“Allow yourself to feel it. If you need a day, two, a week, fine. But then, remember this: you don’t need their permission to do the work. You didn’t need their permission to start. And: you don’t need their permission to keep going.”
Every agent and buyer in Hollywood rejected the original screenplay for the movie Rounders, before one finally said yes.
The film’s writer Brian Koppelman (who also happens to be the creator of the fantastic Showtime series Billions) references that story in an inspiring tweet thread about how to handle rejection.
He points out that while it’s impossible not to feel the sting, it’s important to remind yourself that as long as you don’t stop writing or working, the people who rejected you don’t win.