part two – Jack Canfield interview for the documentary Beyond Belief
Jim Holzknecht: How do you deal with rejections, and setbacks? Can you share the process you went through to get Chicken Soup for the Soulpublished?
Jack Canfield
There is going to be rejections. There is going to be blockages. There is going to be difficulties and miniature failures along the way.
When we did Chicken Soup for the Soul, we went to New York to sell that book. Rejected by all 22 publishers we met with over the 3 or 4 days we were there. We then went to the Book Expo of America and were turned down by another one hundred and twenty publishers.
Now if we had given up after a hundred and said ‘well I guess this isn’t supposed to happen,’ I probably wouldn’t be sitting here today because no one would know who I am. But the reality is, that we went one hundred and forty four rejections before we got a yes and so perseverance is critical. And now that book series has over one hundred, well over two hundred, we are over two hundred titles we are up to and over 115 million copies in print in 47 languages. So perseverance is important.”
Jim Holzknecht: What are some other things that can stop people from achieving what they want in life?
Jack Canfield
Another thing that stops people from achieving their vision is having Feedback that they don’t pay attention to. We are always getting feedback from our friends, from our body, from our feelings, from people who are telling us things.
If I have a business and no one shows up, that’s feedback. If I throw a party and no one comes, that’s feedback. If I have a headache at the end of everyday from work, that’s feedback that maybe I don’t like my job, the stress is too much or whatever it might be.
Most people don’t ask for feedback. They get defensive when people do give them feedback and the universe is wired up to give you feedback. Your body is a feedback mechanism so listening to feedback is very, very important as well.
Jack Canfield is one of the transformational leaders featured in the groundbreaking documentary Beyond Belief – produced by Jim Holzknecht and Becky Hays
