I was listening to a radio interview with Matthew Riley, an Australian writer of thrillers aimed primarily at teens. He was 19 when he wrote his first book, but he got rejected by every publisher in Australia. In the end he published a few copies of the book himself, and went door-to-door in Syndey asking bookshops if they would put his first book on the shelves.

A lot of people told him it could not be done. This was his response :

When people tell you that it can’t be done, it usually means that they can’t do it themselves

How much of that can you apply in your professional (and personal) life?