Rejection Proof

How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection

By: Jia Jiang

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

Rejection Proof is Jia Jiang's entertaining and inspiring account of conquering his fear of rejection, offering a completely new perspective on how to turn a no into a yes.

Jia Jiang came to the United States with the dream of being the next Bill Gates. Despite early success in the corporate world, his first attempt to pursue his entrepreneurial dream ended in rejection. Jia was crushed and spiraled into a period of deep self-doubt. But he realized that his fear of rejection was a bigger obstacle than any single rejection would ever be, and he needed to find a way to cope with being told no without letting it destroy him. Thus was born his "100 days of rejection" experiment, during which he willfully sought rejection on a daily basis - from requesting a lesson in sales from a car salesman (no) to asking a flight attendant if he could make an announcement on the loudspeaker (yes) to his famous request to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the shape of Olympic rings (yes, with a viral video to prove it).

Jia learned that even the most preposterous wish may be granted if you ask in the right way, and here he shares the secret of successful asking, how to pick targets, and how to tell when an initial no can be converted into something positive. But more important, he learned techniques for steeling himself against rejection and ways to develop his own confidence - a plan that can't be derailed by a single setback.

Filled with great stories and valuable insight, Rejection Proof is a fun and thoughtful examination of how to overcome fear and dare to live more boldly.

©2015 Jia Jiang (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Never Waste A Rejection!

This was such an enlightening little book. It goes beyond embracing fear, embracing rejection, and flows straight into embracing life: What a concept! You'll be tickled pink at how creative Jia Jiang gets in TRYING to find things to fail at. There's a positive joy in it.
The key thing is that it takes practice to be resilient, practice to find joy and confidence despite the outcome. I've read/listened to many, many (oh GOD: MANY!) self-development books on fear, and this is the only one that has humor in it. Don't get me wrong, he started off as somebody absolutely dedicated to not trying, to living his life for other people, but he blossomed in a truly magnificent way.
During each failure exercise, he analyzed and learned something new, and we can too. Personally, I have six rejection slips from agents, and the book got me thinking: What? Why so few?!? I have GOT to get out there and practice what this little book teaches.
It's a wonderful text, narrated well, and it cracked me up. Inspiring...!

No rejection here...!

Easy and quick read. Kept me engaged and created excitement. Had me view rejection in a different light. Love the Cialdini reference :)

Fascinating delve into the human and rejection

It is amazing how the thought of being rejected appears to be a universal trait everyone desires to avoid; often at their own detriment. From being the last one selected for a game of kickball in the schoolyard to being unfriended on a social network as an adult, rejection is something we all have to face in our lives but most of us do not enjoy it. I have not met a person who likes being rejected or actively seeks out rejection from others, until I listened to this book. “Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection” is a journey into the author’s attempt to lessen the impact of rejection on himself, but he amazed himslef with what he discovered along the way. The book is authored by Jia Jiang and the audiobook edition is masterfully narrated by Mike Chamberlain. The book gives you a good view into the author’s life, feelings, and surprise as he sets out on a journey to be rejected at least once a day for one hundred straight days. The book is a rather fascinating dive into the world of psychology and personality, but what I enjoyed most was the openness and learning of the author himself put to the page.

If you have ever faced a personal giant in your life like rejection, you will understand the reasoning and desire for the author to see if he could rid himself of his fear and often paralyzing reaction to it. What stared off as rejection baby steps with a lone security guard soon expands to the absurd in an attempt to get rejected by a female bodybuilder. When his blog of rejection events goes viral, his entire life is turned around and upside-down. It took hard work and determination to keep up the rejection challenge but, in the end he learned not only around the human reason we all run from rejection, but he also learned about his own hidden talent to help others facing this same issue. He quickly grew into the rejection guru and quickly found fame and the spotlight which opened him up for even greater levels of rejection in his newly discovered life.

Mr. Chamberlain brought the audiobook to life by giving it personality and feeling. As fun as the book would be to read, for me it was more fun to just sit back and listen to the story unfold. I’m glad the author made sure there was a professional narrating the audiobook edition as this would also help to reduce the rejections against the book itself. The audio was crisp and clear, and I do not recall any issues with volume or other audio artifacts while listening. Even though the audiobook is rather short, at just over six hours, the narrator kept me engaged and entertained along the way.

In summary, be aware that this book does not provide a silver bullet making one rejection proof. If you are looking for that, I’m not sure one exists. However, what you will take away from this book are examples and things the author has learned along his path that may help you better cope with rejection, understanding that rejection is not always personal, and what are some of the ways to tuning an initial rejection into a “Yes”. If this at all sounds interesting, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book and give it a listen.

Tips for making requests & accepting rejections

The book starts off slow as it gives the background on the author and his idea for the "100 days of rejection" experiment. It picks up after that, following a logical structure throughout the book. He tells of his many rejections (or sometimes approvals for his crazy requests) and finishes each chapter with tips, such as:
* Rejection is human. It's about what the rejector is thinking, feeling, and have going, not about you.
* Rejection is an opinion - some will say "no" and some will say "yes".
* Rejection has a number. Do it enough times, it may become a "yes." Ask why it's a "no" and modify the request.
* Be direct when making the request.
* Explain the reason for the request.
* Acknowledge doubts about your request.
* Select the right audience for the request.
* Don't assume you know the person and why that person should say "yes."
* Use rejections as lessons learned; what can you do differently to try to change a "no" to a "yes"?

An excellent book.

This book demonstrates how changing one's perception of an obstacle can help overcome it.

Great book for recently unemployed/career change

If you have a friend who is struggling with unemployment or career change give this book to them. Action Cures Fear!

Surprisingly enlightening!

Rejection Proof was surprisingly enlightening! Along other things I discovered that overcoming fear and having fun are the keys to success!

Repetitive....

It started out great. I got the book after watching this guy's TED talk. Then it started to get repetitive. I was listing to it in the car as a passenger, and fell asleep. When I woke back up, I wasn't sure I had actually been asleep. The book seemed like it was in the same spot.

The concept of the book is great, and perhaps reading on paper you could skip the repetitive bits. I think you're better of just watching to the TED Talk.

Outstanding value

This is by far the most inspiring book I've read in years. The content and narration are really excellent. I wish I could have read it earlier.

Absolute MUST Read!

This is an excellent book, not only for entrepreneurs, but for people who are looking to grow in areas that they are uncomfortable.