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King vividly illustrates the need for a growth mindset through his personal experience with rejection. As a young writer, he faced numerous rejection letters. Rather than letting these setbacks demoralize him, he chose to embrace them. He even created a visual representation of his rejections by pinning the letters on a nail driven into his wall.
When he outgrew the space of that nail due to the sheer volume of rejections, he upgraded to a spike to accommodate the growing collection. This metaphor beautifully encapsulates the attitude of resilience; rejections are not signs of failure but stepping stones to mastery. For aspiring writers, King’s message is clear: failure is an essential component of success, and one must learn to welcome it.