We are all scared.

We are scared of failing.  We are scared of rejection.  We are scared of looking stupid.  But, in reality, we are just really bad at math.

I have many people that have helped me out in various parts of my life.  One of those people is a guy named Brendon.  He speaks all over the world.  He trains some of the biggest companies.  And he told a story once that completely changed how I view things.  Straight up, changed my life.

It was a story about the reality of rejection.  And how we are all scared to be rejected.

It went like this....

Think for a minute about a time in your life when you felt that someone rejected you.  A time where it really hit home, it really hurt.  It put a dent in you.  It affected how you did things.  It could be a break up.  It could be an idea that wasn't taken.  It could be a job.  It could someone just being unkind to you.

Would you say this has happened to you once in your life?

Of course.  Most people have had a person in their lives that have rejected them and hurt them.

Let's think about it again.  Has this happened to you more than once?  Someone that has really hurt you.  Someone that doesn't want you, that doesn't like what you do.   Someone that has hurt the core of who you are.  Someone who has told you you're not good enough.  Not smart enough.  Not ready enough.

Can you think of three people in your life that have rejected you?

Sure.  It might be a struggle, but yes, you can probably think of three people.

So, again.  Think about it.  Have you been rejected by five people that have really hurt how you feel about yourself and your identity?

Possibly.

Have you been rejected by 7 people?

Maybe.

How about 10 people?

Less likely.

20 people?

Probably not.

Brendon has asked this question all over the world.  The average in his seminars is about 7 people.  So, in each of our lives, there have been about 7 people that don't like us or what we do.  7 people who have rejected us.

Now think about this.

Have you had people in your life that you've met, interacted with, spent time with, networked with, and it's seemed to go pretty well?

Can you think of 20 people?

Can you think of 50 people?

Have you met people in your life that are fine with what you're doing?  That have been cool with you.

In your whole life, have you met 200 people like that?

500 people?

1,000 people?

If you really sit back and think about it, you could come up with a pretty big list of people that you've met with, spent time with, talked with...and it went just fine.

So, we've been rejected 7 times in our life.  And we have met 1,000 people that are cool with us.

Yet, we make a crucial mistake.

We let those 7 people run our lives.  We think about the rejection that may happen.  We don't take risks.  We don't put ourselves out there.  We don't try something we want to do.

Why?

Because we're scared of 7 people.

7 people!!

We're letting 7 people dictate what we should do!!

We're worried about what 7 people think?  We're not being ourselves, following our dreams, doing something that makes us happy because of 7 people?

7 people or 1,000 people.

Rejection rarely happens.  We just suck at math.

We've got 1,000 people in our corner who love us.  We've got 1,000 people who support us.  And 7 people who judge us.

Screw the 7.  Let's make the 1,000 people happy.

Think about if you were driving to work and just tried to avoid all the potholes.  You'd be swerving all over.  You'd be off the road.

Think about if you got up to a tee box on the golf course and instead of trying to hit it down the fairway, you just tried NOT to hit it in the water.

When I walk up the stairs, I don't try NOT to trip.  I just walk.

We think rejection happens all the time.  But the reality is, rejection rarely happens.

Our 1,000 supporters could storm those 7.  They would crush those 7.

You have 1,000.  I have 1,000.  We have people that love us.  We have people that care about us.  We have people that are happy to know us.

Don't live your life for the 7.  Live your life for the 1,000.

And most of all, live your life for yourself.

Decide what to be and go be it.

Go be happy.

Thanks,
Bryan