Chris Dixon: If You Aren't Getting Rejected, Your Goals Aren't Ambitious Enough

At least according to Chris Dixon, an entrepreneur and partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. In a new post on his blog, Dixon explains how he learned to value rejection. Rather than taking it as a sign of failure, he learned to see it as reinforcing that his goals were bold.

"If you aren't getting rejected on a daily basis, your goals aren't ambitious enough," he writes.

When his career was just starting out, Dixon says he applied to and was denied hundreds of positions at companies ranging from tiny startups to major tech institutions. The economy was tough - many startups were laying people off - and his background in philosophy, math logic, and computer programming didn't do him much good.

"The reason this period was so useful was that it helped me develop a really thick skin," Dixon reflects. "I came to realize that employers weren't really rejecting me as a person or on my potential - they were rejecting a resume."

Today, Dixon looks at rejection as just another step on the path to success.

Disclosure: Marc Andreessen is an investor in Business Insider.