#SoG149 - 100 Rejections in 2019.
100 Rejections (#SoG149)
100 Rejections.
Sounds dreary.
But is not.
In fact, is one of the most powerful ideas of ALL time.
So, I first heard about this on this TED talk by Jia Jiang where he talked about how chasing rejections changed him and made him a better person. The idea stuck home and I, in fact, decided that I in 2018, I will chase 100 rejections in life, each a step-up from the previous rejection. Much of what I write here is a recycled version of what I've written on the blogpost. I am doing this because I believe that the idea needs wider circulation.
So, whats a rejection?
A rejection is an "ask" that is typically out of your league. You would not get it in a normal course of events.
Say, you want to meet Warren Buffett over coffee. Now, he probably gets a million requests a minute. There is no chance in hell that he will meet you, especially because his time is limited - literally and figuratively. Even with this knowledge, you anyway write to his office, seeking a meeting. Let them send the rejection. It's alright. And once they send you their apologies, you know that you have one rejection. Or one no.
Another example. You are at a restaurant and there is this couple on the table next to yours. They're having what looks like the best Dal Makhani there ever is. And you want just a bite of it (not the entire thing). What if you go ask them for a bite from their food. If they say no, you get a rejection. And what are the odds that they will say yes? Pretty high actually. I've tried it :)
Another. I wrote about on my blog - that I ask for business class travel when I am on the road. I will probably get rejected. I get rejected all the time but I haven't stopped asking. I don't add that much value to the business to splurge. But, someday, I will.
I hope you get the drift.
What's the point of gathering these rejections?
Each rejection does two things.
A. Your "muscle" that understands rejections gets better and stronger.
You know how you can get over your stage fright by actually speaking at every opportunity you get? That!
So once you are used to getting rejected, you are more fearless in your asks and you are a tad better.
In fact, this happened to me when I wrote #tnks. A lot of early feedback from friends and family was that the book is a piece of crap and I must burn it. I would get sad and depressed and all that. But then with feedback, I learnt how to not get affected by what people were saying. And I developed a thick skin. And now when I do things, I do not care about what people have to say. I write because I enjoy the process. And I love the dance that my fingers make on the keyboard. And... <I am digresssing>.
B. You get ahead in life.
Each rejection allows you to ponder, reflect and tweak the approach. So that when you're seeking acceptance for the higher "asks", the odds of you getting rejected are lower!
C. Bonus. What if one of those is actually a yes?
Life WOULD be better! No?
And isn't that what we are here for? To be better and leave the world a better place than how we found it?
Next steps? And the lesson for you?
What if we take a pledge to chase a 100 rejections in 2019? There are 259 days left in the year! One every alternate day is not too much to ask for. Is it? It could be. I tried to do this in 2018 and I stopped after 5-6.
Game?
Tell me if you are.
Let's do it together.
In case no one replies, that would be the first rejection of this year :D
Thanks for your time,
@saurabh
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TAGS: Rejection, Jia Jiang, DoMore, David Meltzer, No, Hareesh Tibrewala.
CREDITS
A large part of this idea happened because of three things coming together. I HAVE to write about them (even though I have written about it in the blogpost, I HAVE to repost it here). Three things are...
This TED talk by Jia.
A conversation with Hareesh Sir about my failure to grow business at C4E. He told me that unless I got rejected a million times, I cant say that I have failed. Let alone reaching success. Have I tried everything possible? Have I given it my all?
I saw this tweet and saw the power of 100 rejections in action. She ends by saying that we ought to take more shots. Reminds me of the famous Jordon quote - "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
And I have to add the 4th person here. Abhinav Rege. He was the one that pointed me to this talk by Meltzer.
WORK WITH ME!
I am looking for someone to work with me. I can't afford to pay a lot but I can promise that if you are willing to work hard, I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO TAKE YOU CLOSER TO YOUR LIFEGOAL. I mean it. If you are interested, read this and lemme know if you are in.
HOUSEKEEPING
For some reason, in the month of April, work has picked up CONSIDERABLY! Which is a good thing to be honest. But that means less and less time to think and to write. And I think that's why the unhappiness. The day I don't write, I move around like a zombie. I did not know that writing would be so cathartic to me! And thank you, ladies and gents, for tolerating me.
STREAK: 1
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” - Jim Rohn. Via.
"Ordinary circumstances breed ordinary people." - Shane