The Smallest House Frank Lloyd Wright Ever Designed, A Captain’s Unusual Question During Battle, And China’s Wealthiest Man Can’t Get Into Harvard: Why A ‘Make Them Tell You No’ Attitude Is Required
The 3-Word Quote: “No’s Are Necessities”
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1.
Frank Lloyd Wright is perhaps the most famous architect of all time.
He is often the only architect that most people can name.
Wright designed more than 1,000 buildings spanning seventy years.
The famed Guggenheim Museum and the iconic Fallingwater are two of his triumphs.
The smallest building he ever designed is less well-known than the Guggenheim or Fallingwater, but it may be his most unique.
Wright drew the plans for this tiny structure for Eddie Berger in 1956.
The design featured a low roof with a large overhang, elements that dominated many of his works.
Because of its size, Wright sketched the design on the back of a used envelope and sent it to his client.
This might not have seemed professional, but his client didn’t mind.
The building was finally constructed using Wright's design in 1963, but its owner, Eddie Berger, never used it.
He didn't like it.
Eddie's dislike for the building stemmed from his hatred of sleeping outside.
You see, Eddie was a dog - a labrador retriever.
And the smallest structure Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed was a doghouse.
But how Wright, a world-famous architect, came to design a doghouse is a unique story we can all learn from.
2.
He was considered 'rebellious' as a child. He was involved in many fights as a teenager. And he 'caused problems' for his parents growing up.
Peter Tordenskjold was born in 1690, and after a turbulent childhood, he joined the navy.
But even in the navy, he was bold and brash.
He was known to constantly attack his enemies - even if his ship seemed outmatched.
Many considered him reckless as a navy leader because of his impulsive actions.
Despite this, Tordenskjold rose quickly and had an illustrious career.
Today, he is well known and remembered in several Scandinavian songs.
There are ships named after him. And he is even 'cited in the Danish Royal Anthem.'
But he is most remembered for one particular battle during his career.
It was a battle that led to a court martial for his behavior.
But the behavior in question wasn't ruthless.
It wasn't especially savage or gruesome.
But Tordenskjold was primarily brought to trial for asking a question.
His behavior - and his question - so infuriated Frederick IV, King of Denmark, that he requested the trial.
The question Tordenskjold asked during battle was ridiculous, but even hundreds of years later, it can serve as inspiration.
3.
Today, his company is worth billions.
He is the richest man in Asia and one of the wealthiest people in the world.
He runs one of the largest online retail companies in the world.
But Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, claims he knows 'nothing about technology.'
He says he doesn't know how to write code, and he has been described as not being good at math.
And despite having one of the most well-known companies in the world, he claims he doesn't 'know marketing.'
Yet his company is a massive success.
But Jack Ma prefers to talk about something other than success.
He likes to discuss failure and attitude in interviews.
He says he failed a national primary school test twice.
He failed the national middle school test three times.
He applied to be a police officer as a young man. There were four openings. Five people applied.
He was not one of the four who got the job.
Later, he said twenty-four people applied for a local Kentucky Fried Chicken job.
Twenty-three received job offers - Jack Ma did not.
In fact, after college, Ma applied for thirty job offers in his hometown of Hangzhou, China.
He was rejected by all thirty.
But Ma did have some victories.
He started an early online business, before Alibaba, with a friend.
The business began to take off.
With a bit of success, Ma thought he should apply to Harvard Business School.
So, Ma attended Harvard, founded Alibaba, and became a billionaire.
Except part of that isn't true.
Like the police, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and thirty other employers, Harvard turned him down, too.
Harvard rejected him.
Ma tried to get into Harvard again. He was rejected again.
In fact, Ma tried to get into Harvard ten different times.
He was rejected every time.
Ten tries. Ten rejections.
But Ma often tells his Harvard rejection story in interviews because he knows others can learn from it.
But not the way you think.
The Takeaway:
So what does a doghouse designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a Navy commander asking a question during a battle, and Jack Ma getting rejected by Harvard all have in common?
They are all examples of an attitude of perseverance and grit that can be summed up with the phrase, 'Make them tell you no.'
Make them tell you ‘no’.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings of consequence, important buildings, famous buildings.
He didn't design doghouses.
Except he did design one.
Why? Because he was asked to design a doghouse.
Robert and Gloria Berger had commissioned Wright to design their house in California.
The Bergers had a son named Jim.
And Jim had a dog named Eddie, and Eddie needed a house.
So, on June 19, 1956, twelve-year-old Jim Berger grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a letter.
The letter was addressed to Mr. Wright.
In the page-long letter, Jim asked the famed architect to 'design me a doghouse which would be easy to build, but would go with our house.'
Jim's letter continued:
'My dog's name is Edward, but we call him Eddie. He is four years old or in dog life 28 years. He is a labrador retriever. He is two and a half feet high and three feet long. The reason I would like this doghouse is for winter mainly.'
A twelve-year-old boy writing the world's most famous architect - and asking him to design a doghouse.
Pretty silly.
But Frank Lloyd Wright wrote back.
The architect told young Jim Berger that he would, in fact, design a home for Eddie.
Wright called it an 'opportunity.'
Eventually, Jim received plans for Eddie's house on the back of an envelope with instructions on how to build it.
The finished house was a total of four square feet - making it the smallest structure Wright ever designed.
The doghouse now sits in the Marin County Civic Center, and 'Eddie's House' has become a popular tourist attraction.
But it would have never been built without Jim Berger's letter.
Without knowing it, Jim Berger took on a 'make them tell you no' attitude when asking for Wright's help.
Berger wasn't embarrassed; he wasn't afraid; he wasn't ashamed when writing his letter.
After all, what was the worst that could have happened?
Perhaps Wright ignores the letter. Maybe he tells Berger 'no.'
But Jim would have never received a 'yes' if he let fear or embarrassment stop him.
It didn't stop a twelve-year-old.
But fear and embarrassment often stop adults.
They're afraid of the no's.
Adopting a 'make them tell you no' attitude is more of a call to pursue things you feel are out of your reach.
The feelings of not being qualified, the fears of rejection, and the fear of what happens if you do get a no. That imposter syndrome, can begin to disappear when you adopt a 'make them tell me no' attitude.
If you get a 'yes' to a request, wonderful.
But stacking up 'no's can be beneficial too. They begin to make you less fearful of rejection and more apt to act.
Author Brendan Behan said, 'Many of our fears are tissue-paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.'
If twelve-year-old Jim Berger had any fears of writing Wright, he walked through them - and received a yes.
***
Peter Tordenskjold engaged in a vicious battle in July of 1714.
He ordered his ship to open fire on an enemy ship.
The enemy returned fire.
The battle raged for hours - each ship ripping cannon shots at the other.
Both ships were heavily damaged, but the battle lasted fourteen hours.
But Tordenskjold's aggressive attack led him to run out of ammunition.
And without gunpowder and cannonballs, he could not continue the fight. So Tordenskjold waved a white flag and lowered a smaller boat so he could make his way toward his enemy.
His enemy, a British ship, greeted him - eager to discuss the terms of Tordenskjold's surrender.
But he wasn't interested in surrendering when he boarded the British ship.
Instead, he had a question for his enemy.
Tordenskjold asked the British captain if he could give him a shipment of cannonballs and gunpowder - so he could continue to attack.
Tordenskjold told the British captain he wanted to continue attacking him - he just needed some ammunition.
A ridiculous request.
He quickly received a resounding 'no' from the British captain.
The British were not in the habit of providing ammunition to their enemies during a battle.
However, the British commander and Tordenskjold shared a toast and agreed to part ways as both ships were severely damaged.
Upon hearing about the question, King Frederick IV demanded that Tordenskjold be put on trial for endangering his men.
Tordenskjold defended himself and was found innocent. In fact, he even asked for a promotion from the king after the trial - and received it.
He was promoted to the rank of captain.
Like Jim Berger, Tordenskjold asked for what he wanted - even if it was a ridiculous request.
The 'no' from the British officer didn't affect him; he promptly requested a promotion from the King shortly after his trial.
He knew there would eventually be a 'yes' - if he just kept asking.
***
Jack Ma made people tell him 'no.'
He asked Harvard ten times to join its business school - and was told 'no' ten times.
He made Harvard tell him 'no,' and they repeatedly did.
But, the key was - he asked. He did everything he could to get into his desired school.
While Ma never did get a ‘yes’ from Harvard, the many 'no's didn't diminish his desire.
He knew his persistence would be rewarded eventually.
He wasn't bothered by rejection. A rejection from Harvard didn’t mean he would be rejected in other opportunities.
He said he found a way to use the 'no's as fuel to propel him to his next ask.
The twelve-year-old, a navy captain, and a Chinese Billionaire all share one thing.
They didn't let fear or imposter syndrome stop them from chasing what they wanted.
William Shakespeare said:
"Our doubts are traitors
And make us lose the good we might oft win
By fearing to attempt."
The pain of regret is far more persistent and painful than the sting of rejection.
Go ask.
Make them tell you 'no.'
3 things before you go:
watch: popular TED talk about rejection: What I learned From 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang; fun 15 minutes about purposely facing rejection
watch/listen: the ultimate ‘make them tell you no’ request - Vanderbilt student takes a chance and asks to play piano for Billy Joel - but gets a ‘yes;’ and he kills it; always love watching this one
watch / listen: same kid in a quick interview on the Today Show about how he had the courage to ask
As always, thanks for being a reader. See you in ten days.
-Jeff