The following five stories showcase prominent individuals who have faced rejection numerous times in their quest for success in their chosen career paths. Those who have overcome adversity by applying superhuman feats and others who were dissatisfied with their environment and wanted change found the answer when they changed their inner mindset.
5 attributes for success
1. Never say die
American movie star Sylvester Stallone had a rough time before he achieved success in the movie industry. With only $100 in his name, Stallone couldn’t afford to rent an apartment, so he had to sleep in his old car. Despite these hardships, he was determined to become an actor. Confidently, he set himself up to audition for roles at movie studios in New York.
At that time, there were approximately 500 movie studios in New York, all of which rejected him because of his mediocre appearance and unclear articulation. Later, Sylvester wrote the script for the famed Rocky movie, which he marketed everywhere. The studios continued to ridicule and taunt his efforts, so he had been rejected 1,855 times.
His luck finally changed one day when he met two movie producers willing to buy the Rocky script from him. However, they rejected his participation. It was only after Stallone’s insistence that they eventually agreed to let him play the lead role.
Are you able to face 1,855 rejections and still not give up? Stallone could. He did what no one else could do, so he succeeded. If you have not succeeded, failed, or given up on your dream, ask yourself: “Have you been rejected 1,855 times?”
2. Perseverance
Kerr used to work for a newspaper. When he first joined the company as an advertising salesman, he was so confident that he proposed to the manager that he would waive a salary but instead gain a commission based on the advertising fees. The manager agreed to his request.
He then made a list and prepared to visit some very special clients. His company’s sales team thought those clients were impossible to work with.
Before visiting these clients, Kerr locked himself in the room, stood in front of the mirror, read the clients on the list ten times, and then said to himself, “By the end of this month, you will be advertising with me!”
He went to visit the clients with confidence. He dealt with 3 of the 20 “impossible” clients on the first day. During the rest of the first week, he made two more deals. By the end of the first month, 19 of the 20 clients placed advertisements with him; only one remained unyielding.
In the second month, Kerr didn’t visit any new clients. Every morning, as soon as the store of the unyielding client opened, he went in and asked him to advertise, and every morning, the owner replied, “No!” Each time when this owner said no, Kerr pretended not to hear and continued to visit. On the last day of the month, the owner, who had said no to Kerr for 30 days in a row, said: “You’ve wasted a month asking me to advertise! I want to know why you’re so insistent on pursuing this.”
“I’m not wasting my time. It is like I’m in school, and you’re my teacher. I am training myself to persevere in adversity,” Kerr said.
The owner nodded and picked up where Kerr had left off. “I’ll admit that I feel like I’m in school too, and you’re my teacher. You have taught me the lesson of perseverance, which is more valuable to me than money. To show you my gratitude, I’m going to advertise with you! This is my way of paying you the tuition fee.”
In the face of failure, we must have an indomitable spirit to achieve our final goal. Each of us needs to persevere in the face of adversity to succeed.
3. Firm belief
Robert and his wife Mary finally reached the top of the mountain. Standing on the mountaintop and looking out, the white buildings of the distant city turned into a painting in the sunlight. Looking up, the sky was blue with white clouds, and the wind blew gently. The two were as happy as children, dancing and forgetting everything. This was a rare trip for them, who had been working hard all day.
It was at this point that their happiness turned into tragedy. As Robert took his next step, it was into thin air. His tall body stumbled and slid toward the abyss, surrounded by steep rocks and no place to hold on to. In a brief moment, Mary realized what had happened and subconsciously bit into her husband’s shirt as she crouched to take photos of the distant landscape. At the same time, she was carried by inertia to the edge of the rock, but in the nick of time, she clung to a tree.
Robert was hanging in mid-air while Mary held him with her clenched teeth. Can you believe it? Two rows of white, fine teeth bore the total weight of a tall, slim body. The two were framed like a painting between the blue sky, white clouds, mountains, and rocks. Mary’s hair fluttered in the wind like a flag.
Mary couldn’t open her mouth to call for help. An hour later, passing tourists rescued them. At this time, Mary’s beautiful teeth and lips were stained bright red with blood. Someone asked her how she could survive for so long. She replied, “At that moment, I had only one thought in my mind: if I let go and opened my mouth, Robert would surely die.”
A few days later, the story took wing and spread worldwide. People find that even the Grim Reaper fears clenched teeth.
4. Never despair
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, after more than 20 years of painstaking work, historian Tan Qian finally completed the chronicle of the Ming Dynasty: Guoque. The joy that Tan’s heart experienced could only be imagined as he gazed at his masterpiece, knowing that it could be passed down through the ages. His happiness was short-lived when something unexpected happened.
One night, a thief broke into his house. Seeing that the house was bare and there was nothing to steal, he took away a relatively valuable-looking bamboo box, where the original manuscripts of Guoque were locked. After that, the whereabouts of the precious manuscripts was unknown, and more than 20 years of hard work disappeared in the blink of an eye. This would be a fatal blow for most people to endure. For Tan, in his sixties and with his hair turning grey, it was a merciless blow.
However, Tan quickly overcame his pain and decided to rewrite this history book from scratch once again. After 10 years of struggle and hard work, another Guoque was born. This newly written Guoque consisted of 104 volumes and 5 million words. The content was more detailed and exciting than the original one. As a result, Tan Qian became famous throughout history and was immortalized forever.
It is heartbreaking when all your efforts go unrealized. However, if you can start from scratch, you will overcome any despair in life.
5. Positive attitude
One Saturday morning, a pastor struggled with his sermon. His wife had gone shopping, and it was raining outside. His young son was restless and had nothing to do. He wanted to play with his father.
The pastor picked up an old magazine, flipped through it, and saw a huge, brightly colored picture of a world map. He tore out the page, broke it into small pieces, threw them on the living room floor, and said: “Johnny, I’ll give you a quarter if you can put the pieces together.”
The pastor thought his son would be busy for at least half a day, but in less than 10 minutes, there was a knock on the door of his study. His son was done. The pastor was amazed at how quickly Johnny had put it together. Every piece of paper was lined up neatly, and the map returned to its original shape.
“Son, how did you finish so quickly?” the pastor asked. “Oh,” said Johnny, “it’s straightforward! There is a picture of a man on the back of the map. I first put a piece of paper underneath and assembled the picture of the man on top. To put it together, I placed another piece of paper on this finished picture and then turned it over. I thought the map would be correct if the man had been put together correctly.”
The pastor couldn’t help but laugh and gave him a quarter. “You’ve given me the topic for tomorrow’s sermon, too.” He said, “If a man is right, his world is also right.”
This story has a very profound meaning. It shows that if you are right, the world is right. If you are dissatisfied with your environment and want to strive for change, you should first change yourself. In other words, if you are right, your world is also correct; if you have a positive mindset, all the problems around you will be solved.
Translated by Cecilia and edited by Maria
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