A few years ago, I got rejected for a job I really wanted.
Most people probably process that news in a healthy, balanced way.
I, on the other hand, got in my car, drove to Mugg & Bean and started mapping out an entire brand.
I know I should be mature and professional about it but I was livid. I knew I could do the role. I was doing the exact same role daily.
I’m an emotional spender and all the time I really wanted to channel my frustration into a purchase. But I was on a no-buy.
Determined for some sort of resolution, I took a notebook and my Vitality points to buy a very tasty limited edition coffee.
That afternoon, I started sketching out what would eventually become The Digital Unicorn.
The name came partially from the notebook I used (see below) and partially from a phrase I kept seeing in job descriptions. Companies wanted a “marketing unicorn” who could do a little bit of everything. As someone with experience across content, copywriting, email marketing and paid media, the concept felt very familiar.
What started as a way to channel disappointment became the brand I would later freelance under.
The funny part?
Years later, I ended up working with the same company in a different capacity. And I finally learnt why that role would have been wrong for me.
We’ve all heard “rejection is just redirection” but seeing it myself was humbling.
If you’re sitting with a rejection right now, give yourself permission to be disappointed.
Then ask yourself:
What can I build with this energy instead?
Because you never know what might start with a coffee, a notebook and a bruised ego.