Ok, yes. I know what you might think as you start watching this. Mr. Jiang is a person in the business world. Talking about his attempts at becoming a successful entrepenuer. But his talk should also resonate with many writers who experience the "no gift, no compliment" version of rejection (in a form email that indicated the editor maybe read a couple words of your piece and that was enough for them). We know whatof he speaks. We feel those feels. Regularly. 

Jiang's talk is funny and inspiring. I hope it gives anyone watching here the courage to keep building up that thick skin, keep pushing past the "no's," and keep chuggling full steam ahead with their dreams. The sin is not rejection. The sin is never trying, and/or never trying again. 

Peace and prosperity to you~~

A shorter clip of this was posted on Facebook earlier in the year, and it resonated with me. So I decided to watch the longer version of the YouTube clip of a commencement speech given by J.K. Rowling on the subject of the unexpected benefits of failure. 

The beginning of the New Year is typically the time we begin to re-evaluate the past year and make up our minds to better ourselves in the future. But we often have difficulty admitting defeat, even to ourselves, because in our modern society failure carries a negative connotation rather than a positive one. But perhpas it should be different. It's normal to feel some negativity and self-loathing after failing, but that should not last long. It should be soon followed by positive re-focusing of one's energies to strive to be better next time. Joanne nails these points in her own brilliant way. 

It's a little longer than the clip posted on Facebook, but well worth watching. The author of the famous Harry Potter series talks about the most valuable lesson she ever learned in one of the best commencement speeches I've ever heard. 

I've been meaning to post this talk of Joanne's for awhile now, but today it hits home more, so I'm finishing this post and sharing it with the world. Because sometimes you need silver linings when the rainbow fades to pale. 

​May we shoulder onward through our defeats and come out victorious in the end!