How do you overcome being turned down 144 times? Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield faced this tsunami of rejection when they sought publishers for their book, Chicken Soup for the Soul. He and Canfield had both built successful speaking careers by telling inspirational, motivational and uplifting purposeful stories. They had proof of process that stories can change lives, and they wanted to tell this through a book of 101 powerful tales of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
The mantra that made all the difference, Mark told me was to always turn "no" to "on" which came from a story told to them by billionaire and former presidential candidate, Ross Perot, who wrote the forward for their manuscript. When Perot asked if they had a publisher, Hansen replied that they had been rejected by a few and were still trying to decide how many to approach. Perot laughed and said what mattered was "any," not "many." Perot told his own story about forming EDS with a $1,000 loan, proudly declaring that he was turned down 77 times before winning his first contract. But that contract was worth $4 million. "I amortized those rejections along with the win and it came out to a remarkable $80,000 a piece."
That story motivated Hansen and Canfield to realize that every rejection offers an opportunity to learn, refine, and improve your story and the way you tell it. Since publishing Chicken Soup for the Soul, sales of its books and merchandise have reached $1.3 billion.
