Years ago, I heard a story that made an impact on me.
The story was about a guy who was down on his luck.
Money was scarce.
The bills were overwhelming.
Stress was at an all-time high.
He felt like he had lost his identity.
It seemed like his family had lost confidence in his ability to provide.
He was desperate.
After looking for a job he could do, with no success, he finally made a connection through a referral.
The connection was a manager who told the man, "We want you to come in for an interview."
The job wasn't glamorous. It was just the opposite.
But it would provide a small, yet steady income to support his family.
It was hard work, dirty work.
Cleaning bathrooms at the bus stop.
The interview went well; he was told the words he had been longing for.
You're hired!
The manager slid the application across the desk towards him.
He was given simple instructions to fill out the application.
The man looked at the application and hesitated.
He responded, I'm so sorry... I can't read or write.
The manager was shocked.
After a slight pause, the manager said, "I'm so sorry. If you can't fill out the application, we can't move forward."
The manhad heard this before.
His head lowered.
Defeated again.
He muttered under his breath, "My family is going to be so disappointed. I'm disappointed in myself."
The man explained his situation to the manager and begged for the job.
He needed it.
His family needed it.
His kids were hungry.
His wife worked hard, but it wasn't enough.
After hearing the man's story, he felt bad.
But without an application, there was nothing that they could do.
It was the company's policy.
The man grabbed a bunch of fruit, some apples, bananas, and oranges from the breakroom, and handed them to the man.
"It's the least I can do," he said. And then walked the man out of the office.
Defeated and depressed, the man took some time to sit on a bench in the park across the street and reflect.
"What am I going to do?"
Shortly after, the bus stopped to let some people off at their next destination, and to allow some new passengers aboard to theirs.
A couple of those individuals noticed the man and his fruit. "How much?"
The man was caught off guard.
Before he could answer, one passenger gave him $2, and another $5. And a couple more gave $3.
It continued until the fruit was gone.
The man walked away with $43.
Encouraged, the man went home with the story and an idea!
The next day, the man went to the store. And back to the bench with 23 dollars' worth of fruit.
He went home with $87!
It continued every day.
Months later, the man had a fruit stand.
A year later, a store.
Three years later, five stores!
In the fourth year, the man was sitting in a beautiful conference room and negotiating the sale of his corporation.
After settling on the price, a seven-figure sale, the attorney for the buyer slid the contract across the mahogany conference table to the man.
"Sir, please read, review, and sign this contract. We're so happy to make this deal with you today."
The man hesitated.
Lowered his head.
And the limits on the man's life, almost forgotten, came flooding back to his memory.
"I... I can't read or write," the man said.
The head attorney, with a look of surprise, grabbed his composure and said, "Sir, I am shocked. You've accomplished so much—a multi-million dollar company. Strategic locations. Customers who love buying your fruit to support you, your business, and your employees. Can you imagine where you would be if you could read?"
"I know exactly where I would be," the man replied. "I would be cleaning toilets at the bus stop."
Sometimes, what we see as rejection is actually redirection. If we focus on what we don't have for too long, we miss what we could have.
Perspective is everything.
What others see as a limit, we can turn into an opportunity to do something we couldn't have imagined.
Sometimes, rejection is just redirection.