Dear friends,

Last year, I read a book called Rejection Proof.

It’s the true story of a would-be entrepreneur who realizes fear of rejection is stopping him from following his dreams.

He decides to start an experiment: 100 Days of Rejection.

Every day, for more than three months, he makes brave, bold, outrageous, or even astonishing requests of other people:

• Asking a parking lot attendant for $100

• Asking a stranger if he can play soccer in his backyard

• Asking an airline flight crew if he can make an announcement on the loudspeakers

And so on—100 times total.

These aren’t pranks, and the goal isn’t fame or fortune.

He just wants to overcome the crippling self-doubt that comes from having anyone say “No” to him—and all the ways that limits him from asking for what he really wants in life.

***

Rejection Therapy works.

The author beats his fear and becomes masterful at making requests and embracing any response—yes, no, or anything in between.

Along the way, he learns all sorts of lessons about what rejection really is, and how requests really work.

Here are his first three takeaways, for example:

1. Rejection is Human: Rejection is a human interaction with two sides. It often says more about the rejector than the rejectee, and should never be used as the universal truth and sole judgment of merit.

2. Rejection is an Opinion: Rejection is an opinion of the rejector. It is heavily influenced by historical context, cultural differences, and psychological factors. There is no universal rejection or acceptance.

3. Rejection Has a Number: Every rejection has a number. If the rejectee goes through enough rejections, a no could turn into a yes.

Or, as a coaching colleague once shared with me, “If you were 100 rejections away from your dream, imagine how excited you would be every time someone told you no.”

***

Inspired by the above, I’ve run my own outrageous rejection challenge for the last two months.

Not to brag, but I’ve already gotten more than 115 Nos.

I’ve also gotten 10 Yeses—and dozens of Not Yets.

I won’t get into the details here, but suffice to say these conversations have changed my life, and my coaching.

Now many of my clients are in on the experiment.

And you can be, too.

Next Wednesday, May 6, 5:30-8 p.m. Mountain Time, join me live via Zoom for a 2.5-hour “Ask for Anything” masterclass.

There, I’ll share my favorite gleanings from Rejection Proof and offer exercises, hands-on practice, and individual coaching to know what you really want and request it with confidence.

We’ll explore how to make every ask a gift, not an imposition, and translate “no”s into connection and creation.

It’ll be entertaining, liberating, revelatory, and fun.

You don’t have to ask anyone for anything you don’t want to.

But you can ask anyone for anything you do.

That’s not just fun.

It’s freedom.

Yes?

Jeremy