I was talking to a friend the other day reminiscing. Reliving some past escapades, decisions we wished we had made differently. Well one moment in particular I wished to redo.

Then she shared that “the greatest thing she got from modeling was learning how to deal with rejection.” She explained that in learning to accept rejection gracefully with her head up she has been able to become a successful Corporate Executive Recruiter. Making hundreds of inquiries a day, rejection is a constant part of her work.

It is in rejection, missing the mark, and failing that we learn a part of life and a valuable tool essential to success. As Bob Dylan put it “There’s no success like failure”.  There is always struggle, conflicts, and rejection in life. You get knocked down. The key is how you get back up and more importantly how you brush yourself off. Frankly even if you brush yourself off.  Have you ever heard tell of a hero who had it easy? I haven’t.

Within every entrepreneur, artist, musician is a natural inquisitiveness, an experimental nature and drive. This risk taking can often lead to mistakes, flopped business attempts, poor technique or lack of harmony. And with each unsuccessful attempt an opportunity is gained; an opportunity to recreate, to make a change.

For Creatives I think failures often make the most exciting discoveries and rejection is part of the cycle. I have confessed to perfectionism in my art. Frustrated when the image in my head does not translate to paper and I overwork a piece to its demise but as Matt Appling writes this failure teaches us a few lessons; that Success is not cheap, that Failure is not the end of the world, and that we can learn from it.

Even the greatest artists have fruitless art pieces. We know now that under some masterpieces lay the first foiled attempt. Artists constantly reuse canvases.

So next time you think you’ve failed perhaps you should look again. Embrace your mistakes and be thankful for the rejections and loses in life. They may become your greatest successes.

Image: The image above was an example of a mistake turned quite lovely (I think). I was using a masking fluid which adhered too strongly to my paper. When I removed the fluid it peeled off my man’s face. In the end I think it redirected the focus of the piece and I was glad he was a blur, a promise of a sort.