In my study of how to achieve success, I have discovered that success is a mindset and a habit. It is a way of thinking, a way of life. On the journey of life, being rejected is a normal part of our growth—a reality no one can avoid. Many people, after being struck by countless rejections, lose the courage to continue pursuing success and fall into despair. A small minority, however, face rejection fearlessly, remain undaunted, keep fighting despite repeated failures, and ultimately grasp success firmly in their hands. The experiences of many successful individuals tell us that as long as we are not afraid of rejection, if we persist and persevere just a little longer, success will surely belong to us.
Years ago, movie superstar Sylvester Stallone was extremely down on his luck, with only $100 to his name, unable even to afford rent, sleeping in a Volkswagen Beetle. At the time, he was determined to become an actor and confidently applied to film companies in New York. But he was rejected everywhere due to his unremarkable appearance and unclear diction. After all 500 New York film companies had turned him down, he started again from the very first company. After being rejected 1,500 times, he wrote a screenplay and began pitching it around—only to be mocked again and again. He was rejected a total of 1,855 times before finally meeting a film studio executive willing to produce his script. Yet even then, he was rejected once more—the producer refused to let him star in the movie. In the end, however, he became a world-famous superstar.
Can you face 1,855 rejections without giving up? Stallone could. He did what others couldn't do, and that's why he succeeded. I believe that if you do the same, you will succeed too.
There was a man who failed in business at age 21; lost his bid for state legislature at 22; failed in business again at 24; lost his beloved partner at 26; suffered a nervous breakdown at 27; lost his run for U.S. Congress at 34; lost again in another congressional race at 36; lost his bid for U.S. Senate at 45; failed to win the vice-presidential nomination at 47; lost his Senate campaign again at 49; and finally, at age 52, was elected the 16th President of the United States.
That man was Abraham Lincoln. Because he firmly believed that God’s delay was not God’s denial, he kept fighting through defeat after defeat and ultimately achieved greatness.
At a seminar, I met a vibrant woman. She was full of humor, radiating energy throughout the event. Her spontaneous jokes infected everyone with her joy. No one would have guessed she had endured a difficult upbringing.
This woman, named Kathy, was considered intellectually disabled as a child. She stayed in a special school for the mentally impaired until age five, when it was discovered she wasn’t intellectually disabled at all—she was deaf. She then transferred to a school for the hearing-impaired and didn’t begin living a relatively normal life until her teens, with the help of hearing aids. Just as her life was beginning to improve, a terrible car accident left her bedridden in a hospital for two years.
At the time, she asked herself: Why is my life filled with so much hardship? But she quickly came to believe deeply: Every event happens for a reason and will ultimately benefit me. Later, when Kathy found a boyfriend and her life improved again, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and eventually had both breasts removed. Yet, despite endless difficulties, she still held firm to the belief: Everything that happens has a purpose and will serve me in some way.
When her mother apologetically said to her, "Kathy, I'm really sorry for bringing you into this world the way you are," she replied, "Mom, you gave me the perfect life. Because of these experiences, I now have the passion to share my story with others, to turn fear into strength and pressure into motivation, and to find valuable gifts worth treasuring within every difficulty."
Do these stories offer us any inspiration?