Three Essential Lessons from Rejection and Failure

I don’t want to be rejected. I don’t want to fail. And I think most people feel the same way.

But the reality is that we will be rejected. We will fail. It’s what we learn from rejection and failure that counts.

Eli Joseph, DBA , is an author and academic who serves on the faculty at Columbia University and New York University. When Dr. Joseph was my guest on The Crossman Conversation , I asked him what rejection and failure could teach me. He shared three essential lessons.

1. The rent is due every day. Your effort is your currency, and your landlord is your goals. You have to pay your rent by putting forth the effort every day, whether you win or lose that day.

2. Time is your biggest competitor. People tend to think that they’re competing against themselves or even others, but in reality time is the biggest competitor because it’s constantly moving and you only have a certain amount of it.

3. Our limit for today is not our limit for our lifetime. Failing today doesn’t mean you’re going to fail tomorrow. The best we do today is not the best we’ll do in our lifetime. That’s why world records exist and why they get broken. We need to practice, to train, to study so we can do more tomorrow. If you lost a battle today, it’s okay.

Dr. Joseph is the author of The Perfect Rejection Resume: A Reader’s Guide to Building a Career Through Failure. In it, he encourages readers to draw inspiration from their failures, to understand and build on the lessons learned through failures, and to use failure as a tool to accomplish their goals. It’s an ideal gift for anyone who is about to graduate high school or college.

Dr. Joseph had a lot more wisdom to share during our conversation. You can hear it here:

https://www.theshepherdradio.com/podcasts/the-crossman-conversation/episode/s1e15-dr-eli-joseph-professor-at-columbia-university-shares-insights-on-overcoming-fear-and-failure/

?

You might also enjoy hearing how J. Derek Penn, a former professional football player who has worked on Wall Street for 34 years, dealt with and still deals with rejection and failure. Listen here:

https://www.theshepherdradio.com/podcasts/the-crossman-conversation/episode/s1e10-former-nfl-player-and-wall-street-executive-derek-penn-discusses-important-race-issues-that-still-need-changing/

?

John Crossman is the founder of Crossman Career Builders , the host of The Crossman Conversation , and the author of Career Killers Career Builders . Check out Crossman Career Builders on YouTube . Connect with John on LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .