Posted by UJU Onyechere - ujuonyechere@yahoo.com on
In 1902, an aspiring young writer received a rejection letter from the poetry editor of a monthly magazine. Enclosed with the sheet of poems the 28-year-old poet had sent was this curt note: 'Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse." He rejected the rejection, however......
In 1902, an aspiring young writer received a rejection letter from the poetry editor of a monthly magazine. Enclosed with the sheet of poems the 28-year-old poet had sent was this curt note: 'Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse." He rejected the rejection, however, and went on to see his work published. His name was Robert Frost.
In 1894, a 16-year-old found this note from his rhetoric teacher at Harrow, in England, attached to his report card: 'A conspicuous lack of success." The young man rejected the rejection and went on to become one of the most famous speakers of the 20th century. His name was Winston Churchill.
In 1905, the University of Bern turned down a Ph.D dissertation as being fanciful and irrelevant. The young Physics student, who wrote the dissertation, rejected their rejection and went on to develop some of his fanciful ideas into widely accepted theories. His name was Albert Einstein.
Long, long ago the Hebrews left Egypt and spent 40 years wandering in search of the promised land. They were heading for the land of Canaan, which was the land blessed by God. However, the land was already occupied, so the Hebrews sent an expedition of 12 men to check on the overall situation of the Canaanites. When they returned, 10 of the 12 men shook their heads, saying that it would be impossible to occupy the land. The inhabitants were much taller than the Hebrews and they had great fortresses. The 10 men could see no way that the Hebrews could win a battle.
The other two of the 12, however, rejected this view. They said that the Hebrews had nothing to fear, for it was the land promised to them by God. These men were greatly outnumbered, 10 to two. The Hebrews, however, went ahead with their plans, and they succeeded.
Robert Chesebrough had a product in which he believed whole-heartedly. In fact, it was his own invention. Chesebrough had transformed the ooze that foams on shafts of oilrigs - rod wax - into a petroleum jelly that he personally found to have great healing properties. He believed so much in the healing aspects of his creation that he became his own 'experimental subject." To demonstrate the benefits of his product for others, Chesebrough burned himself with acid and flame… and cut and scratched himself so often and so deeply… that he bore scars of his tests for his entire life.
Nevertheless, Chesebrough proved his point and people were convinced. They only had to look at Chesebrough's wounds and how they healed to see the value of his product… which still is an international bestseller. We know it as Vaseline.
In Germany, 'experts" proved that if trains went as fast as 15 miles an hour - considered a frightful speed - blood would spurt from the travellers' noses and passengers would suffocate when going through tunnels. In the United States, experts said the introduction of the railroad would require the building of many insane asylums since people would be driven mad with terror at the sight of the locomotives.
When the idea of iron ships was proposed, 'experts insisted that they would not float, would damage more easily than wooden ships when grounding, that it would be difficult to preserve the iron bottom from rust, and that iron would play havoc with compass readings.
Colonel Sanders of Kentucky fried chicken was rejected I, 009 times before he heard his first yes. Walt Disney was rejected 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating 'the happiest place on earth"
Sorchiro Honda was advised not to go into motor - cycle manufacturing, rather to set up a machine workshop. When Samuel Morse announced his system for communication by telegraph, the world scoffed at him. And the world scoffed at Marconi when he announced the perfection of an improvement over Morse's system; a system of communication by wireless.
The discovery of the modern radio, one of the 'miracles" of human ingenuity, which was destined to make the whole world akin, was accepted as a toy to amuse children but nothing more. Thomas A. Edison came in for ridicule when he announced his perfection of the incandescent electric light bulb, and the first auto - maker met with the same experience when he offered the world a self - propelled vehicle to take the place of the horse.
When Wilbur and Orville Wright announced the flight of a practical flying machine the world was so little impressed that newspaper men refused to witness a demonstration of the machine. In fact, Marshall Foch, supreme commander of the Allied Forces in France in World War I, watched the demonstration and said: 'All very well for sport, but it is no use whatsoever to the Army."
Benjamin Franklin was told by 'experts" to stop all that foolish experimenting with lightning. An 'expert" said of Vince Lombardi: 'He possesses minimal football knowledge. Lacks motivation." Socrates was called, 'an immoral corrupter of youth." Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
Charles Darwin, father of the theory of Evolution, gave up a medical career and was told by his father, 'you care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rats catching." In his autobiography, Darwin wrote: 'I was considered by all my masters and by my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect."
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor for lack of ideas. Thomas Edison's teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything. Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn't read until he was seven. His teacher described him as 'mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams." He was expelled and was refused admittance to the Zurich polytechnic school. Isaac Newton did very poorly in grade school.
Eighteen publishers turned down Richard Bach's 10,000-word story about a 'soaring" seagull, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, before Macmillan finally published it in 1970. By 1975 it had sold more than seven million copies in the U.S. alone. 'It is impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A." Comment about George Orwell's Animal Farm.
My English teacher in the secondary school told me, that nothing would ever make me pass my W.A.S.C exam. Not that I don't know what to write, but that nobody will ever see my handwriting. That was in the 80s. I have never failed any exam ever since.
Reject the rejection you may receive today, and go on to achieve real achievement! No matter how harsh or how stinging the sarcasm carried at your original ideas… pursue them further. Take them to their logical end.
Good luck!