I think I was wired backwards somewhere along the road, because I actually prefer that everybody think I’m wrong. Is that weird?
When somebody tries to tell me something won’t work, or rejects an idea, it only makes me want to pursue it more.
I’ve dealt with some pretty harsh rejection in my career. And when I say rejection, I really mean it bigtime. People have mocked entire businesses I believed in. When I launched WineLibrary.com, people laughed at e-commerce. When I started my agency VaynerMedia, the overall sentiment in 2009 was that an agency devoted to social would never take off.
So yes: rejection happens. To everyone. A lot. But the truth is, I don’t give a crap what anyone says. And this is a mindset that I believe many many people can benefit from.
If you’re in any part of the world of business, rejection is just something you are going to run into. It’s inevitable. People will want to challenge you and question your ideas, and you should welcome that. It is absolutely necessary in helping you to figure out exactly how much you want something and why.
But when you feel something in your gut, you can’t ignore it.
So what do you do with all that negativity?
You turn it into positivity. Rise to the challenge. Accept that the climb might be the best part of this whole thing. Because once you’re at the top, that’s it. You’re just there. But when you’re on your way up, that’s where the real hard work comes in. And when you’re a business person, that hard work feels really good right?
Make it a point to prove people wrong. Get excited about showing people how right you are. Dealing with rejection means facing it head on, proving it’s not true, then on to the next one.
So yeah. Maybe this kind of thinking is a bit backwards. I’m a big fan of betting on strengths and ignoring the competition. But it feels so good to show people you were right, and I would hate for you all to miss out on that.
I would hate even more for one of you to miss out on an enormous opportunity because you let someone bring you down. This is me telling you right now: prove them wrong. You can do this. Now hustle.
Image credit: CC by Paxson Woelber
