but always move forward.
It’s happened to all of us at some point in our lives, right? Regardless of where or how it happens or who it comes from, rejection hurts – and we see it a lot in the art world. Art is subjective; what one person likes, another will dislike. I’m somewhat new to selling digital design content online but having been in graphic design for over 30 years, I am familiar with rejection. At worst, I’ve had my designs turned down, at best I’ve gotten ‘the critique’. Sometimes it was very encouraging, other times… not so much.
When it first happens, it can hit sorta hard. We get discouraged, then mad…maybe we throw a pity party and get more mad, then back to being discouraged again. You know the drill or maybe something similar. I can say that there’s been a few times I was ready to throw in the towel and just give up… but then I would remind myself of the quote (and I apologize as I don’t remember who said it) – “you only lose when you give up”. So I keep going.
While being rejected has some uncomfortable phases, it can also have some positive ones. Think about it, if you’re not getting rejected you’re probably not taking any risks. The best artists got rejected all the time. Van Gogh died struggling and broke. Yes, VAN GOGH. Most talented artists of today will have at least one story about how they got rejected at some point in their career. Instead of giving up though, they plowed through.
Andy Warhol once said, “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
I remember many years ago I met the master…Frank Frazetta. Here’s a man who created masterpieces from only his mind’s eye. The first thing I noticed about Frazetta when I met him was how confident he was – and for good reason – because his art was/is superb. However, I gather part of the reason his art is so good is because he was so confident. Though I only met him briefly, I can’t imagine he would let anyone’s negative feedback (assuming he ever got any) deter him from taking his God-given talent to its full potential – but Frazetta’s art is at a whole other level.
Of course I don’t put myself anywhere even remotely close to the category of Frazetta, Van Gogh or Warhol – or for that matter any of today’s highly talented artists. My own father is an extremely talented artist and illustrator. I know my lane and I (mostly) stay in it. When I get rejected though, I can’t help allowing those negative feelings of not being ‘good enough’ to crawl through my brain. It takes some effort, but I quickly try to nip that feeling in the bud.
What does being negative do for anyone? It doesn’t effect the person who rejected you and it certainly doesn’t help you. So I try to use the experience to help motivate me to further my skills.
After all, the best way to get better at creating…is to keep creating.
I will never be a Michelangelo and that’s ok. I will most likely never become a millionaire off my talents and that’s ok too. What I am looking for is having a decently successful design business that I really enjoy. That’s my goal. I don’t want to be the best, I just want to DO my best. Having that mentality means constantly evolving and that requires sometimes being rejected. We then turn that rejection into reflection. How can I do better? Where can I grow? What new skills can I learn? How can I take this negative moment in my life and turn it positive?
Maybe you’re a visionary. Maybe your concept is fantastic but some people just aren’t ready for it yet and you need to learn how to market it. Steve Jobs didn’t let rejection stop him from ideas he knew would be big. His own company, Apple, forced him out in 1985 and though I’m sure it stung… he didn’t give up, eventually saying “I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.” Jobs took back control of Apple in 1997. The rest is history.
The way I look at it, if even Steve Jobs got rejected then who am I to think I should be immune from it? So I am reminded that rejection is part of the process and the best way towards self-reflection. And self-reflection is how we get better…even if ‘getting better’ means staying true to an idea we believe in.
So with that said, I am taking my time of reflection and turning into something positive and proactive. I’m not going to just give up. In fact, I’m going to push forward. Part ‘not taking no for an answer’ and part ‘what can I do to turn this ‘no’ into a ‘yes’? Then a whole new basket of ideas flows through my brain and I’m off again!
Do you have a similar story? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
