Creativity Quote by Barry Mann

To make it in pop music, you don’t just survive rejection - you metabolize it. Barry Mann’s line lands with the plainspoken authority of someone who’s watched “no” arrive in every possible wrapper: the unanswered demo, the polite brush-off, the gatekeeper who swears they’ll call. Coming from a Brill Building architect of hits, it’s not motivational wallpaper; it’s tradecraft.

The key word is “accept,” not “endure.” Endurance keeps you upright, but acceptance keeps you functional. Mann is pointing at a psychological switch that creative industries demand: rejection can’t be treated as a verdict on your worth, because the marketplace doesn’t operate like a court. Songs are passed over for timing, taste, label politics, the vocalist’s range, the producer’s agenda, whatever mood the room is in. Acceptance is how you stop interpreting every closed door as a personal indictment and start reading it as data.

The “really” does extra work. It implies most people claim they can handle rejection while quietly negotiating with it, replaying the meeting, rewriting the email, obsessing over what they should’ve said. Mann’s world rewards the opposite: quick recovery, relentless output, a willingness to send the next song even when the last one got returned to sender.

Subtext: talent is common; stamina is rare. The romantic myth says art is about inspiration. Mann, the professional, is telling you it’s also about tolerating being unwanted long enough to become undeniable.