Literally nothing
in life has come easily for me. Many of my dreams have never been realized at
all. I have “failed” many times at many endeavors. Yet, my life is more
satisfying than it was. I’m still here, and you are, too.
Babies fall
repeatedly before learning to walk. What if they refused to get up and try
again because it’s not “comfortable”? They would never get beyond the crawling
stage, and that’s unacceptable. Can you imagine adults crawling around
everywhere?! Have you thought about that?
Are you
willing to stand and fall on the way to your dream? Sorry, but there’s no other
way to do it! Let’s explore some famous figures who pushed their way through to
victory:
Fleetwood Mac
For me, the
iconic song, Don’t Stop, is the
most important anthem to never giving up. I get chills every time I listen to
it. It is possibly the most well-known song in the group’s repertoire. What makes it so special? Two things: it was performed
at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration; and, it was written by keyboard
player and vocalist, Christine McVie. She was mainly on the losing end of frequent
relationship and popularity struggles with fellow uber-outgoing bandmate,
Stevie Nicks.
Writers who Overcame
Note: most of the following information is
taken from the excellent article, “Best-Sellers
Initially Rejected”, on Literaryrejections.com.
Iconic mystery writer, Agatha Christie—was rejected for five years. In addition, when one of her books was
first made into a play, it wasn’t received well. Combined sales are now in
excess of $2 billion. Only Shakespeare
has sold more.
Young Adult chick lit. writer, Meg Cabot—received three years of rejections for The Princess Diaries. It has now sold 15 million copies and
been made into a bestselling series in print and film. (I loved the movies with
Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway! Such fun!)
World-renown author of the Harry Potter fantasy series, J.
K. Rowling—received many
rejections until the eight-year-old daughter of an editor demanded to read
more. Her last four novels are the fastest-selling books in history. This #1
British author has combined sales of $450 million.
Western
writer, Louis L’amour—was rejected 200 times.
His book sales now total $330
million.
Ultra-famous children’s
author, Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss)—was rejected harshly by
numerous publishers. He was told that nobody would be interested in writing
that was “too different” and illustrations that were “too much like cartoons”. Well, he showed them! The sale of 300 million copies places him as the
9th bestselling fiction author of all time.
Chicken
Soup for the Soul series authors, Jack
Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen—received 140 rejections stating that “anthologies
don’t sell”. The series has now sold 125 million copies.
Chronicles
of Narnia series author, C.
S. Lewis—was rejected for years. His works have now been translated into
47 languages. He has sold 80 million copies altogether.
Children’s and Young
Adult author, Judy Blume—suffered two years of rejection. She saved the
rejection letters in a bag that became so heavy she couldn’t lift it. She now
has combined sales of 80
million.
The Tale
of Peter Rabbit author, Beatrix
Potter—was
rejected so many times she decided to self-publish 250 copies. Sales have now reached the 45 million
mark.
Gone
With the Wind author, Margaret Mitchell—received 38 rejections. The book
has sold 30 million
copies.
My Conclusion
We all
struggle and fail. If we want to get anywhere, that’s part of life. Many
celebrities became successful only after years of rejection. For some people,
life is just a continual struggle. Remember this: Failure doesn’t mean never falling down. Failure means being too
intimidated to start again right where you left off before you fell.
For
more inspirational writing about rejecting negativity, please see my book, Accept No Trash Talk: Overcoming the Odds.
How have you
picked yourself up off the floor lately?
