By Marcus M. Mottley, Ph.D.
Have there been times in your life when you felt like you wanted to give up – thinking that you had tried everything – exhausted your energy, your resources, or even your patience? You may have even postponed, or put on the back burner, projects that you did not quite achieve in the time allotted or to the degree of success that you had desired.
No… I am not talking about dreams and goals that you have had, or unfulfilled New Year resolutions. I am speaking about projects and tasks that you had actually started.
I had always wanted to publish a book. No… not write… publish. You see, I had already written several books over the years, but could not get over the hurdle of getting someone – anyone – to publish any of my books.
Yet, I had met several authors, most of whom had the same story… They spent years writing their book. Then, they spent several frustrating years trying to find a publisher. Yep. That was my story.
But their story had a different ending. They found a publisher. How? Everyone had a different solution for finding a publisher. Yet, they all shared one thing in common… perseverance. They never gave up.
Such perseverance is particularly common among famous and very successful authors:
- Louis L’Amour, successful author of more than 100 western novels with more than 200 million copies in print, received more than 350 rejections before he found a publisher.
- British writer John Creasy received 774 rejections before he was able to publish his first story. He went on to write 564 books – using 14 different names.
- Dr. Seuss’ first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected by 27 publishers. The twenty-eighth publisher Vanguard Press sold 6 million copies of the book. All of his books went on to sell a total of more than 100 million copies.
- The first Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected by 123 (33 in
- Early in his career, Alex Haley, author of Roots, received one rejection letter every week for four years.
One of the authors whom I interviewed on the way to my first published book, Ask, Seek, Knock - shared the following story with me. I hope that it will inspire you or someone to whom you will have passed this newsletter to.
A man meets a guru in the road. The man asks the guru, "Which way is success?"
The bearded sage does not speak, but points to a place off in the distance.
The man, thrilled by the prospect of quick and easy success, rushes off in the appropriate direction. Suddenly, there comes a loud "splat."
Eventually, the man limps back, tattered and stunned, assuming he must have misinterpreted the message. He repeats his question to the guru, who again points silently in the same direction.
The man obediently walks off once more. This time the splat is deafening, and when the man crawls back, he is bloody, broken, tattered, and irate. "I asked you which way is success," he screams at the guru. "I followed the direction you indicated. And all I got was splatted! No more of this pointing! Talk!"
Only then does the guru speak, and what he says is this: "Success is that way. Just a little past splat."
Whether your project involves writing, building your career, or improving your performance and productivity… success lies just beyond the point at which you felt like giving up… or just beyond the place where you fell down… or just beyond the next bend in the road…. Just a little past splat!
Success is that way. Keep going.
| Marcus M. Mottley, Ph.D. is a speaker, executive coach and clinical psychologist. He is the author of Ask, Seek, Knock – an inspirational masterpiece which focuses on how individuals can achieve success by asking the right questions and taking decisive actions. He can be reached through his website: www.SpeakTrain.com or e-mail at mpowerme@SpeakTrain.com |
