When I was 18, I wanted to be a fine artist.
So I applied to seven art schools all over the UK.
Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Exeter, etc.
But I got turned down by all of them.
Then my sister told me to apply to art school in New York.
Out of desperation, I did.
And I got accepted, and I got a scholarship.
And when I went to New York I switched to advertising.
And it changed my life.
But, if I hadn’t been turned down by those seven art schools, it never would have happened.
After four years in New York I came back to London.
I knew nothing about UK advertising.
So I made fifty Xerox copies of my portfolio and sent it to the first fifty names in the Yellow Pages.
I got forty nine rejections, out of fifty applications.
Only one person offered me a job.
John Webster.
I didn’t know who John Webster was.
He’d only just been made ECD at BMP.
I was the first person John hired.
And I wouldn’t have taken the job if it hadn’t been for the forty nine rejections.
I learned a lot and won a lot of awards, under John at BMP.
I wanted to stay there for life.
But, ten years later, John had two deputy CDs: me and Graham Collis.
John told me he was making Graham Collis overall ECD.
That meant I’d have to work for him.
I didn’t want to do that, I didn’t think he was as good as me.
So I had to leave.
I called up Mike Gold and asked him if he wanted to start an agency.
He said okay, as long as he could bring Mike Greenlees.
So we started Gold Greenlees Trott.
We were voted Campaign Agency of the Year.
We were voted Most Creative Agency in the World by Ad Age (or Ad Week) in NY.
It was the best ten years of my working life.
And I would never have done it if John hadn’t made someone else ECD.
One day D&AD called me.
They said they weren’t happy with the Advertising Concepts course I’d started ten years earlier.
They said too many people were applying and the standard of applicants was too low.
I said it was supposed to be low, that was the point.
To give people a chance who wouldn’t otherwise have one.
But D&AD were adamant.
They were going to select only the best applicants for the course, and reject the rest.
So I said I couldn’t be part of the course anymore.
It was elitist.
I said, give me the names of the people you reject and we’ll set up a special course at my agency.
Just for the rejects.
I didn’t want to leave the main D&AD course, but I didn’t have a choice.
Many years later I got The President’s Award at D&AD.
And CDs from some of the best agencies in town came up to me to say thanks.
They had been on that rejects’ course.
D&AD had decided they weren’t good enough to be in advertising.
And, without the rejects’ course, they wouldn’t have had the chance.
It happens like that.
What seems like the end of the road may just be a cul de sac.
It feels like rejection.
It feels like failure.
But maybe it isn’t.
Maybe you just ran out of road on that route.
Time to back up, turn around and look for a new route to get where you want to go.
And the new route may actually be better.
Although it doesn’t look that way at present.
Sometimes the best thing that can happen to you is not getting what you want.
Thanks, Dave. Coming in early on a Monday for a meeting that isn’t going to happen, this is uplifting. Of course, being human, the tendency is to compare and lament that Dave made good on his ‘misses’, while I didn’t.
Robin. - 14 November 2011 2:03 am
great post dave. what might not be coming through, i’m guessing, is the fact that you were a bottle of determined energy throughout all this. am i right on this? you just wouldn’t be denied?
vinny warren - 14 November 2011 4:32 am
Hi Vinnie,
It doesn’t feel like that from inside me, but everything’s comparative.
Maybe it looks that way from the outside.
Also I was just plain old lucky too.
But, as I tell my kids, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
Steve Jobs’ motto is good too “stay hungry. stay foolish.”
Dave Trott - 14 November 2011 8:06 am
I was actually sulking over an opportunity I lost when I read your post. Thank you for making me look at the situation differently.
Divya - 14 November 2011 8:11 am
Dave, this was years back. In my darker days, I was much comforted in how GGT carried on, despite the fire.
How after GGT, you went to BST, then WCTS.
You were, too me, the ariston ad man – Dave Trott – and on and on. You didn’t allow acts of God, betrayal, stupidity to get in your way. Of course, with realization comes regret: that I didn’t push hard enough to work for you.
Robin. - 14 November 2011 9:24 am
Dave – I used 2 have an acute fondness 4 oranges. Then 1 day, I couldn’t lay my hands on an orange no matter what.
Some1 offered me a banana instead [I'd never had 1 be4].
Now, bananas r 1 of the corner stones of my existence. Don’t know if this relates in anyway 2 your post but I felt compelled 2 share it.
[PS - Think the gods were smiling on u when u unknowingly drew the Webster straw.]
Grilla Login - 14 November 2011 10:44 am
Grilla,
New York – Webster – GGT.
I think the gods were smiling on me all the while.
Even though, each time felt like a rejection.
Dave Trott - 14 November 2011 1:41 pm
its a great post. as my best friend told me a couple of years ago ‘its all a matter of perception’. i found the hard part is getting a certain perspective in a difficult situation. there are a couple of things im rather happy about when i look back on my life. i certainly wasnt happy when they had happened.
random info: the captcha is saying my name. the gods want to weird me out.
peggy - 14 November 2011 2:31 pm
Bravo Dave. Monday empowerment at its best.
rachel carroll - 14 November 2011 2:55 pm
Dave – The light bulb incident on the weekend is just their way of reminding u who’s boss – They do it 2 every1 from time2time.
Grilla Login - 14 November 2011 2:59 pm
As we say in NY, it’s not how many times you get knocked down that matters. It’s how many times you get up.
george tannenbaum - 14 November 2011 4:42 pm
Richard nixon’s resignation speech contained something similar. “Everything is a beginning. It’s never an end. Only by being in the deepest valley, can you know how glorious the view is from the highest mountaintop”
alan brydon - 14 November 2011 4:44 pm
Hands down, one of the best perspectives on rejection, perseverance and just plain courage to do what’s right.
Cecilia Gorman - 14 November 2011 7:35 pm
Hi Dave, just wanted to say thank you, I’m currently pursuing a career in Graphic Design and the last week have been seriously considering packing it in due to feeling like I’m not getting anywhere.
Maybe I’ll give it a bit longer and see whats over the next hill.
Chris Brown - 14 November 2011 7:51 pm
Dave,
Why Pratt? Did you consider any others? How did you go about obtaining a scholarship?
How did you know Mike Gold? Who else would you have rang if you didn’t know him?
Did you persuade him to walk from French Gold Abbott?
Whatever happened to BMP under the stewardship of Graham Collis?
Did you ever think what would have happened if you had stayed?
Perhaps you could have staged a coup? Who would have backed you up?
Did John retire when he made Graham ECD??
john woods - 14 November 2011 8:06 pm
Hi I hope you don’t mind I shared your post on our site. Just really loved it.
Robin - 14 November 2011 9:04 pm
you just never know what that next wave might bring a shore.
Bill Meyer - 14 November 2011 9:13 pm
Love the post! Everything happens for a reason.
Alex - 15 November 2011 4:38 pm
Helpful for where I am at, thank you.
Matt - 15 November 2011 7:03 pm
You are a true Hero in Advertising Dave!
Percy - 16 November 2011 12:57 am
And what if 50/50 had been rejections, or 8/8 had been rejections? Etc. Advising someone to “fail upward” is like advising someone to “be lucky”.
human mathematics - 16 November 2011 8:42 am
I love Dave’s advise because it always leaves room for your own positive attributes/mettle to be tested.
In his case being rejected by all the art schools did not stop him from wanting to be an artist.
Wanting to be an artist did not stop him from finding his calling in advertising.
Having someone else made ECD, did not halt his path to being one.
It’s wasted opportunity if you take his advice and want to apply it literally, as many try to..
His is clearly persistent energy- not luck.
Question is, what’s mine?
Makhosini - 16 November 2011 10:00 am
Hi Makhosini,
You get it.
If we don’t get the answer we want, we have two choices.
Give up or try another way.
If we try another way something unforseen may happen.
If we give up, nothing will happen.
Dave Trott - 16 November 2011 10:10 am
Dave,
I thought we only have two responses, fight or flight?
My dad’s advice to me, if anything was bigger than you, was to learn to run away and live to fight another day. Guess that’s what you did when Collis was made ECD over you.
I’m still intrigued as to who you would have called if Mike Gold wasn’t up for setting up with you though.
john woods - 16 November 2011 11:02 am
John,
Someone else, or got a job as an ECD at a lesser company, or gone to another country, or freelanced as a writer, or manufactured some other options.
Dave Trott - 16 November 2011 11:43 am
Dave,
I guess if you couldn’t have Gold there was always silver and bronze to aim for.
I guess just being placed has got to be better than being nowhere.
All I want in life is an unfair advantage.
john woods - 16 November 2011 11:59 am
Hello Dave
It’s truly amazing, thank you for such a great piece of writing.
I am not in advertising(Psychiatrist), so I don’t know you but after reading just one article I am already your fan.
Deepak - 17 November 2011 2:59 pm
When I look back on some of the events in my personal and professional life, I see a similar pattern. Your clear and direct post helps me to remember to look differently at those twists and turns. As I was navigating that map, one step at a time, it hardly made sense. Hinde sight is always better but faith, trust and perseverance are what win the day so you can see what you’ve accomplished when you look behind you.
Thanks for sharing
Kjell - 19 November 2011 2:48 pm
After a ton of rejections from companies for an internship and no opportunities that I can see in the near future for an international student in the US, I almost thought I am never meant to be a part of a team that will make a milestone in aviation and gave up on those treasured dreams and aspirations that have kept me going for this long.
This post changed my perspective. I will keep at it. If not in aviation, I am sure I will make a difference somewhere, for someone, in some way. Don’t know yet, what it will be, but I am sure it is going to be spectacular!
Libin Daniel - 20 November 2011 7:24 am
Hi Daniel,
The main thing is don’t give up, but stay open to new possibilities.
New ways of getting round the problem.
Water-logic not Rock-logic.
Dave Trott - 20 November 2011 12:41 pm
The stone that the builders rejected is the Cornerstone.
Kevin Gordon - 26 November 2011 11:35 am
Hi Dave
Great post, we would love to feature it in the new blog section on our site http://www.ineedmotivating.com if that is OK, we will give full credit and links back to your site.
Anthony - 26 November 2011 2:29 pm
thanx Dave a great lesson on personal development. sometimes not getting what i want might the start of getting what i really deserve . thanx
gaitho nyokabi - 29 November 2011 11:14 am
Dave, This is an inspiration to many of us. Many of us just don’t want to get out of comfort zones in fear of “rejections”. This is an awesome example why we “need rejections” in order to succeed. Thanks so much for sharing! (btw, I forwarded this story to my children).
Gain Energy - 29 November 2011 4:03 pm
Thanks Gain Energy,
I’m touched that you forwarded it to your children.
I always do that with things I really like, too.
Dave Trott - 29 November 2011 6:50 pm
hello Dave,
Came upon this site a week ago and just cant stop reading everything on it. It feels like i was meant to find it. I am the Creative Director of a small agency in Uganda-Africa after only 2 years in advertising. You have put a spanner on the way we look at rejection of humps in life. Indeed we create our own destiny and luck is prepartion metting opportunity. Loved the water-logic versus Rock logic. Genius
Neithan Muwonge - 5 December 2011 4:11 pm
Hi Neithan,
Thanks very much, it’s really good to know it’s useful for you.
Dave Trott - 5 December 2011 4:19 pm
Hi Dave,
Thanks for this post. I’m at one of those junctions myself – about to leave a job I’m unhappy with for the largely unknown. Thanks for helping me frame that as a gift of opportunity, rather than wasting time being mad at a boss I no longer want to work for.
Grateful - 5 December 2011 9:27 pm
Hi Sarah,
IMHO the best thing to rememeber is always run towards something, not away from something.
Dave Trott - 6 December 2011 9:41 am