If you’re already a professional creator, then you know that you had to hear a lot of “no” for every “yes”. If you’re not yet a pro, or perhaps more importantly if you are a pro whose enjoyed a taste of success, then hear this: Get Used To Hearing “No”.
Quite honestly, understanding this will be some of the best medicine you’ll ever take – because once you get it…you GET it, and it will be with you forever. The powerful result of taking this medicine TODAY is that the word NO will change from bumming you out to inspiring you and driving your actions to get to the next YES. As such, enjoy this tasty medicine 😉
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1. Let “no” serve as a motivator. If you don’t win a gig from an agency or a magazine, if you lose it to another photographer, vow to win the next one. Make a plan for how to do it different, better than you did last time. Make new photos, prepare, hone your vision, whatever it takes.
2. Let “no” keep out the other people who don’t want it as bad as you do. Remember, when you’re hearing “no”, so is almost everyone else. When other artists hear “no” too much, they quit, defeated, never to return again. Don’t let that be you. When you hear “no”, let it remind you of this little post.
3. Let “no” remind you that this job isn’t for everyone, especially the uncommitted. In a round about way, every “no” should remind you that you’re in the right place, not the wrong place. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.
4. Let “no” turn you into a better artist. A bunch of “no” usually doesn’t mean that you’re not talking to the right people. It usually means your work is not “there” yet. If that’s the case, see #1.
5. Mario Andretti once famously said, “If everything feels under control, you’re just not driving fast enough”. Same goes here. If you’re… …not hearing “no”, you’re not really getting your work out there enough, pushing what’s possible, pushing yourself.
Now here’s the kicker. It should be plainly obvious that, after a substantial amount of time cultivating the above vision, you will likely start to hear a hell of a lot of “yes”. That’s nice. Nice for the bank account. Nice for the ego. Nice for your portfolio or whatever. But when that happens, don’t get cocky. Don’t only seek yes, don’t depend on it, because it makes you and your work soft. Not in a cuddly way. In a way that you’ll get apathetic.
Of course it’s a balance, but mark my words: when you start to hear a lot of “yes”, consider doing what it takes to hear a bit more “no”. I’m betting that you’ll thank me – or more importantly, thank yourself.
Hi, Sorry I disagree with some of the above, esp. “A bunch of “no” usually doesn’t mean that you’re not talking to the right people. It usually means your work is not “there””
I get some ‘No’s ‘ as my work isn’t the style they want, some cos their boss tells them to use the cheaper guy (even tho they know the cheaper guy is a false economy). sometimes you get know simply cos the people in charge have a buddy of their’s in mind.
There are far too many of us all going for the same work – to insinuate that you get ‘no’s cos your work needs to improve is a bit simplistic – chase has made enough posts before about the politics of the game, so this suprised me.
In my experience AD/CD don’t waste their time bringing in people who’s work they dont think is good enough… the website link has already cut those people out.
Might be an idea to add a point that sometimes ‘no’ is also external factors that you will never know about or eb able to control 😉
Great post Chase!
I’ve to thank Gordon Laing for his video with Chase in Queenstown. That’s how I got to know Chase and that was the best that could happen to me.
say hi to gordon for me. good chap that gordon…
Thank you for the nearly daily kick-in-the-pants. It’s always well timed and valuable.
Very true, hearing “No” push you to make better work.