so many rejections. His wife dug it out and urged him to keep trying. He eventually sold more than 4 million copies of the book, and the story was made into a feature film.

Google's original founders approached Yahoo! and suggested a merger. Yahoo! told them to go home with their little scool project and come back when they had grown up. Within 5 years, Google had an estimated market capitalization of $20 billion.

If there is something God has called us to do, and we feel passionate about carrying out his dream for our lives, we must not let rejection stop us. If we keep trying, we can succeed at whatever we want to do, because Scripture tells us, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13)

Today's Challenge
Choose one of your goals and break it down into small steps that will eventually make that goal a reality. Take the first step and decide to ask people to help you. Don't stop until you've accomplished that first step. Let me know what you discover about rejection in the process.



Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com