source: mentalfloss.com

There are countless stories of people who overcame rejection. Each of these stories serve as inspiration to those who face similar situations. Ever heard of the Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss? This book has been read by generations of kids and adults…. Did you know that the manuscript for Dr. Seuss’s first book, And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street, was denied 27 times before getting published? Did you know that Henry Ford, the famous founder of Ford Motor Company, failed 5 times before establishing one of the most successful car companies? Or did you know that Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before inventing the light bulb? When Edison was in school, his teachers felt he was ‘too stupid to learn anything.’ There are countless stories highlighted in the article, 50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First.

When I look back on my short career in education, I have dealt with my fair share of rejection. It’s interesting because we don’t like to talk about rejection in education even though in other industries (as listed above) we celebrate the rejection stories. Well, I am ready to share my rejection stories, and how I dealt with the rejection.

Here are a few of my rejections:

• I was not accepted to college through regular admissions – I was required to go through an alternate admissions program
• Once in college, I had to take remedial writing courses, and actually had a professor ask me if English was a second language for me
• I have been rejected by 17 school districts for an administration position
• Presentation proposals for the following National conferences have been rejected: NAESP, ASCD, ISTE (twice)
• I have never won a Teacher, Guidance Counselor, Administrator, Blogging or Social Media award

So, how have I deal with these rejections?

• Even though I was not accepted through regular admissions, I went on to earn a Bachelors, 2 Masters, and a Doctorate degree!
• After taking countless writing courses, I have my first book coming out in September, and I am currently working on my second book!
• After being rejected 17 times (either not getting interviews, or getting interviews but not getting second interviews) I have been employed as a Principal for the past 3 years in the best school in the world!
• Ironically, even though I have been rejected for National conference presentations, I have presented at NAESP and ASCD in 2013…. I continue to apply and present at conferences despite previous rejections 🙂
• I am not even sure where I stand on academic awards, but I still work tirelessly to be the best administrator I can be for the teachers and students. I continue to blog, and use Social Media to connect with awesome educators throughout the globe. Everything I learn, I use to make my school and district better!

Hopefully, you may be reading this thinking about any of the rejections you have faced in your career…. Maybe you are down in the dumps because of the rejections… In my opinion, they are only rejections if you let them be… They only hold you back if you let them!

How do you deal with rejections?