The Relentless Pursuit of Yes (Money Monday)

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1:18This is Jeb Blunt and it's Money Monday on the Sales Gravy Podcast.

1:34Hammer in hand, Stephen tapped a nail into the wall near the small desk where he wrote. He was 14 when he pushed his first rejection letter onto that nail, and by the age of 16, the nail could no longer support the weight of all of the rejection letters he'd received. So, he replaced the nail with a spike, and he kept on writing. Years later, after going to college, having two kids, enduring awful jobs, bad bosses, and being stone cold broke, he was still writing and still collecting rejection letters. He sold stories here and there, but he eventually settled on a teaching job to support his young family, and it still wasn't enough to make ends meet.

2:09He was living in a double-wide trailer, driving a broken-down car, and scraping by paycheck to paycheck. He struggled just to cover the cost of basic medicine when his kids got sick. The stress made it harder and harder to find time to write and to pursue his true passion, but he never gave up. He filled his spare time with writing, and he continued to collect rejection letters. On an afternoon, like most others in his day-to-day life, he was sitting in his classroom at school grading papers. He heard the intercom speakers crackle on and someone spoke his name. Stephen, come to the front office, please.

2:40As he reached the office, he saw his wife standing there and immediately thought the worst. But that day, his life changed forever. His wife was clutching an acceptance letter from a publisher for his book, Carrie. Now today, there are a few people who don't know the name Stephen King, one of the most prolific and respected writers of our generation. But most people don't know the story of how many times he was rejected before his dream came true. You see, in sales and in life, success is paid for in advance. The price is hard work, sacrifice, pain, suffering, patience, persistence, and rejection.

3:14Now, sure, there are a few one-hit wonders who get lucky, and we all love to read the stories about lottery ticket millionaires. But hoping for serendipity to fall out of a tree and hit you on the head is a terrible strategy that, statistically speaking, never works out. To reach your goals, to climb the career ladder, to build a successful business, achieve your income targets, and accomplish anything you want, you must pay a price. And that price must be paid first. And there is no price greater than the price of rejection. That is why most people never make it past the hope and dream. You see, the fear of rejection is so strong and so powerful that it holds more people back from success, happiness, contentment, wealth, and accomplishment than any other variable.

3:54The fear of rejection destroys lives, causes people to put their dreams aside, to live in quiet anguish, and it leaves millions and millions of people wallowing in regret on their deathbeds. History, of course, is strewn with inspiring stories of people who broke through the chains of rejection and achieved great success. Harlan Sanders traveled the country while living out of his car, cooking chicken for restaurant owners and peddling his 11 herbs and spices. He is said to have been told no over a thousand times, yet he found enough yeses to build Kentucky Fried Chicken into one of the most iconic brands on earth.

4:26Steve Jobs was turned down by Hewlett Packard and Atari before starting Apple with Steve Wozniak. And then following his initial success with Apple, Jobs was rejected, humiliated, and summarily fired from the company he founded. And of course, we all know the rest of the story with Apple. Steve Jobs' comeback story is a modern legend. And this is how it goes through story after story of famous people and ordinary people who push through the fear and pain of rejection to reach their dreams, both big and small. We all know people who paid the price and allowed no amount of rejection and humiliation to keep them from their dreams.

4:59But this is in stark contrast to the billions of people who've allowed their fear of rejection to keep them in bondage. These sad people on their deathbeds are filled with regret for not finding the courage to pursue their dreams or put their talents to work. Frankly, most people give up after one rejection. Few people make it past two rejections and there are countless millions who never even took the chance in the first place. In my favorite scene from the inspirational movie The Pursuit of Happiness, aspiring stockbroker Chris Gardner, who's played by Will Smith, admonishes his son, don't ever let someone tell you you can't do something, not even me.

5:33It's a powerful reminder that rejection and ridicule lurk around every corner. There are people everywhere who are quick to tell you what you can't do. Because of their own failures, emotional hang-ups, jealousy, and a warped view of what's possible, these people discourage success or ignore potential. They reject and ridicule ideas, dreams, goals, and concepts. They steal and stomp on your joy. And the only tribute they pay to success is jealousy. Rejection is too often wielded like a weapon. Because fear of rejection is biological and hurts, humans have learned how to use it to compel other people to fall in line and comply.

6:10When you say you can, someone will always be there to say you can't. When you dream, someone will always be there to demand that you wake up. When you believe in yourself, others will try to create self-doubt. When you act, there will be short-sighted people who will work to slow you down with roadblocks. Most of the great inventions, books, movies, concepts, and talented people that changed the world were initially rejected. Alexander Graham Bale's telephone was rejected. The Xerox machine was rejected. The radio was rejected. And Thomas Edison's inventions were rejected. The list is endless.

6:40No talent, stupid, unworkable, unusable, no market, no use, ridiculous drivel, can't dance, can't sing, can't act, can't write, can't play, can't cook, can't lead, can't sell. And yet great people break through and prevail. There's evidence that rejection acts as a catalyst that fuels creativity in people who learn to embrace it. And if we use history as a guide, rejection fuels resilience, persistence, determination, and performance in people who embrace rejection rather than avoid it. Rejection teaches you how to persevere, how to sacrifice, and endure pain when you want something badly enough.

7:12Because to accomplish almost anything, you must endure the potential for and the reality of rejection. This adversity, though, it toughens you up and it makes you stronger, both intellectually and emotionally. Rejection is like an arrow. It's always pointing you towards the right opportunities. And when you're getting rejected, never forget that it just means that you might be on to something big. Companies shouldn't have to choose between speed and control. Amex Corporate connects cards with flexible spending controls and real-time visibility to help teams adapt faster. Built to simplify, designed to scale.

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7:55I've been broke. I ain't never going back again. I need some C notes, some cheddar and a stack of ends. I need a bowl of dough. I don't need no Facebook friends. I need a pack of them snaps, a handful of Fetty wops and rubber band on my green backs. Look, doll, don't be playing with my paper. I need every red cent. That's why I brought my little scraper.

8:25Thank you.