Day 5: Ask to Have a Tour in a Grocery Store Warehouse
Who hasn’t wondered how and where the nice aisles of food at grocery stores come from? If you haven’t, you need to have your curiosity gland checked by your doctor. I asked an employee to give me a tour at their warehouse.
Learning – Relying on people’s generosity and kindness can only go so far. Not everyone is Jackie at Krispy Kreme. Next time, if I encounter a ‘no’, I will ask for reason and try to deflect it or offer incentives.
Day 4: Offer to Deliver Pizza
Have you ever dreamt of delivering pizzas? Dreamt of running through red lights with the pizza sign alight on top of my car, knocking on stranger’s doors hoping to see a gorgeous lady’s smiling face, cussing on my way back to the car since the tip isn’t even enough to buy gum. I am sure if James Bond couldn’t become a spy he would have been a perfect pizza delivery man.
To fulfill my dream while keep the Rejection Therapy going, I offered to help Dominos to deliver their next pizza. The result was not surprising. Maybe I didn’t have the look; maybe they expected an Asian dude to be on a bike, not in a car; or perhaps they saw me as a potential workplace rival. For some reason they rejected my offer. I am getting really good at being rejected.
Day 3: Ask for Olympic Symbol Doughnuts. Jackie Delivers!
It’s only my third day and I have already failed but I did so with such amazement and happiness. I expected a rejection but did not get one. I am officially a fan of Jackie at Krispy Kreme.
P.S Because so many people have been inspired to also try out these rejection attempts on their own, I've put together a free downloadable PDF "100 Days of Rejection" checklist where you can go out and make these rejection attempts on your own! In the PDF I've also included my Rejection tool kit, which shows you the 5 most powerful ways to turn rejection into opportunity.
Click here to download the 100 Days of Rejection PDF Checklist!
Day 2: Request a “Burger Refill”
I am buying a neck pouch for my iPhone so I don’t miss the rejector’s face next time. This employee looked incredulous during the conversation.
P.S Because so many people have been inspired to also try out these rejection attempts on their own, I've put together a free downloadable PDF "100 Days of Rejection" checklist where you can go out and make these rejection attempts on your own! In the PDF I've also included my Rejection tool kit, which shows you the 5 most powerful ways to turn rejection into opportunity.Download Free Rejection Checklist!
Day 1: Asking to Borrow $100 From a Stranger
I am on a journey to become a great entrepreneur, drinking the smoothie blended with Steve Job’s charisma, Chris Gardner’s tenacity, Paul Graham’s judgment, Bill Gate’s ruthlessness, Warren Buffett’s longevity, and Marc Zuckerberg’s vision (or luck). However, since I’m not born with most of these traits, I need to acquire them through exercise, one-by-one.
To start, I’m tackling the low hanging fruit first. One thing I know for sure is that like most of you, I’m terrified of rejection. No, not in a romantic sense as I’m extremely happily married. However, I hate being judged and rejected in a business setting whether it’s being turned down when making a sale, or getting blasted after a pitch. I hate it! I hate it like Michelle Obama hates sleeves.
Now, I posted this question on the FounderDating forum (a fantastic community for startup founders) and its community manager suggested Rejection Therapy. The idea is to seek one rejection on purpose every day for 30 days, and thus desensitize oneself from the pain. Now that’s a fun idea! Not only I want to do it, but I will vlog it, and do it for 100 days. I won’t use any suggestion cards but will come up with stuff as I go for more fun. If you have any suggestions, let me know through email: jia at souplus.com, or Twitter @jiajiang. My goal is that 100 days from now I will be a fearless badass who couldn’t care less about rejection and judgment.
This is Rejection Therapy Day 1 – asking to borrow $100 from a stranger.