http://greatday.com/motivate/960716.html
Tuesday, July 16 1996
Overcoming the fear of rejection
Does the fear of rejection keep you from taking the actions necessary to achieve your dreams?
Imagine for a moment the
kind of success you could have if you could transcend that fear.
Ask yourself, what's the worst that could happen if you are "rejected". Usually, the worst that can
happen is that you'll hear
someone say "no". Is that so bad?
Let your fear of rejection be a positive influence. Fear gives you energy, and the ability to sharply
focus on your situation. So
feel the fear, take energy and clarity from it, and do the feared thing anyway. Don't let your fear stop
you, but let it motivate
you to be more prepared.
Learn to transcend your fear by practice. Seek out "rejection" and experience it. Start small, with
things that are
inconsequential. Call a busy friend and invite them to lunch on short notice. Chances are, they'll say
"no, thank you" and you'll
have a "rejection experience" under your belt. Make a game out of it, trying to see how many
"rejections" you can get before
you get a "yes." With each experience, you'll gain a personal understanding that rejection is not "the
end of the world" and that
it is nothing to be feared.
Realize that you, and you alone, are responsible for your own worth. Nothing anyone can do, say or
think will change your
value as a human being. Only you have the power to do that. It is impossible for anyone to reject you
unless you let them,
because rejection occurs in your own mind.
Believe in what you're doing. That will make rejections the other person's problem, not yours.
Colonel Harlan Sanders was a retiree receiving Social Security. He had a pretty good recipe for fried
chicken, and decided to
try to sell the recipe to restaurants in return for a percentage of the revenue that it generated. Colonel Sanders drove around
the country, sleeping in his car, looking for restaurants that might be interested in his recipe. He was rejected 1,009 times
before someone finally said "yes". One thousand and nine rejections! Because he was able to keep
going after each one, he
made a fortune as the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Don't let the fear of rejection stop you. Learn to draw strength from it.
Ralph Marston
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bibleplace.com
by Steve May
When Colonel Harland Sanders retired at the age of 65, he had little to show for himself,
except an old Caddie roadster, a $105 monthly pension check, and a recipe for chicken.
Knowing he couldn't live on his pension, he took his chicken recipe in hand, got behind the
wheel of his clunker, and set out to make his fortune.
His first plan was to sell his chicken recipe to restaurant owners, who would in turn give
him a residual for every piece of chicken they sold--5 cents per chicken. The first
restaurateur he called on turned him down.
So did the second. So did the third. In fact, the first 1008 sales calls Colonel Sanders made
ended in rejection. Still, he continued to call on owners as he traveled across the USA,
sleeping in his car to save money. Prospect number 1009 gave him his first "yes."
After two years of making daily sales he had signed up a total of five restaurants. Still the
Colonel pressed on, knowing that he had a great chicken recipe and that someday the idea
would catch on.
Of course, you know how the story ends. The idea DID catch on. By 1963 the Colonel had
600 restaurants across the country selling his secret recipe of Kentucky Fried Chicken
(with 11 herbs and spices).
In 1964 he was bought out by future Kentucky governor John Brown. Even though the
sale made him a multi-millionaire, he continued to represent and promote KFC until his
death in 1990.
Colonel Sanders' story teaches an important lesson: It's never too late to decide to never
give up.
Earlier in his life the Colonel was involved in other business ventures--but they weren't
successful. He had a gas station in the 30's, a restaurant in the 40's, and he gave up on
both of them.
At the age of 65, however, Harland Sanders decided his chicken idea was the right idea,
and he refused to give up, even in spite of repeated rejection. He knew that if he kept on
knocking on doors, eventually someone would say "yes." |
