
The Rejection Book: Good luck, bad luck, who knows? - arram
http://josephwalla.com/the-rejection-book-good-luck-bad-luck-who-knows
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mrmaddog
If you liked reading this post, I highly recommend Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse
Five. One of my favorite quotes, "So it goes," is repeated often throughout
the book, and though it usually refers to tragic circumstances, it too hints
that life will throw major wrenches in our plans that we shouldn't try to
completely ascribe meaning to.

~~~
guiseppecalzone
Upvote.

That's one of my favorite quotes and I almost mentioned it in the post. "So it
goes" is mentioned 106 times in Slaughterhouse Five. After reading the book, I
found myself saying it as often as 'good luck, bad luck, who knows?"

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doktrin
I really enjoyed reading this. It neatly and succinctly encapsulates life's
little uncertainties.

As someone who's seen his share of rejections (as well as the inverse) lately,
I can certainly identify.

~~~
soneca
Agree! I enjoyed it very much! This "good luck, bad luck, who knows?" already
became a "instant classic" for my life philosofy... I am really glad I got
caught by the title and encouraged to read by your sincere compliment. Thanks!
(sometimes I feel that HN doesn't know how to just give sincere compliments,
everybody want to look smart and neat and add some complement or criticism on
the OP, instead of just saying it is just fine as it is written).

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dhissami
Great article. Rudyard Kipling warned us of the same when he wrote:

"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / And treat those two impostors
just the same"

This is the main theme of the book "Hannibal and Me: What History's Greatest
Military Strategist Can Teach Us About Success and Failure", written by
Andreas Kluth of The Economist. If you enjoyed the OP's post, and love history
(or just great storytelling), get the book. Promise you won't regret it.

 _Some wisdom from the book_ (from notes I took):

Those who experience tremendous success early in life are likely to have hit a
peak. The wandering types who experience success later in life are more likely
to sustain success for longer. [The book has an entire chapter analyzing
"Towering Peaks" vs. "Wanderers"…a must-read for those who feel behind.]

Always keep the end goal in mind. Don't confuse tactics with strategy.
Succeeding in the wrong things will lead to failure.

Dealing with disasters: A “Fabian Response” is one that accepts reality for
what it is and then goes with the flow of things that cannot be changed until
there is something that can be changed. In other words, accepting reality and
then not doing anything - until there are viable alternatives. The key wisdom
here is that sometimes the best plan of action is inaction. But don't confuse
this with giving up. In this case, inaction is tactical, a part of a plan to
succeed.

Keep as clear and calm a mind as possible in pursuit of success, and in
response to failure. Always maintain EQUANIMITY. In fact, don't worry about
success at all....just focus on doing your best.

Success can be imprisoning in many ways, and needs to be feared. Here are some
reasons why: 1) Success is often followed by less discipline and focus. 2)
Distractions, such as too many opportunities, or just plain overload of low-
value work. Often the source of the success in the first place is forgotten or
demoted because of these distractions. 3) Hubris that makes one think he is
invincible. 4) Affects social relationships due to paranoia that others aren't
as trustworthy anymore, are acting different, etc. Successful people waste
time & energy dwelling on these. 5) The confidence and relaxation that
accompanies great thinking and creativity (and thus responsible for the
success) are replaced with anxiety and self-doubt. This kills the freedom of
the mind. 6) Stubbornness and inflexibility that comes with being an
authority/expert, which also kills the freedom of the mind.

[http://www.amazon.com/Hannibal-Me-Historys-Greatest-
Strategi...](http://www.amazon.com/Hannibal-Me-Historys-Greatest-
Strategist/dp/1594488126)

~~~
auctiontheory
Ordered _Hannibal and Me_. Thanks for the recommendation.

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ianstallings
I really like this approach to life. Opportunity really comes when you least
expect it. I've been canned from jobs and thought my world was over only to
find an even better job. So now I try to see everything as an opportunity. It
sounds cliche but it really helps.

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donebizkit
I like that quote - Good luck, bad luck, who knows?

~~~
gwern
The _Lieh Tzu_ is one of the classic Taoist books for a reason.

~~~
keithpeter
<http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/Taoist_Farmer.html>

Yes, nice reference, thanks. I read an English translation of the Tao years
ago but never explored the folk story aspect.

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supervillain
Thank you so much for this post, this gives me a little bit of hope and urge
me to keep trucking.

I too was a man full of rejection:

1\. I was kicked as a co-founder of a successful startup. 2\. Upon finding a
full-time job, a year later I was fired and have a lawyer to write demand
letters for me which I never comply. 3\. Found another job to work remotely
that require me to have a Macbook Pro, but being financially short I converted
my only desktop to a hackintosh. Then months later they send somebody at my
house and upon discovery that I don't have a Macbook Pro I was fired. 4\.
Found another job, months later I was being shouted to leave the office and
was fired. 5\. Found another job, I was really happy I was into mobile app
development, and 2 weeks away from release and shipping of the app, I was
fired and the app didn't get shipped.

Right now I'm hoping to get into developing my own product, only if I have the
strength to move on, and this post gives me a little bit of hope, I say 'Good
luck, bad luck, who knows?'

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trg2
Thoughtful, well-written and super inspiring. Nice post Joseph.

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nnoitra
I personally have no problem with rejection per se. However, I find it
particularly annoying when companies don't send any kind of response back.

~~~
miga
That's why it is brilliant idea to call them back and ask why! (Which is what
the article author did in case of Foreign Office.)

~~~
nnoitra
How do you call them back? It's not like a good company will leave their phone
number of the HR department so that you can call them as you please.

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inokon
I've been listening to the 4HR WorkWeek by Tim Ferriss (because 580 is so much
better with an audiobook.) In it he describes getting comfortable with
rejection. One of his exercises is to ask 3 attractive people for their
number. Hmrph...might try that. :)

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hndude
Can anyone link to AirBnB's 999 days without traction that he mentioned?

~~~
randall
<http://www.justin.tv/startupschool/b/272180383>

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auctiontheory
Vipassana meditators here will recognize: Anichchha ...

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gcheong
<http://www.richardwiseman.com/research/psychologyluck.html>

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breadnwater
Check out Jia Jiang's 100 days of Rejection Therapy here:
<http://entresting.com> \- he video records his rejections and they're fun to
watch.

The official Rejection Therapy website is here:
<http://rejectiontherapy.com/rules>

