Rejection and Resilience: Lessons from Every Creative Who "Failed" 🎭🔥
A few years ago, I listened to the audiobook of Mike Nichols: A Life. If you’ve been living under a rock (or just buried in deadlines) and don’t know his name, let me catch you up: Mike Nichols was one of the most successful, influential, and daring directors ever. And I’m not just talking about film. Theater, comedy, television—this man did it all:
📽️ The Graduate
🎭 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
✨ Angels in America
👠 Working Girl
🎤 Whoopi Goldberg Live on Broadway
And let’s not forget his comedy genius alongside Elaine May. This man was da bomb before that phrase even existed. 💥
But here’s the kicker: Not everything Nichols touched turned to gold. For every masterpiece, there was The Day of the Dolphin or Regarding Henry (woof).
Creativity Comes with Clunkers 🚧
One thing that stuck with me from the book was Nichols’ obsessive need to create. He wasn’t content coasting on past successes—he had to keep working. Whether it was a film, a play, or consulting on a flailing TV comedy, he needed to be making something.
And guess what? Some of it flopped. Hard.
But here’s the thing: Every creative fails. (Yes, you too. And me. And Spielberg. And every artist you admire.)
🎨 How many canvases have you repainted? 🎬 How many film ideas are collecting dust in your notes app? 📝 How many projects have you mentally erased from your résumé?
Failure isn’t just possible—it’s inevitable. And the best creatives? They don’t avoid failure. They use it.
Francis Ford Coppola: Failing Spectacularly 🎬🚀
One of the greatest film directors of all time, Francis Ford Coppola, recently served up a masterclass in failing boldly. His self-financed epic Megalopolis was hyped to the heavens—only to crash under the weight of expectations. It didn’t take home an Oscar, but it did snag Worst Director at the Razzies. (Oof.)
Coppola’s response? Legendary.
“I am thrilled to accept the Razzie award in so many important categories for Megalopolis, and for the distinctive honor of being nominated as the worst director, worst screenplay, and worst picture at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking! [...] In this wreck of a world today, where ART is given scores as if it were professional wrestling, I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules laid down by an industry so terrified of risk that despite the enormous pool of young talent at its disposal, may not create pictures that will be relevant and alive 50 years from now.”
Translation? He’s unbothered. Because while the industry plays it safe, Coppola dares to fail.
What Separates the Greats? Resilience. 💡
It’s easy to say “Well, Coppola’s 90+ years old, he has nothing left to prove.” But that’s not the point. The real takeaway? Great artists don’t let failure stop them.
Even Steven Spielberg, a box office god, has made some major flops. (Anyone remember 1941? Yeah, me neither.) Read any comedian’s autobiography, and you’ll see chapter after chapter dedicated to their worst shows and jokes that fell flat. It happens. To everyone.
But the greats—Nichols, Spielberg, Coppola—kept going. They bombed. They got up. They made something else.
And that’s what sets real creatives apart.
🚀 Keep creating. Fail forward. Own your vision. Because when you swing for the fences, sometimes you miss. And sometimes? You make history.
