Mark McGuinness - Resilience: Facing Down Rejection Read Online Free Page B

be.
Achievement —amazing the world with something spectacular, extending the limits of what’s humanly possible.
Inspiration —touching people’s hearts with the beauty, sorrow, and wonder of life.
Knowledge —adding to the store of human knowledge, about ourselves and the universe.
Protection —preserving what’s most precious, such as people, civilized values, or the environment.
Joy —enjoying life and giving pleasure to others.
Leadership —taking responsibility and using power for the common good.
Wisdom —understanding what’s truly important: how to live a good life.
    When you’re connected to one or more of these principles, it’s like plugging in to a massive power grid, giving you an inexhaustible source of inspiration, motivation, and resilience.
    This does not have to be an obviously ‘noble’ cause, such as saving the world or helping others directly—unless that really is your core passion. Remember the famous Indian saying: better to fail in your own destiny than succeed in someone else’s?
    My two dreams worth dying for
    When I was a teenager, I fell head-over-heels in love with poetry. When I read or listen to a real poem, I experience a magical, spine-tingling quality that I don’t find in any other art form. And when I spend time writing poetry, my whole body feels completely different, as if the words are echoing and resonating all the way down to the tiniest cells.
    But most people don’t care about poetry. There’s no money in it, and precious little fame. And it’s fiercely competitive. The vast majority of poems submitted to magazines and publishers are rejected. And even if you manage to achieve some kind of recognition, there will be plenty of people prepared to take you down a peg or two. So each time you write a line of poetry, with the ultimate aim of trying to publish it, you are putting yourself—if you’ll excuse the pun—on the line. But I can’t imagine giving up on poetry. To misquote Samuel Johnson: “When a man is tired of poetry, he is tired of life.”
    The other goal worth dying for that I’m pursuing is in my professional life. After experimenting with various career options, I’ve committed myself to helping creative professionals—artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and other mavericks—as a coach and trainer. I’m doing this partly for selfish reasons—out of all the types of client I’ve worked with, they are the most fun, and are inspiring and consistently interesting to spend time with.
    Another reason is that we are living at the time of incredible opportunity for creative people, when it has never been easier for them to find inspiration, education, collaborators, and an audience for their work. And (no coincidence) at a time when the world urgently needs creative solutions to the problems we face. I want to help people seize this opportunity.
    Now, I’m not curing cancer or saving the planet, so I’ll be the first to admit there are plenty of worthier causes than writing poems and helping artists succeed. But I believe everything we do has a ripple effect. The more people who are out there full of enthusiasm and creativity, inspiring others, solving problems, and creating different types of wealth, the more opportunities we have to make the world a better place. So by spreading a little inspiration as I go, I trust that I’m playing my small part.
    And like everyone who has worked for themselves, I’ve experienced the lows as well as the highs of the entrepreneurial rollercoaster. I’ve experienced financial hardship, frustration, disappointment, loneliness, and all kinds of bad behavior from certain individuals I’ve encountered along the way. There have been plenty of days when I’ve asked myself why I bother, and when I have been profoundly grateful to have a good answer ready.
    Being connected to my passions means that on most days, I get out of bed full of enthusiasm. I can’t wait to get started on my work—writing, coaching,