How I’ve Turned Rejection into Motivation

Sometimes the wall in front of you is just pointing you toward a better door.

Life can be tough. Sometimes it throws more rocks at us than roses.

Over the past weeks, I’ve been reflecting on how rejection—while painful in the moment—has often redirected me toward something better than I originally planned. Looking back, some of the greatest growth in my life and career came after someone told me “no.”

Here are a few moments where rejection became redirection.

Not “Country Enough”

When my guitar teacher, Joe Lowes, had an opening in his country band, he encouraged me to audition. The band members would decide who got the gig.

I didn’t get it.

Their reasoning? I wasn’t “country enough” in my playing or singing style.

Sure, it stung. It also kept Joe and me from reuniting in a band. But that rejection pushed me to form my own blues band—Van Gogh’s Ear—where I could play the music I loved and sing the songs that fit me best.

By southeast Missouri standards, we became a pretty successful little blues band. We were booking so many gigs that we eventually had to block off weekends.

If I had gotten the country gig, that band might never have existed.

“Then You Should Conduct Them Yourself”

After moving to Nashville in 2011, I pitched a new interview series to the News Director.

Her response?

“If you want that kind of interview, then you must conduct them yourself.”

At first, I was disappointed. I had hoped someone else would handle that part.

But I accepted the challenge.

In January 2012, I launched Rock & Review. Over the past 14 years, we’ve completed nearly 1,200 interviews. The show continues to grow in syndication, now airing in 34 markets across 48 TV stations, reaching 23.7 million viewers weekly.

I had no idea how much I would love to interview music artists.

Sometimes rejection isn’t a closed door, it’s an assignment.

“B.B. King Isn’t a Big Enough Name”

After B.B. King gave me permission to write the book on Lucille and share our story, I assumed finding a publisher would be easy.

I finished the manuscript in 2012.

Two publishers rejected it.

Their reasoning? Mr. King “wasn’t a big enough name in music.”

That one hurt.

But I kept pitching.

The next two publishers both wanted the book. It was released in 2013, followed by an updated second edition in 2020. Today, many guitar shops use it as a trusted resource to identify Gibson Lucille guitars around the world.

If I had stopped after the second “no,” the book would never have seen the light of day.

Rejected Five Times

Several years ago, I developed the concept for a podcast similar to Rock & Review.

I pitched it.

And was rejected.

More than five times.

Eventually, I decided to launch it myself. This year, it will debut as a music gear–focused program called Gear Gab Podcast with Eric Dahl, highlighting builders, creators, inventors, innovators—and musicians.

It allows deep dives into the gear that shapes the soundtracks of our lives.

Rejection forced independence.

“Only Using Professional Musicians”

Over the past year, my wife and I searched for a church we could attend together. At previous churches, I played on the praise and worship teams.

At our new church, I met with the praise team leader. We had coffee. He came to my house. We jammed. I even played one service.

When I asked about joining the regular rotation, I was told the church was “scaling back on musicians and only using professional musicians to keep things super tight as they grow.”

At first, I was hurt—and honestly, insulted.

But then I remembered something.

More than 20 years ago, I once looked down on church musicians because in my small view they weren’t paid "professional musicians" like my bar, casino, corporate, and wedding gigs. That changed when Pastor Don in Las Vegas invited me to play at Good Samaritan Church. I discovered how wrong I was—and I’ve loved playing in church ever since.

Being turned away this time has opened space for other creative pursuits:

• Writing original songs

• Co-writing with friends

• Creating podcast jingles

And honestly, it’s been a gift to sit beside my wife and daughter and fully experience church together.

Sometimes what feels like exclusion is actually protection of your time and focus.

The Choice We All Face

Rejection gives us two options.

We can let it stop us.

We can become bitter.

We can rage against the unfairness of it all.

Or…

We can let it refine us.

Redirect us.

Fuel us.

Every “no” in my life pushed me toward something I might not have pursued otherwise.

And almost every time, the alternative turned out to be better.

I choose to let rejection motivate me.

I hope you will too.

Because sometimes the wall in front of you is simply pointing you toward a better door around

the corner.

Is the wall in front of you pointing you toward a better door around the corner?