Su Qin
Ten Refusals, Then Back to the Books
After a refusal, blame once, then fix one thing
Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, 'Biography of Su Qin'; Strategies of the Warring States, Qin 1
Ten pitches, ten refusals. This asks what to do next: blame the buyer, hide, or go back and fix one thing.
What actually happened?
According to the Records, Su Qin wrote to the King of Qin ten times and was never taken up. His sable coat wore through and his hundred catties of gold ran out, and he went home. His wife would not leave her loom, his sister-in-law would not cook for him, and his parents would not speak to him. He sighed that it was all Qin's fault, and that night he dragged out a chest of books and, when he grew sleepy, stabbed his thigh with an awl. A year later he said he was ready to persuade the rulers of his day.
Blaming once is normal
His first reaction was to blame someone else: his family had turned on him, and Qin was to blame. But that same night he opened the chest. Blame once if you must; after it you need a next step, or all you keep is the grievance.
Ten applications and no replies. Curse the market for one evening, then look at your portfolio and find the page least like what they asked for.
Fix the part that faces a person
He read a treatise on strategy, and what he practised was working out what one particular ruler wanted and feared, and how he himself should speak to that. The books were material. The skill was opening his mouth.
Someone who cannot land work may not lack a certificate. They may lack one sentence that lets the client see what they would solve.
Give the retreat an end date
He gave himself a year, and went out again at the end of it. A deadline keeps the fixing specific. Without one, going back to the books drifts into hiding.
Give yourself two months to improve one thing, then take it and knock on a door.
How do I use it today?
Where you are: you have tried many times, nothing has landed, and the people around you have started to doubt you.
Ask first: what did they turn down, me or the one thing I put in front of them? If I fix one thing, what do I bring next time?
Where it goes wrong: reading it as fail, then shut the door and study. He shut it for a year in order to come out again. Studying until you dare not try again is hiding.
Lines to keep
Blame once, then go back and fix one thing.
Fix what lets someone grasp you in one line.
A retreat needs an end date. The door opens again.
Same situation, other people are asking
I've been saying it for years and nobody listens.All these years of not making it — did I write any of it down?I planted it years ago and nothing has come up.I've been at this for years and it has never worked.It still hasn't worked · all 21 questions →If this one named what you are going through,
send it to someone who needs it, or keep it somewhere you will find it again.