‘To quote the great UCLA college basketball coach, John Obi-Wan Gandalf: “It is our choices, gentlemen, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”‘
— Ted Lasso, misquoting John Wooden, and quoting Dumbledoor in the 2nd Harry Potter book. “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Inaction can be a big risk in our decision tree. We can wait until we know more—that is a tactic in real options, building choices and testing risks across time. However, we might just not act or ask out of fear.
Eleven years ago, Jia Jiang created a program for himself when he was frustrated in fundraising around his company. He created a path of 100 days of doing impossible and hard things to build a thick skin.
He tells the why of this all very well in his TED talk seven years ago:
TED Video: What I learned from 100 days of rejection
Here is the YouTube Video from Day 3 at Crispy Cream with Jackie, mentioned in the TED talk video:
Would you be Jackie here? Or would you take the 100 Days of Rejection Challenge yourself?
If you are curious, here are a few more stops on his journey:
Day 1- Borrowing $100 from a Stranger
Day 2 – Requesting a Burger Refill
Day 6 – Play Soccer in Someone’s Backyard
Jia’s list of all 100 – https://www.rejectiontherapy.com/100-days-of-rejection-therapy.
And here is a return visit with Jackie on Day 12:
What do you fear?
Write down the top 20 things you are afraid of in your career design journey.
Then write next to them how your life might change if you could get over those fears. Or, if like Jia, you could ask even bigger and get things you didn’t even consider were possible.
Optional: Read “Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection” by Jia Jiang. This book changes lives.