Name: Rejection spreadsheets.
Age: There’s nothing new in rejection. JK Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers, Elvis was told he couldn’t sing. Going back a little further, Cain had an offering of produce rejected by God himself, would you Adam and Eve it?
But this is about rejection spreadsheets, right? Right. And they’re more recent.
Go on, when did they begin? OK, so first let’s introduce Gabriella Carr.
[Waves] Hi Gabriella Carr. In September last year, Ms Carr posted on TikTok and Instagram …
Where else! Other platforms are available. Anyway, Carr posted a video of her goals and dreams for 2026. They included professional goals (she’s a video creator and actor), reading more books, gaining more followers …
So far, so not very different from anyone else’s goals and dreams. She also held up a red notebook on which she’d written “The 1000 Nos of Gabriella Carr.”
Nos as in … Yes, or rather the opposite of yes. Rejections. In her little red book, she lists jobs she’s applied for, roles and brand influencer campaigns she’s put herself up for, and been turned down.
Why is she doing it, to keep a tally? “I know I’m delusional, but you kind of have to be to chase your dreams,” she said. “I’d rather try to fail than never try at all.”
Almost turning a negative into something … if not positive, then some kind of achievement? I like it, I think. So do others. Guess what?
It’s become a thing! Yes it has. “So there’s the 1,000 rejections girl,” announced another TikToker, @theplanistobefamous. “I’m doing what she’s doing, but I’ve got a spreadsheet!”
And what has @theplanistobefamous got on his spreadsheet? Attempts on market sites to get things cheap (or for free!), networking opportunities and job applications (for quite ambitious jobs, “LA Times Studio Host”, for example).
Still, aim high if it’s a no you’re after. I guess. In one row, he’s got “emailed Claudia” in the task column; followed in the status column by “Blocked”.
That’s sad. No, it’s a victory! And lo, the 1,000 Rejection Challenge is born. Now the internet is full of people clocking up big fat nos.
Well I think it’s healthier than those perfection-chasing challenges, such as 75 hard. Spiritually maybe, if not actually physically healthier.
And how is Carr, who started it all, getting on? So far she’s had 86 nos …
Not bad, still a way to go though … And 17 yesses.
No! Yes! Including landing a part in a play, being awarded a pageant title, and – perhaps most impressively – getting citizenship and a passport from the Netherlands.
Do say: “Joepie!” (It’s Dutch for “Yay!”)
Don’t say: “Yeah, but she’s trying to get rejected, so isn’t that a … failure?
