Let’s talk about (not Bruno — we don’t talk about Bruno) the fear of rejection. I’ll get this out of the way — rejection hurts and there’s no one signing up to get in that line. BUT if you don’t put yourself in a position to be rejected from time to time, you’re probably not pushing yourself forward.

We can look at this in the context of my podcast, Lawyerpreneur. One of the things that kept me away from the podcast for a while is the prospect of reaching out to people who would tell me no.

Guess what? That has happened. A lot. The podcast is over 50 episodes now, and there have been at least that number of people who have rejected my offer to be a guest. Some are household names that if I told you who it was, you’d tell me I was punching way above my weight class. And you’d be right. Some of those rejections were people telling me no. More consisted of invitations that went into the void and were never answered. None of it felt nice.

The flip side of that coin is that more than 40 people have said yes to my offer to be a guest. I have had on the podcast people who are best-selling authors and those who are the top lawyers in their field. Entrepreneurs who have done incredible things. Lawyers implementing social change.

On a personal level, I have made relationships that have become friendships. Relationships that have become collaborations. And personal relationships that have become business relationships.

Podcasting, blogging, and writing books have literally changed my career, in a half-dozen different ways. There is no hyperbole in that statement. And that road is littered with rejections. There will be more in front of me too. But I will keep pressing forward.

Rejection stings. But when you put some baking soda and meat tenderizer on it, the sting goes away. There are a lot more people who want to accept your offer. You just have to put yourself out there and risk the rejection, because the rewards are greater.