[rafeed]

Rejection is inevitable. If you're not rejected now, somewhere down the road you will be. If you haven't been rejected, get practice in getting rejected. If you have been rejected, feel the frustration and use it as motivation to prove whoever rejected you wrong.

The best analogy I can find for this is that applying to YC is like trying to pick up a girl or asking her out on a date. (I know many of us have yet to try, too). Get over the fear of rejection, and put yourself out there. Will your way to success. YC is like the smartest, most beautiful woman with the amazing personality everyone falls in love with (well, there's always the haters). Don't give up. Exercise, eat right, sleep, and strive to be better. You never know, one day that beautiful woman might actually say yes.

(To all the women on HN, replace girl/woman with guy/man and beautiful with handsome.)

[dougabug]

Feynman describes being rejected by Bell Labs several years in a row for an internship, and each year coming back and cheerfully taking the tour. He finally got the job, but the war intervened. His attitude towards rejection seemed pretty constructive.

[zodiac]

Hey where was this from? I probably just forgot but I don't recall reading this in any of his books...

[hboon]

“Surely you're Joking, Mr. Feynman” mentions this.