Just kidding! The definition of rejection is the dismissing or refusing or a particular proposal or idea.
Yesterday I got a direct message asking me how many times I followed up with Disney to get them to say yes to my show. If you read my Fearless Friday’s post last week, you’ll understand how many highs and lows I faced to get the final yes. That time period was not easy, and when I wrote back my answer to her question, I used the 3 R’s.
I was relentless with follow-up. My manager Eileen was the one calling Disney every single day for 6 months, and if she forgot to call one day, I’d ask her to make sure she called. I was glad I had a manager because otherwise I would’ve felt seriously alone during that process, more than I already did! Even if she got put to voicemail, she’d leave a message asking for a call back. When it comes to my daily pitching of ideas that isn’t related to getting a show… if I don’t hear back, I always send follow-up emails and then will call after that if I’ve had no luck on email.
I became resilient during that process. I’ve always been good at bouncing back from disappointment and rejection in my business career because I’ve faced SO MUCH of it! That doesn’t mean I get rejected and feel happy about rejection. It just means I know that something better is always around the corner. You must be resilient to get successful, and therefore not take the negative situations in business personally. Sometimes, things just aren’t meant to be.
Rejection. Ahh, one of my favorite words. Rejection doesn’t get easier, you get stronger. Once you have an understanding of the first two words I described, the rejection gets easier. I appreciate that hopefully you see some of the success I have had an am having in my career today, but it wasn’t always like this. I also feel like I have so much more to do and not enough time in the day, or my life. It’s hard and frustrating to be a business owner.
The journey, and the yes’ you will get after you fall down, are worth every moment of doubt along the way.
