Posted on May 12, 2009 - by Justin Hartman
Getting rejected, it’s never fun
While this blog has been a lot about my good news lately, today it’s a lot about my bad. If you’ve been reading my blog then you’d know I was chosen as a nominee in the Men’s Health Best Man Awards 2009 and last week I received an update to inform me that I was not chosen as one of the three finalists. Congratulations though to Vinny Lingham who did make it as a finalist in another category and I wish him all the best because he deserves it!
To be honest I’m not disappointed about not being a finalist because if you look at who else was nominated in my category then you’ll understand why I was flattered to even be considered in the first place. I was expecting a rejection email and as such the nomination is going to make a great addition to my CV.
The second rejection I received last night and this one has been bitterly disappointing. About two months back I applied for a TED Fellowship and despite being extremely confident that I’d crack it I didn’t quite make the grade. Herewith an excerpt from said rejection email.
The response to the new Fellows program has been exceptional – far greater than we could have imagined – and winnowing down the application pool was a formidable task. Unfortunately, due the to extraordinary qualifications of all of our applicants, we are unable to offer you a Fellowship for TEDGlobal 2009.
If any of you have ever applied to be a TED Fellow you’ll know just how strenuous the application process is. To apply you need to complete an application by answering various questions that try to gain insight into how you tick as a human being and then you have to get references to fill in referee forms on your behalf. It’s kind of like writing your year-end exam only much tougher!
It took me over two weeks to complete my answers to the questions and in it I told TED stuff that only my family know. I really shared every inner-most secret in the hope that doing so would get me a seat at the conference.
The anticipation in waiting for an answer was the real killer though. I didn’t want to entertain any negative thinking so I convinced myself that my ticket was booked and I was headed for Oxford. I realised that the risk of doing so was utter, gut-wrenching disappointment but I wasn’t going to allow myself to ruin the small chance that I had.
Unfortunately my gamble didn’t pay off and I honestly feel like a teenager who’s girlfriend has just dumped him for a smarter, better looking guy. It has long been a dream to attend a TED conference but I guess my time will have to wait…
For now I’ll continue to watch from the sidelines and I thought this latest video from Seth Godin titled Why tribes, not money or factories, will change the world would be an apt way to end this post. Enjoy the brilliant talk from Seth as he shares ideas on how tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change.
13 Comments
I'd love to hear yours!
I am a seasoned entrepreneur and currently the CEO of 
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
For what it’s worth, I got turned down for the TED fellowship too.
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
You mean they actually said, ‘it’s not you, it’s us?’ Fantastic. Now cheer up.
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
Dust it off mate, Look at what you’ve already achieved. TED fellowship should be patting you on the back. For what it’s worth, you inspire allot of people. Keep it up!
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
kudos for having the courage to apply and share this
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
@Alanna – looks like a lot of people I know applied and got rejected. I’d love to know who actually made it.
@Chris – hahaha that cheered me up
@Clifford thanks for that man! Yeah I think TED lost out personally but who knows. Glad I inspire some!!!!
@Justin (cool name) Sprat – shot man! These are the best kinds of blog posts when you do it when it hurts most…
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
You can always buy your way in. $10K or something like that. Your chances of attending are quite good then.
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
Hey Justin, sorry to hear all of this, getting knocked down is never fun and I know how it feels. Look, you know you’ve got tons to be proud of and just being nominated for the Best Man was an incredible achievement on its own.
Head up and keeping rocking, Gator-style!
Visit My Website
May 12, 2009
Permalink
You’ll always be best man in MY book.
Love you lots! xxx
Visit My Website
May 14, 2009
Permalink
There is always next year!! Or the year after that! It does look like an awesome fellowship so I understand the disappointment.
And congrats on being nominated as a Mens Health Best – thats a pretty cool achievement
Visit My Website
May 17, 2009
Permalink
On a totally unrelated note – is it just me, or does Seth actually seem nervous during this talk?
Visit My Website
May 17, 2009
Permalink
Johan, good question. I know I’d be nervous but then again I’m not Seth
Visit My Website
May 19, 2009
Permalink
I didn’t even take a swing at the Fellowship. With how much circulation it got and that rather imposing questionnaire at the start of it, I figured it wouldn’t be worth the time now and I wouldn’t get it. Appears that if you and Alanna got shot down, then I was right.
I figure with sites like ours, being invited to speak would be a much more impressive honor. That’s what I’m waiting for, although my breath is most certainly not being held.
-miquel
Visit My Website
May 25, 2009
Permalink
Yo Justin
Keep positive and keep doing what you do!