Guest Bio:

Rising to notoriety with his most-viewed TED Talk (top 200 out of 60,000), “What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection,” which became the basis for his bestselling book and #1 audio book, Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection, Jia Jiang has become the world's foremost expert on rejection. A top-booked speaker, Jia is the sought-after authority on empowering confidence and resilience, overcoming one's fear of rejection, and daring to be bolder in both life and career. His upcoming book, The Art of Achieving Ambitious Things (Simon & Schuster, May 2026), expands on his mission to help anyone overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams and goals by adopting his breakthrough One Action Goal system.

Takeaways:

• Jia Jiang's 100 days of rejection therapy helped him overcome fear.
• Humor plays a crucial role in dealing with rejection.
• Rejection is a natural part of the speaking industry.
• It's important to not reject yourself after external rejection.
• Aim for high goals to elevate your pursuits.
• Rejection can be turned into a learning opportunity.
• Creating momentum is key to achieving goals.
• Persistence and adaptability are both necessary in facing rejection.
• Life should be open to new experiences, not confined by lists.
• Building relationships can help turn rejections into future opportunities.

Chapters:

• 00:00 - The Journey of Rejection Therapy
• 02:47 - Transforming Fear into Expertise
• 06:09 - The Power of Humor in Rejection
• 08:52 - Navigating Rejection in the Speaking Industry
• 12:06 - Turning Rejection into Learning
• 17:01 - Persistence vs. Adaptability in Rejection
• 21:46 - Creating Momentum in Your Journey
• 28:05 - Living Life Without a Rejection Bucket List

Resources

Learn more about Jia Jiang:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Facebook

Learn more about Josh Linkner:

• Website
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• X
• Facebook

ABOUT MIC DROP:

Hear from the world’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing tipping point moments, strategies, and approaches that led to their speaking career success. Throughout each episode, host Josh Linkner, #1 Innovation keynote speaker in the world, deconstructs guests’ Mic Drop moments and provides tactical tools and takeaways that can be applied to any speaking business, no matter its starting point. You'll enjoy hearing from some of the top keynote speakers in the industry including: Ryan Estis, Alison Levine, Peter Sheahan, Seth Mattison, Cassandra Worthy, and many more. Mic Drop is sponsored by ImpactEleven.

Learn more at: MicDropPodcast.com

ABOUT THE HOST:

Josh Linkner — a New York Times bestselling author — is a rare blend of business, art, and science.

On the business front, he’s been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which created over 10,000 jobs and sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s the co-founder and Managing Partner of Muditā (moo-DEE-tah) Venture Partners - an early-stage venture capital firm investing in groundbreaking technologies. Over the last 30 years, he’s helped over 100 startups launch and scale, creating over $1 billion in investor returns. He’s twice been named the EY Entrepreneur of The Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.

While proud of his business success, his roots are in the dangerous world of jazz music. Josh has been playing guitar in smoky jazz clubs for 40 years, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and has performed over 1000 concerts around the world. His experiences in both business and music led him to become one of the world’s foremost experts on innovation.

Josh is the co-founder and Chairman of Platypus Labs, a global research, training, and consulting firm. Today, he’s on a mission to help leaders Find A Way™ through creative problem-solving, inventive thinking, and ingenuity.

Learn more about Josh: JoshLinkner.com

SPONSORED BY AMPLIFY PUBLISHING GROUP:

Partnering with CXOs, keynote speakers, change makers, and other visionary leaders, Amplify Publishing Group (APG) is a leader in the hybrid publishing space with more than twenty years of experience acquiring, producing, marketing, and distributing books.

Passionate about ideas and voices that need to be heard, they're known for launching books that start engaging and timely conversations. At each turn, they have been at the forefront of innovation and have spearheaded a critical disruption of the publishing industry.

Learn more at: amplifypublishinggroup.com

POWERED BY IMPACTELEVEN:

ImpactEleven is a speaker training, development and accelerator Community working tirelessly to develop and serve thousands of voices with infinite influence to transform lives and the world for the better.

Learn more at: impacteleven.com