I used to call it the "R" word. It terrified me. Because of this I took low paying jobs, never had the guts to approach women, and was afraid to speak in public. When someone told me "no," I took it personal. There must be something wrong with me.



Originally, rejection meant "to throw out." In my personal experience, that's exactly how it feels. Discarded, turned away like an unwanted puppy, or an old shoe that's seen better days.

I avoided rejection at all cost. I went out of my way to keep from being rejected. The high-paying job would probably reject me, so I'll apply for the minimum wage job instead. The pretty girl can't turn me down if I don't speak to her.

I looked cool enough. I sang in a band. I conveyed a Mick Jagger attitude to the world, but inside me a scared little girl covered her face, afraid someone would say, "No." Ignore me all you want; just don't say that word.

In those days, if somebody were to tell me that rejection can actually be a good thing, I would have wondered from which mental institution they had recently escaped. Rejection, by its very nature, is pure pain. How can it be anything but?

Rejection is what the body does to a new organ it can't accept, or a mama cat does to the smallest of her litter, because she feels she's wasting her energy on something that doesn't have a chance. A good thing? Anyone suggesting such a thing has surely lost touch with reality.

However, throughout most of the 1800's and the early part of the 1900's candles and oil lamps provided most interior lighting. For millennia, in fact, man used only fire for heat and light. Imagine the absurdity of someone suggesting another way to light a room!

Or, what if someone approached you in the late 1970's about investing in personal computers. This person actually believed that one day almost every family in the US would own one. If you're like me, you probably would have laughed and moved on.

Thomas Edison and Bill Gates persevered when most of us would have stopped. Sure, both were extremely successful, but they also shared another commonality; they trudged on through endless rejection. Their visions propelled them beyond the shortsightedness of the naysayers. Today, hardly a person on this planet hasn't heard their names.

According to Robert Kiyosaki, the most successful people are always the most rejected. Take a moment to think about that. If it's true, and simple observation will prove that it is, it means that there is no surer way to become a failure than to avoid rejection.

Of course, most Network Marketers find this anathema to what they've been taught. Our companies teach us to tell people how wonderful our products are with the assumption they will magically jump into our businesses. They seldom mention rejection.

I find this counter-productive. Reality, at least my reality, dictates that when marketing, most of your prospects will reject you. Unless you prepare yourself for that reality, which initially I didn't, it stings. So bad, in fact, you might consider quitting after your first few prospecting calls.

In all this rejection, however, some good news hides. You don't have to sign up or sell a very high percentage of your prospects. In fact, if only a relative few decide to join your opportunity, that can make you extremely successful.

How? The training company I'm with teaches that of every 45 dials you make, you can count on 1 new downline member. That's just a little over 2 per cent! What does that mean? You don't have to be right 51 per cent of the time, or even 40 per cent of the time. Being right only 2 per cent of the time can make you very rich.

Granted, finding those diamonds in the rough can be painful. Those of you who prospect via the phone know what I'm talking about. The hang-ups, the rudeness, the "I didn't request any information from your stupid company!" We've all been there, at least those of us who have at least some degree of success.

Human beings naturally run from pain toward pleasure. If your current situation doesn't inflict enough pain, you might not be able to jump the rejection hurdle. If you find your job, future, or life are satisfactory, you'll probably not succeed in Network Marketing.

In a very real sense, today I crave rejection. I jump right into it like cool water on a hot day. I honestly thank those who reject me. I realize that the more I'm rejected, the more successful I become.

So, if you get a prospecting call from me, Gregory McGuire, please don't hesitate to say, "Not interested!" and hang up. You'll make my day. Of course, I'd rather you do something else, like--well, you know.