Resilience is key to success, especially for entrepreneurs.
But many Founders struggle with this.
This is where Rejection Therapy can help.
What is Rejection Therapy? It's intended to help you overcome your fear of rejection by intentionally and actively seeking out rejection.
Before the licensed therapists come for me and this blog - no it is not an actual approved form of therapy, but rather a trend popularized on TikTok.
I did my best to origin track this trend and it seems to stem from a Ted Talk by a Founder named Jia Jiang who documented 100 days of stepping outside his comfort zone.
And after a year of trying an insane amount of rejection therapy it I think it works.
People around me are often shocked at the professional risks I take. The companies I pitch, the opportunities I go for and the cities I've moved to with zero connections. I've created the success that I have to the massive amounts of rejection in my life.
Rejection therapy can be a valuable tool for entrepreneurs, offering several benefits that can significantly enhance your personal and professional development. So below I've detailed how rejection therapy can help you as an entrepreneur and some tasks you can try to take.
The Benefits of Rejection Therapy
1. Desensitization to Rejection
Entrepreneurs often face rejection from pitching VCs, investors, customers, and partners. By repeatedly experiencing and dealing with rejection, you become less afraid of it. This desensitization helps you take more risks and pursue opportunities without the paralyzing fear of failure.
2. Building Resilience
Dealing with rejection regularly can build resilience. Entrepreneurs need to bounce back quickly from setbacks to keep their companies progressing forward. Rejection therapy strengthens your emotional resilience, enabling you to handle disappointments.
3. Improving Communication Skills
Rejection therapy often involves asking for things in a way that may lead to rejection. This practice improves your communication skills, as you learn to articulate your requests more clearly and persuasively. Better communication can lead to more successful pitches, negotiations, and interactions.
4. Enhancing Creativity and Problem-Solving
Facing rejection forces you to think creatively about how to achieve your objectives and handle objections. You learn to approach from different angles and develop innovative solutions. This creativity is crucial for entrepreneurs who need novel ways to succeed.
5. Developing Persistence
Persistence is a key trait for successful entrepreneurs. Rejection therapy teaches you to keep going despite setbacks. The more you practice handling rejection, the more persistent you become.
6. Boosting Confidence
Successfully facing and overcoming rejection can significantly boost your confidence. Knowing that you can handle rejection reduces self-doubt and empowers you to take bolder actions.
7. Learning from Feedback
Rejection often comes with feedback, whether explicit or implicit. By embracing rejection, you can learn valuable lessons about what works and what doesn’t for your business. This feedback loop helps you refine your business strategies, products, and approaches, making your venture stronger and more adaptable.
8. Networking and Relationship Building
As you reach out more and risk rejection, you increase your chances of making valuable connections. Even if you face initial rejection, your persistence and resilience can impress potential partners and allies, leading to future opportunities. A lot of CEOs and Founders I've pitched have hired me after a few months of reading my newsletter, Blog and LinkedIn content.
9. Overcoming Perfectionism
Many entrepreneurs struggle with perfectionism, which hinders progress. Rejection therapy helps you realize that rejection is a natural part of the process and that perfection is not necessary for success. This realization can help you take action more quickly and iterate on your ideas.
10. Enhancing Adaptability
The entrepreneurial landscape is constantly changing, and adaptability is crucial. Rejection therapy teaches you to adapt your strategies and approaches based on feedback and changing circumstances. This adaptability ensures that you remain agile and responsive.
30 Rejection Therapy Tasks for Entrepreneurs
1. Go to a networking event alone that is completely outside of your industry. While you're there, use my tips on how to build a personal brand IRL.
2. Do a public speech on a top outside of your domain of genius.
3. Approach a well-known industry influencer for a collaboration or endorsement.
4. Make cold calls to potential clients who might not know about your product or service.
5. Propose a partnership to a company that seems outside your usual scope of business.
6. Reach out to a respected figure in your industry and ask them to be your mentor.
7. Ask for a tour of a behind-the-scenes area in a popular company in your industry, that’s typically not open to the public.
8. Ask a stranger at a networking event if you can take a selfie with them.
9. On a business trip at a hotel, ask for a free upgrade to the best room available.
10. Co-Host a Podcast or TV Show. Reach out to a local TV station and ask if you can co-host a segment on their show.
11. Propose providing a service to a high-profile client or influencer in exchange for exposure.
12. At a client meeting at a restaurant, ask for a complimentary dessert just because you’re having a great day.
13. Lie / Sit in the middle of the sidewalk by your office for 10 minutes and just let passerbys look at you strangely.
14. Ask a complete stranger to audit and review your social media presence. Could be a friend, stranger or if you want a pro I'm here to help.
15. Request to shadow a professional in a completely different industry for a day.
16. Go to a luxury store and ask for a discount on an expensive item.
17. Approach another entrepreneur and offer them free business consulting advice.
18. Do a LinkedIn post outlining your biggest challenges as an entrepreneur.
19. Request permission to host a business event at an unconventional venue, like a zoo or amusement park.
20. Ask a former colleague, mentor, or client for a LinkedIn recommendation highlighting your skills and achievements.
21. At a concert or event, ask if you can get a VIP experience or backstage pass.
22. Go take an experience you have never tried before like a cold bath, skydiving or hike. I just did the cold plunge at Othership this week.
23. Disagree with a viewpoint on a prominent LinkedIn post.
24. Even if you’re not a performer, ask to participate in an open mic night at a local venue.
25. Set up a stand in a busy area and offer free samples of your product, asking for feedback in return.
26. Post a thought-provoking article, opinion, or industry insight on LinkedIn that might spark debate or disagreement.
27. Message a LinkedIn contact who runs a popular blog or LinkedIn newsletter and propose writing a guest post or collaborating on a project.
28. Wear something super unconventional at a networking event to grab attention.
29. Record a TikTok / Video (you would be surprised at how difficult this is for many Founders)
30. Visit / Move to a new city that you have never lived before.
Now that you have heard the benefits of rejection therapy and you have got your list, I'd love to see entrepreneurs trying and tagging me.
Let's try new things and see if we can break the stigma of rejection, embrace failure and build resilience.
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