Wearing Banana Republic & Topshop x Nordstrom faux leather jacket

I’ve come to realize the power of the word no vs. yes over the past 6 months. I’d like to tell you that the rejection gets easier but it doesn’t get easier- you just get tougher. Upon opening the mailbox today I came across a check from the first sponsor of the Be Fearless Summit,  and I realized how much people rely on the word yes to determine their happiness. For 9 months I thought about this conference, pitched it, got rejected, continued to pitch it with no solid concept behind it (besides just wanting to create a conference for college campuses) until I got 1 yes. I was at the PA Conference for Women speaking a few months ago when I was walking around and came across a Drexel University booth: I walked right up, asked to speak to the head of the college and followed-up with sending her the one-sheet to the conference and bam- look where the first Be Fearless Summit is being hosted.

The reason I talk so openly about rejection is because I know not all of you are trying to become entrepreneurs but are trying to pursue career paths that might be harder to get in the door with. Opening the mailbox to a check today made all of the previous no’s I received from colleges made months of pitching this summit worth the time and effort. Even when you’ve proven yourself you STILL need to continue to push the envelope and prove yourself in new ways. I don’t consider success settling, do you?

If you get caught up in the end goal you’re losing sight of the journey, and the journey is when you’re learning everything you need to know to get you to your end goal.

Listen to episode 53 with Nicolette Mason below to hear more about rejection & how we both battled tremendous rejection to get to where we are now.