I was this close to landing a feature on the National Geographic channel.
A producer pitched me on the idea of discussing my near death experience in India involving giardia and dehydration.
After an email exchange and test interview via Skype, the women informed me how the National Geographic channel planned on developing a show covering wicked illnesses suffered by travelers in foreign lands. My giardia experience fit the show like a glove.
She told me she’d hire a camera person from NYC to travel to New Jersey, record my story and she’d review and submit for the show. We were pretty much a shoe-in.
Three days passed. No emails. Seven days passed. Still no heads up on when the camera person would visit the home.
I emailed her asking for an update. 14 days later, she informed me how Nat Geo chose to move in a different direction, and wished me the best. Sounds Hollywood, eh?
Ouch.
I felt like I had been sucker punched. Even though I felt a little detached from the opportunity I experienced the sting of being all but promised to be on TV, only to see the opportunity vanish before my very eyes. Ideas of rejection crept into my mind. I am charismatic. I am a natural on camera. Why did they turn me down?
Thank goodness this happened. I’d have never learned how to skillfully handle painful rejections.
Follow these tips to take the sting out of the experience.
1: Do Not Take Rejection Personally
I later found out that National Geographic never moved forward with the show idea. My test interview had nothing to do with the missed opportunity.
I did a tiny bit of modeling 10 years ago. Agents told me to not take rejection personally because each job required a specific look. If I did not have the look it had nothing to do with me; just the preferences of the advertiser.
Never take rejection personally. One person’s opinion has everything to do with them and nothing to do with you.
2: Seize Opportunities Left and Right to Serve People
After licking my wounds I seized opportunities to create content and build connections. Rejection is simply an opportunity that did not lead to your desired outcome. One door appeared to close so I opened 10, 20 then 100 more doors by helping people through my blog and by promoting fellow bloggers. Serving people helped me feel better.
Gobble up opportunities to help people. Move your attention from your rejection to helping other human beings. Shift your energy from fear and pain to love and fun.
3: Bless the Rejection
“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a stroke of good luck.” ~ Dalai Lama
Although I was quite charismatic during the test interview, the 2016 version of me pales in comparison to current day me. I have thousands of Facebook Live Broadcasts under my belt since the producer reached out to me. If any major media outlet interviewed me today I would be a big old ball of energy, personality, humor and entertainment.
I blessed the rejection to see I was not ready to introduce the genuine Ryan Biddulph to the world. I would have made a decent impression and inspired some folks back then. Current day me would make a huge splash and inspire many more people with my energy and story.
You live in abundance.
See rejection as an opportunity to allow in better opportunities for your growth and happiness. @RyanBiddulph (Click to Tweet!)
Every time one door closes another five doors open before you.
Ryan Biddulph is a blogger, author and world traveler who’s been featured on Richard Branson’s Virgin Blog, Forbes, Fox News, Entrepreneur, Positively Positive, Life Hack, John Chow Dot Com and Neil Patel Dot Com. He has written and self-published 126 bite-sized eBooks on Amazon. Ryan can help you build a successful blog at Blogging From Paradise.
Image courtesy of Dmitry Ratushny.
