Rejection is something we all face in life. In many ways.

Everyone has experienced an unrequited love or a job they didn’t get. We build these things up in our minds so that when they don’t pan out it hurts.

The feeling of rejection is the ego realising that it’s not all it thought it was.

Get used to it for everyone experiences rejection. And not just losers. In fact all successful people have experienced a great deal of rejection. Failure in some way or other almost always comes before success.

Next time you are rejected in some way remember to see it as this – a stepping stone to future successes.

For that is what it really is.

Image: Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel

You don’t have to become Mother Teresa, although that would be fantastic. You can make your life a gift to the world in any number of ways.

You can donate money to an organisation that is helping the world. These organisations can’t operate without donations so you are helping the world even if you aren’t at the front line.

You can do volunteer work. But do something that really makes a difference in people’s lives.

You can use your talents. If you are a web designer you could offer to update a charity website. If you are a nurse you could offer to help train volunteer ambulance staff, if you are a brilliant teacher then take a job in a low socioeconomic school where you can really make a difference. If you feel you don’t have any particular skills (you do if you look) then go door knocking to raise funds for a charity that means something to you.

You could convince your employer to give you and your team the day off to go around town collecting money for a specific cause.

Or simply raise your hands in a heartfelt prayer for world peace because as Mahatma Gandhi said:

Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.

I’ll bet that this attitude pervades all areas of their lives and that because of it they achieve very little.

Some people just seem to enjoy binding themselves up in as much red tape as they can find. If they’re bound by red tape then they have an excuse for doing nothing. It gives them permission to be lazy. It builds a comfortable and secure prison of inaction for them to while away their time.

These kind of people may be very pleasant and nice but this attitude, whether it comes with a smile or a frown, is something to be avoided.

Instead, seek out people who will help you in your endeavours. Look for people who will support you in what you do, people who want to see you be successful.

Leave the naysayers to their own and seek out people who will say ‘yes, you can do that and I will help you!’

Image: timparkinson

Success now.

Sounds like horse before the cart?

If success in your big goals is impossible now, then look for smaller ways that you can be successful. There are tons of ways to do this, to give yourself a platform to build future successes upon.

eg.

• Get out of bed when your alarm goes off
• Exercise 3 times a week
• Actually do the things on your ‘To do’ list
• Be nice to people

By doing these little things you will build a feeling of accomplishment and an upwards spiral of achievement.

Good things come to those who wait – if you’re in the business of making wine.

But if you’re looking for a rise, a change in your job, a new home, a partner, a friend, an opportunity – then you’re better off seeking them out yourself.

Image: Wikipedia

You hear about people who are fit as a fiddle one moment and on their deathbed in hospital the next. No one knows when disease will strike, when their fortune will change, when their karma will catch up with them.

People who win the lottery don’t know they’re going to win beforehand. Richard Branson didn’t always know he was going to become successful, neither did Oprah. Neil Armstrong didn’t always know he was going to walk on the moon.

In the early days these people had no real idea of their future successes. They had hopes and dreams just as you have, but they didn’t know how it would turn out. None of us do. The future is unwritten – it’s all up in the air until it actually happens.

Imagine what it would have been like to have been in their shoes before it all happened… They were another nobody, just like you and me. Imagine what it would be like for them to look back on themselves before they were successful. They would be able to see how ordinary they were. They may have seen themselves much as you see yourself now…

The future is waiting for you to create it. How it turns out is up to you.

So if you want to achieve something in life then you have to block out these voices telling you that you’ll fail. Pay them no attention. Avoid being distracted by their arguments against your goals. Leave their negativity to them.

Of course you still have to consider your options intelligently, but if you think it’s the right thing to do – then do it.

Don’t wait for the permission or approval of others.

The secret to success is pretty obvious in many ways. But it’s often overlooked.

Perhaps that’s because it’s not sexy, glamorous or cool. You don’t often see it talked about on the covers of magazines. It isn’t very exciting.

In fact, it’s often difficult, inconvenient… even unpleasant.

But it works.

It’s undeniably the most effective way of becoming successful. Probably 99 out of every 100 successful people have followed this method. It’s the certainly the ONLY method that is guaranteed to produce results.

Unlike many other methods that promise quick results – this method actually works.

Don’t be fooled by it’s simplicity. In this case the simplest method is the best. You may be tempted to disregard it or disbelieve it because of it’s simplicity. You may say “that can’t be right, there must be more to it than that”. But there isn’t. It really is as simple as this. And the best part?

It works.

If you try this method you will be following in the footsteps of many successful people. You’ll be taking the same route as the great athletes, musicians and artists. You’ll be following the same method as those who are pioneers in their field. You’ll be taking the same approach as the great inventors, the great explorers, the great leaders. You’ll be amongst the few who really understand the secret to success.

It doesn’t take volumes upon volumes to explain this secret. You don’t have to study for years to appreciate how it works. You can fully understand it immediately.

Put simply this secret is:

Hard work.

Image: LaPrimaDonna

Bad day at work? Hey you have a job, some people would think that’s awesome. In fact millions would think that.

Nothing to watch on TV? Wow, you have a TV! Millions probably billions of people would love to be you!

Whether your life is good or bad really just depends upon your perspective.

It’s tempting to think you’ve got it bad when things don’t work out your way. When what you’re used to, or what you want, doesn’t materialise. But no matter how bad you’ve got it – someone has it worse than you. In fact they probably have it much worse.

• The victims of the earthquakes in Chile, Sichuan,
• The fish, birds and other marine life that is suffering as a result of the oil disaster,
• The soldiers in Afghanistan,
• The people in your town who have less money than you…

…to name but a few.

Think of them next time you get mad because your bus is late.

Image: MacJewell

Encourage is oxygen to the soul someone once said, so here’s some encouragement for you:

You are capable of more than you could ever imagine – literally. You are capable of things that would seem impossible to you now. These aren’t just hollow words to make you feel good, they are the truth.

You are unique and you have something to offer, whether you realise it or not.

You really shouldn’t doubt yourself as much as you do. For if you would only leave that doubt behind for a moment you would find that a whole new world opens up to you.

Sometimes what’s holding you back is a fear of the consequences of your actions. The unknown. What might happen.

If I do abc, then xyz could happen.

Gasp!

So-and-so won’t like it!

GASP!

I could fail!

Really big GASP!!!

Why not just do it anyway?

If you wait until the whole thing is perfectly planned out with every possible outcome considered and accounted for then you will never do anything. You will never be successful in anything. Your dreams will remain just dreams – unrealised.

Get into it now while you’re motivated. Enthusiasm can make up for a lot of mistakes along the way.

1. Talk to someone (at work) you haven’t really talked to before,
2. Say sorry to someone for something you’ve done,
3. Chuck out some stuff you don’t need,
4. Do something you’ve been meaning to do for several months,
5. Help someone.

If you do all of these you’ll pretty much guarantee your day will be awesome.

Image: Wolfgang Staudt

Image: mboogiedown

Small things can make a big difference – even the most fleeting of events can have far reaching consequences. You just never know the effect that your actions will have on others, even the little things that you do.

I just read a tweet by someone who likes my blog. They might not even know I read it, but at the end of a long day it really made me feel good. It made me want to write this post.

The world is in dire straights. You smiling at people won’t stop wars or end global warming, but it will most likely make someone’s day.

And there can’t be anything wrong with that.

People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile.
- Lee Mildon

A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.
- Charles Gordy

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
- Mark Twain

Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles.
- George Eliot

All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of a smile.
- Chris Hart

Peace begins with a smile.
- Mother Teresa

Image: superkas83

But what about the good points?

What if you looked for the good instead of the bad in people at all times?

Sounds like a good way to see the world.

It was at something that I’ve been trying to do for a while. Success in this endeavour is important to me so I’m quite disappointed in myself. Especially because the way I failed was stupid. It was easily avoidable.

So what now then?

• Option 1 – I could wallow in my disappointment. Really savour it.
• Option 2 – I could immediately make plans to avoid this failure happening again. I could look at exactly what the problem was and come up with a strategy that would bring success next time.

If I’m going to go with option 2 then there’s probably no time like the present. I’m acutely aware of my failure at this point. But probably over the next week or two it will fade into history. If I want to use the motivation I feel now then I need to act now while it’s there.

This will help me avoid this failure again next time. But not only that, it will stop me pathetically wallowing in disappointment. Something that never brings anyone any good.

When you fail which option do you choose?

Image: nimbu