RYB 837: How REJECTION Led To 2 Million BOOKS Sold and His Worldwide BRAND (Jon Gordon's Story)

This week on the podcast, I had the opportunity to interview Jon Gordon, the author of “The Carpenter” and the “Energy Bus.” Today You’re going to learn all about the obstacles that he faced and how he overcame being turned down by 30 publishers for his first book. He’ll dive into all his failures and how he’s dealing with overcoming tough moments. He’s full of positivity, and I’m excited for you to hear from him, so let’s dive right in.  How Jon Became The King of Positivity    I consider myself a naturally pessimistic optimist. I always start by focusing on the negative. In fact, I had to learn how to become positive and, after years of practice, firmly believe that somehow, someway we will always get through difficult times.    The worst parts of my life have to lead me to where I am today, so I am grateful for those moments of growth and learning. I had to somehow find hope and have a strong foundation in order to move forward every time things get tough. I didn’t choose positivity, it actually chose me.    As a naturally negative person, I know how hard it but also know that you have the power to overcome the thorns and turn the negativity you’re feeling into something incredibly positive. The people who choose to take a positive approach are the ones who take action, are timeless, and end up getting things done.    I was rejected by 30 publishes when I wrote my first book and it didn’t become a best seller for 5 years after it was first published. I actually started out by doing my own small tour with a few people showing up in every city.    My vision was to encourage and inspire as many people as possible, one person at a time, and I knew that even though I was starting out small, it was still worth it. The goals for my business have changed over the years, but the vision has always remained the same. My motto is “win today.” If you wake up every day focused on winning just for the day, you will create the future.   You have to overcome fear and doubt and focus on what matters most. I have found that by trusting in God and encouraging others, I am able to set aside negative thoughts.    No matter how tough things get to continue to work hard, and you will eventually see great success in the future. What you believe in right now will help to determine what you create moving forward.   There is a positive and negative dog inside each of us and whichever one we choose to feed will win the fight in the end. I recommend talking to yourself instead of listening. Feed yourself words of encouragement to motivate yourself and keep pushing forward. Being positive doesn’t guarantee that you will succeed but if you focus on the negative it means that you will fail.    Note From Scott: Even the most successful people have challenges. We all face obstacles and have rough days. Whatever you feed your brain, that is what is going to win. Whatever you focus on is going to become your reality.  Jon’s Take Action Moment  When I had the idea for my book, The Energy Bus, I wrote it in 3 ½ weeks. Every day I got up early to write, took a break to walk, practice gratitude say a pray and do it all over again. At night I would spend some time editing and brainstorm more ideas for the remainder of the book.