Finding success in rejection

How many times have you been told “no” in your life? How many times after hearing this response have you still gotten what you wanted? The answers to these two questions combined is one of the key indicators of success. Those who hear “no” and still get “yes” are the ones who will rise to the top and find success.

In a recent Entrepreneur article, successful entrepreneur Todd Pedersen said, “Rejection is a part of life, especially an entrepreneur’s life, but that doesn’t make it any easier to hear. Even after building a couple of billion-dollar businesses, I still get rejected. No one likes being told no — especially me — but no just might be the most important word an entrepreneur can hear.” Pedersen goes on to explain some of the benefits of hearing the word no: letting it build your fire and sharpen your focus among those reasons.

The big question is exactly how many “no’s” does it take to get a “yes”? A 2011 study on cold calling came to the conclusion that it takes 118 “no’s” to get a “yes”! 118 is a huge number! Like Pedersen said, rejection is part of life, but that doesn’t make it any easier. If you haven’t already, it is important that you come to terms with rejection. It is important that you find a way to feed off of the word “no.” If you want to find success in the business world, you need to learn how to hear the 118 “no’s” and still get the all important “yes.”