How I Found Success in a Rejection Letter

I honestly did not expect this day to come. After waiting impatiently for 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks.... I gave up! I must have submitted it incorrectly. It must not have arrived to its destination. Or worse, it must have been thrown away without a second thought. No acknowledgement of the person who wrote it, little regard for the thoughtful and sensitive content, no need to respond. That is what must have happened to the book proposal I mailed to the publishing company. But then, just as I reverted back from checking the mail like a child searching for the toy in the cereal box, it arrived! The letter!  The letter that solidified my follow-through! I didn't need to open it to feel like I was a success. Because just holding it in my hand told me I was.  And so after staring at my handwritten name on the front of the envelope, with the publisher's name in the top left-hand corner, I opened it. Was I a winner? Had I just accomplished something most authors had not? Had I succeeded in having my work published on the very first try? 
 
Of course not! In fact the letter was generic. It offered no advice, no comforting words like, "What an incredible read! You are ridiculously talented and we will surely publish you soon!" But...that didn't matter! I had just joined the ranks of people like J.K. Rowling! I was rejected by a publishing company and in that, I am a success! You see, to start with, somebody handwrote my name on the envelope. Somebody who works at a well-known publishing company. And the letter, though generic, began with "Dear Author..." Meaning that I had actually written something!
 
Here is my point. Rejection simply means that you attempted something. And that attempt sets you apart. Prior to writing my piece, I had only spoken about writing. I never actually made the time to follow through. Partially because I was preoccupied with life, but second because I was scared. Scared of the very thing that now proves me successful. Rejection. Success is a process, and within that process is failure. The most successful people in the world have experienced it at some point, and yet knowing that failure precedes success allowed them to continue until their ultimate goal was achieved. That rejection letter will go on my wall as a reminder that I did what I set out to do. And one day, when my work is accepted for publishing, that letter will go beside it. Thus completing the process of my success.