Can you believe that in someone’s life, someone told them NO and they believed them? “No, you can’t do that!” And they really believed them. 

• “No! You weren’t selected for this position.” After 2 or 3 non selections, they stopped applying.
• “No! You didn’t make the team.” Stopped trying out.
• “No! You weren’t accepted into our group.” Stopped trying.
• “No! You can’t read.” Stopped reading.
• “No! You can’t be the leader.” Why lead. 

See where I’m going with this? Someone rejected our idea, our application, our efforts, etc. And we decided that they rejected us, surely that must mean we aren’t good enough. If we aren’t good enough for them, we must not be good enough for anyone. That group doesn’t want us, so no group can ever want us. Those jobs told us no, so I must be unemployable or unpromotable. I must not be talented enough or smart enough. I must don’t know the right people. They must don’t like women. Or maybe its because of my race. 

Listen. If you don’t take anything from me, hear me and hear me good. Being rejected or told no could mean that position, or that group, or those people, that girl or that guy…must not be for you. Maybe it’s not the right time. Ever heard of getting some things too soon? Pastor T.D. Jakes often says, “I can give my son the keys to my car now but not when he was 5 years old. Same car, same son. Given too soon.” 

Maybe our Father knows that it’s a great opportunity for you but since you just had a baby, now isn’t the right time. You think you can handle it. And maybe you can but at what cost? Maybe an illness is brewing in your body. Would the new employer be as understanding as your current employer you have built a relationship with? If they appear to be, would you believe their sentiments or would you remain in your seat suffering through the pain too embarrassed to request sick leave?

So many reasons unbeknownst to us prevents us from getting the desires of our hearts at the moment. But does that mean we should just give up? Absolutely not. Let me tell you about me. I’ve been rejected many times and I mean from companies, positions, promotions, teams, social groups….you name it. Those folks have told me NO time and time again. No. No. No. But guess what I decided to do at each of those doors? Hell, I just went to another door. 

I keep working and I keep knocking. I continue to work on myself and make myself better. And I do these things for me first and for the position second. Eventually my efforts will be noticed. I work hard at my job. I give 200% at every turn. I don’t just do my job. I go over and above. Many people don’t believe in doing this but Zig Ziglar called for us to do more than what they are paying you to do. 

Many of you that follow my blog, may also follow my social pages. One thing I can say is that I’m pretty open about things. But I’m rarely open about my career. I share some things, but not much. I can’t tell you why. Well, I can. Sometimes, I wonder if it will be received correctly or if it’ll come off as bragging. The latter being something I definitely don’t do. I truly could care less if my social world even knew of my day time accomplishments. But part of me knows that I should sometimes share things because it could motivate someone as how I’m elated and blessed by seeing my peers accomplishments. I get crunk seeing dreams come true. So, what if I’m preventing this same kind of reaction. 

I’ve been wanting to diversify my resume (experience) for some time now. But sometimes it’s hard to switch career fields. Applications to interviews to rejections; over and over again. So what did I do to overcome this? I continue to give my 200% no matter what. I continue to show up. I continue to work on myself. I train. I brief. I assist those that requested my assistance. I build my name brick by brick. 

It was always a career dream of mine to attend this executive level training program (Senior Service College Fellowship). But not right now, maybe in the next 5 years or so is what I’d tell myself. However, the opportunity presented itself much sooner than I’d planned; and I was selected. It was the best experience of my life! It was not easy by far, but all that I learned and the people I met along the way was simply amazing. And guess what else? The outcome of this amazing experience placed me in my current role as the Audit Director of my Command. This position does fit within my accounting background; however, my experience has been solely financial (budget and execution) management. Therefore, this does give my resume a diverse feel. 

It doesn’t matter the number of ‘NOs’ I’ve received along the way. It matters not who doesn’t like or who doesn’t truly see me for who I am. It doesn’t matter the times I’ve been denied a role, a position, a spot, or inclusion in their groups. What matters is what I do about those moments of rejection. Do I just stay there in my pain and sometimes even embarrassment? You know if we are being honest, sometimes the rejection doesn’t hurt as bad as the fact of those who witnessed or know about the rejection. But despite the times I’ve failed or felt like a failure and despite the times others watched me fail; I continued to grow beyond the no. 

And you can too. Don’t stop there. Recognize the hurt feelings and then get over them. Forget those that were watching. They’ve been right where you are before too. If we are honest, we all have. Give yourself grace to continue on your path. Don’t give up. Keep going!

And remember you are your own competition.

Competition of 1