Rejection would be easier if it came with a progress bar.
You could handle the next no if you knew the yes was three conversations away.
You’d send the email, publish the post, ask for the meeting.
The difficult part is doing it without knowing whether any of it is adding up.
After a few rejections, you start protecting yourself. You spend longer editing the message. You decide the timing is wrong. You wait until you have something more impressive to show.
Eventually, you’re doing plenty of work that carries zero risk of hearing no. You can spend months there and call it preparation.
Of course, sending the same bad pitch a hundred times guarantees nothing. You still have to listen, change your approach, and give someone a reason to care.
But you need another attempt to find out whether you’ve improved.
I’d like to get better at making that attempt before I feel ready for the answer.