I Get Rejected Over 50 Times Per Month, Here Is How I Deal With it.

 in Blog

 

 

Business is tough.

 

Running your own business is even harder.

 

Especially when you are management, sales, and accounting staff all in one.

 

When you are in the business world, rejection is a part of the territory.

 

Everyone from Zuckerberg to Buffett have to been rejected.

 

I have become somewhat of a rejection expert.

 

That is because I am rejected Every. Single. Day.

 

I am actually getting rejected multiple times per day.

 

People snark, get upset, and sometimes even laugh at me.

 

If you are in any industry that comes down to numbers, odds are, you are being constantly rejected as well.

 

(Everyone in sales just shouted AMEN).  

 

I am in the real estate investment space. Which is a definite numbers game. I make multiple offers per day, get rejected, and do it again the next day. Over and over. Day after day I am getting rejected.

 

When you invest in real estate, you are curating an offer based on numbers. This is a non-emotional proposal. I see a property as land, with lumber and concrete on it. The value of that lumber and concrete is whatever someone will pay me for it in terms of a rent check.

 

I am not swayed by fancy tile, or granite counter tops.

 

All I care about is ROI.

 

So, as you can see, when I make an offer to a homeowner who has added fancy features that add no value to their wood and concrete structure, I am going to offend some people.

 

In a hot market, I offend a lot of people.

 

This is understandable, people have spent their lives and savings on a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house. Most people have an attachment to this wood, dirt, and concrete

 

How do I handle it?

 

Over time, I have built a calice to the remarks, laughter, and shotgun sprays of angry words.

 

I am not overly emotional to begin with. I don’t like discussing how I feel, I don’t care if I sound like an idiot, and I definitely will never do something because it “feels right”.  

 

Still some of the Realtors remarks can get to me. It would bother me throughout the day. I would sit there and steam. Just based on the way that Realtors reacted. I know that some of my offers never even get to the seller’s ear lobes.

 

This rejection can wear on you. It feels like your business is taking one step forward and three steps back. You feel like you’re on an island. That can be tough.

 

Then you take a deep breath, step back, and look at the big picture. Each rejection is one step closer to a yes.

 

That is because life is a numbers game. Every rep you lift in the gym, gets you one step closer to your goal. Every time you present in front of  the executive team, is another opportunity to portray your skills and talent. Every rejected sale, is one step closer to closing a deal.

 

The details definitely matter. If you ignore the details in life, you will miss out on opportunity.

 

But, the big picture keeps you on track. It maintains mental strength when times get tough.

 

Every time you get rejected, welcome it as a stepping stone to your next step in life.

 

“ Rejection has only been a distraction not a roadblock. Every no gets me closer to a yes.”

Mark Cuban

 

This is more true than ever now. We have an extreme increase in anxiety and stress. This can lead to anything becoming a distraction.

 

To combat this, we must remain humble, thankful, and driven. You should expect rejection, but maintain the motivation to continually get up and fight again.

 

For me, it has become a discipline.  

 

At times, you may want to listen to those saying that you’re crazy, stupid, or losing your marbles for trying something. Remember where you are trying to go and move on. Distractions are just in the way.  

 

One of the best new tech companies, Robinhood, was rejected over 75 times from Venture Capital firms for their idea to shake up the financial industry. They offer free trading on stocks. Free! To say this had never been done in the finance space is an understatement. The founders were relentless. They had to bang down dozens of doors just to get a handful of investors interested. People laughed at them, questioned how they would ever make a dime, and slammed doors in their faces.

 

 

Robin Hood now has a market cap of 1.3 billion and growing, including investment from several celebrities like Snoop Dogg (Don’t forget the second g). If they took any of the rejection to heart, they would have never gotten to this point.

 

There are countless other other examples:

 

Warren Buffet had a huge portion of his investors pull out of his fund when they were displeased that he was in cash during a bull market bubble. Those investors today would all be multi-millionaires if they only left $1,000 in his fund.

 

Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, was told during an interview that they would never hire someone like her.

 

Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, did not make his high school basketball team.

 

Steve Jobs was fired at the company he created.

 

Oprah was fired as television reporter because she was “unfit for TV”.

 

The list goes on and on.

 

Here is what I have learned through all this rejection.

 

The ability to show up will always win.

 

Consistency will always win.

 

Discipline will always win.

 

A “do it now” attitude will always win.

 

Life is not an Instagram feed. It will never be perfect. You won’t know you’re in the good times until they have already passed. With that being said, you must live out the life you were called to live. Do it with a ‘never quit’ attitude. Rejection is going to be a part of your life. In some of our cases, it is part of our everyday life. The beautiful thing about rejection is that you are one step closer to making your goal a reality.

 

Cheers,

 

Andrew

 

 

P.S. I was so impressed with Robin hood’s story that I decided to try them out. Honestly, they are awesome! If you sign up with them (here), you will get free stock just for signing up! (That is an affiliate link).

andrew
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