When’s the last time you actively reached out to someone you really wanted to work with?

If you’re anything like me, i.e. a people pleaser with a dash of imposter syndrome and a strong fear of rejection, I’m going to guess it’s been a while.

Rejection stings. Rejection feels wildly uncomfortable. Especially as creatives pouring our hearts and souls into our work, it’s hard to be rejected and not take it personally. To be told “no, not interested” and not take it on as proof of all the negative stories we have about ourselves — that we’re not good enough, that we don’t have what it takes, or that we’ll never be successful.

The first time I heard about the Rejection Challenge was back in February, when graphic designer Liz Mosley announced in her newsletter that she was embarking on a quest to get 100 rejections over the next 5 months. Back then I remember thinking “Woah, that’s brave!” as well as “I bet that would do me good.”

Earlier this month, Liz released a podcast episode in which she chats about the outcome of the challenge with illustrator Katie Chappell, who also did a similar challenge back in 2019. (Spoiler alert: they got nowhere near to reaching their rejection targets.) It’s a very inspiring conversation, and it prompted me to reflect on my own business.

I’ve shied away from pitching and cold outreach for various reasons excuses over the years, namely:

I'm reluctant to add to the overwhelming amount of emails and DMs people already get every day, and I worry that I’m only going to annoy them by asking something from them;
I'm afraid that they won’t just say no, but also tell me that they hate my work or that it sucks;
Following up makes me anxious;
I've convinced myself that I work best with people when we’ve had time to get to know each other more organically, through social media for example.

These feelings are valid, but let’s be honest, they’re also entirely fabricated by my brain to keep me feeling safe and secure. It’s time I taught my brain that rejection isn’t a death sentence and we can just get over it.

By now you’ve probably guessed where this is going — I’m embarking on my own Rejection Challenge and aiming to get 75 rejections in the next 3 months.

And because I also happen to be a chronic over-planner (Libra Moon, Libra Rising anyone?), I’ve created a Notion dashboard to help me plan who I want to reach out to, and to keep track how many rejections I’m getting. 🤓

(If you haven’t heard of Notion — it’s essentially Evernote on steroids, and it’s how I *organise literally everything in my life*. **Also — it’s free**!)

BONUS: if you’d like to join me for the ride and start your own challenge, I’ve made my Notion dashboard available as a template.

You’ll need a Notion account to get started. Once you’re logged in, all you have to do is open the template in your browser (you’ll receive a link via email), then hit “Duplicate” in the top right hand corner. This will duplicate the template into your own Notion workspace and you’ll be able to edit it and make it your own.

Happy rejection hunting! By actively seeking rejection, I hope we can flip this whole thing on its head and realise that rejection isn’t all that scary, after all. Let’s slowly build the confidence to put ourselves out there and ask for what we want, rather than wait for our dream clients to find us.

I’ll make sure to keep you posted on how I’m getting on. :)

Speak soon,

Em x