It Only Takes One Yes
Successful people refuse to let the “no’s” keep them from reaching their dreams. Mary Kay states, “One of the secrets of success is to refuse to let temporary setbacks to defeat us.” Throughout history, people have founded success because they refused to let rejection stop them.
In 1962, four young women wanted to start singing careers. They began performing in their church and doing small concerts. They tried cutting a record but it failed. Early in 1964, they were booked for an American Bandstand. It barely paid expenses, and no contracts resulted from the national exposure. One year later, they tried on more time and recorded the song, “Where Did Our Love Go?” the song raced to the top and Diana Ross and the Supremes were a sensation.
At 17, Wayne Gretzky was an outstanding athlete intent on a career either in soccer or hockey. His first love was hockey, but when he tried out for the pros, he was told, “You don’t weigh enough. You probably won’t survive in the rink.” He is the NHL’s all-time leading scorer and has played for Team Canada several times.
Basketball superstar Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Alex Haley got a rejection letter once a week for four years as a budding writer. Later in his career, Alex was ready to give up on the book Roots and himself. After nine years on the project, the final draft of Roots poured out of him and into the books of modern history. “No matter how many ‘no’s’ you receive, remember that it only takes one ‘yes’ to make your effort worthwhile.” – Jack Canfield
In 1902, an editor at “The Atlantic Monthly” returned the poems of a 28 year old writer with a note: “Our magazine has no room for your style of poetry!” The Poet was Robert Frost.
Never Say These Things
If you want to be considered a ‘star’ performer, consider this list of “Nevers”;
+ “They didn’t get back to me,” or “They are getting back to me.” Both are equally disastrous. Expecting someone to get back to you stops the action. Take the initiative.
+ “I thought someone else was taking care of that.” Excuses indicate a roadblock to action. Always ask questions to keep things moving.
+ “No one ever told me.” Let a supervisor hear you talk this way often and you will have made a clear statement about the way you work. You operate in a tunnel, oblivious to everything that is going on around you.
+ “I didn’t have the time.” And don’t bother with “I was too busy,” either. If you find yourself saying things like this, you are writing your employment obituary.
+ “I didn’t think to ask that.” An inability to see down the road may indicate that you lack the ability to understand and grasp relationships.
The message in business today is clear. The only measure for success is performance. Whatever the roadblocks, it’s your job to remove them. If not, you’ll be perceived as one of them.