Mark McGuinness answers questions from Creative Pathfinders on dealing with rejection and criticism in pursuit of your creative ambitions.
A special audio seminar to mark the print publication of Mark’s book Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success.
Part 1: Rejection
Rejection (first half)
[audio:http://media.lateralaction.com/rejection1.mp3]
Right-click to download the mp3
Topics covered in this half include:
- How do you avoid taking rejection personally?
- What to do about fear of rejection
- Getting back on your feet after a major rejection
- ‘People say they love my work, but won’t pay for it’
- Why do clients turn me down?
- ‘I think I have a great idea for a business, but people look at me as though I’m crazy’
Rejection (second half)
[audio:http://media.lateralaction.com/rejection2.mp3]Right-click to download the mp3
- Why do I get rejected for grants / jobs?
- Why was I passed over for promotion?
- I’ve not heard anything back – should I try a different approach?
- Hard to motivate myself after my first album didn’t get picked up
- People love my performances, why aren’t I getting more bookings?
- How to deal with the long-term effect of multiple rejections
Part 2: Criticism
Criticism (first half)
[audio:http://media.lateralaction.com/criticism1.mp3]
Right-click to download the mp3
Topics covered in this half include:
- Things often look better on the outside than they feel on the inside
- Three ways to get a fresh perspective on your own work
- What to do about the audience in your head
- How to deal with lack of support from family and friends
- why your inner critic is (potentially) your best friend
- Perfectionism v professionalism
Criticism (second half)
[audio:http://media.lateralaction.com/criticism2.mp3]Right-click to download the mp3
Topics covered include:
- How to deal with impostor syndrome
- Should you ignore your critics or listen to them?
- How to deal with incompetent criticism from teachers, clients and colleagues
- What if it’s really about you, and not them?(!)
- ‘The public love my work but my peers are envious’
- The art of receiving compliments
Lots more inspiration and advice in the book…
If the ideas in the seminar resonate for you, there’s plenty more practical inspiration in Mark’s book Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success.
Resilience is available as a paperback from Amazon, and as an ebook from Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.
“Achilles’ mother dipped him, as an infant, into the waters of the River Styx to make him invulnerable. Mark McGuinness does the same for you and me with Resilience: Facing Down Rejection and Criticism on the Road to Success. Read this book and you will be bulletproof!
“P.S. The chapters on the Black Box and ‘How to Fix It Next Time’ are worth the price of admission all by themselves.”
Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of
The War of Art and Turning Pro