[david_shaw]

Rejection therapy has gotten a lot of coverage on HN recently, and for good reason.

A lot of people on the Internet use rejection therapy to get over their fears of asking the cute girl out for coffee or going to the trendy nightclub they've never entered before. Here at HN, however, I think rejection therapy is able to really shine: sitting down for lunch with some VC's or C-level executives takes courage, and pitching your idea is literally asking for it to get shot down. It takes a lot of courage, but in the end it's worth it to take the risk for the slim chance of reward. In fact, many aspects of the startup lifestyle involve putting your neck out there in hopes that someone will see your idea and love it just as much as you do.

I haven't played the "Rejection Therapy" game, but I feel like everyone is afraid of getting rejected from something. It gives me the holiday season warm fuzzy feelings when I know that people are following a system that will improve themselves.

[randallsquared]

sitting down for lunch with some VC's or C-level executives takes courage, and pitching your idea is literally asking for it to get shot down.

...where by "literally" you mean "figuratively". Unless VCs you lunch with habitually bring firearms or the like to lunch. :)

[yan]

"Literally" and "figuratively" mean the same things figuratively, but different literally.

[jdminhbg]

That depends on whether you think "literally" is modifying "asking" or "shot."

[david_shaw]

Well, I meant you were literally asking for critique, as opposed to just sitting down and fishing for empty compliments.

Happy 2011, I just woke up and laughed at the thought of a VC with a rocket-propelled grenade.