AhHH...REjection Letters ! ?

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." Matthew 21:42


What can I say about rejection letters? They suck! They suck bad: like the best vacuum cleaner you've ever owned BAD; and I'm sitting here looking at one now (um the letter, not the vacuum, (Lol). It's not my first. It is not the last and let's be frank (Hi Frank!) I'll probably see several more over the course of my lifetime. I think I may have amassed over 100 at least. Having said all that, I have to tell you: I absolutely LOVE a good rejection letter! I am amazed by the various ways people can come up with to tell you that your work is just not up to par or what they're looking for. But the creativity....man the creativity and verbal shenanigans people undertake to help you be ok with the 'no' floors me and I love it. However the thing I love most about rejection letters is the way they force you to conquer your demons, to overcome, to do better, to strive harder, to grow more, to become more efficient...the stuff of legends! Baby (in my adopted Louisiana drawl) a good rejection letter can be the impetus for you becoming a Pulitzer Prize winner somewhere down the road! Let's face it, most people only become great after they failed several hundred times (OK so the number may be an exaggeration) but think of the Gertrude Stein's; Andy Warhols', Michael Jordans', Albert Einstein's and Oprah Winfrey's that faced either rejection letters or rejection in general before things got real good. What can I say? I'm in great company and I feel no pain. Matter of fact, one of my best speeches began with me rattling off lines from about six past rejection letters. The speech was so easy to write because I kept all of them; every last one of them and compiled them in a three ring binder so I would never forget what it took to get to the next level, and so that I would never lose the hunger to fight my way up from 'struggle'. This journey should never get ' easy' and I should never get complacent... lest I take the lazy path. Some of the same places I received rejection letters from 10 years ago are some of the very same places that have accepted me a few years later. I make sure to put those in the book too because it's an important lesson in stick-to-it-ive-ness. And of course all those letters amount one thing... success!

So, in case you're still wondering why I would make a crazy statement like: "I love a rejection letter', it boils down to one thing. Every rejection letter I have ever received made me work 10 times harder, produce better work, develop tougher skin and create greater resolve. Like Theodore Roosevelt's 'Man in the Arena' speech, rejection letters just prove: you took the shot. Whether you make the shot or not isn't important.! The fact that you tried is epic! So many people never try, and you can't win what you don't take a stab at. Thank God for rejection! It is just a stepping stone to bigger and better things. 💓D