"From Outlier's Rejection to Med School: How Failure Saved My Dream"

I still remember the day I got the rejection email from Outlier. I had high hopes—it felt like my breakthrough, the moment I'd finally start earning online in a meaningful way. But the message was short, cold, and final: “We regret to inform you…”

That rejection hit me hard.

I had been trying everything to make online work... work. Writing articles, answering surveys, signing up for every platform people raved about. But it all led to the same thing—nothing. Tiny payouts, withdrawal issues, support teams that never replied.

Every passing day made me feel more invisible, like the universe had its back turned on me. I started questioning my worth. Was I ever going to make it at anything? Would I ever be able to succeed? I began to lose hope, my dreams slowly slipping further away, drowned out by the noise of failure.

Then, something shifted.

In the middle of all that frustration, I remembered an old dream—medicine. It had been a passion of mine long ago, something I had put aside in favor of chasing quick success in the world of online work. But something inside me stirred, telling me to give it another shot. I don’t know why or how, but I felt a pull—a sense of purpose I hadn't felt in a long time. I decided to return to what I had once loved.

I started studying again, focusing more on my health and sleep, creating a routine, and tracking my progress like my life depended on it—because, in a way, it did. I made a commitment to myself that I wasn’t going to give up this time. There were days when I was terrified, when the exams loomed large in front of me and my doubts crept back in. What if I failed again? But despite the fear, I pushed through. I worked harder than ever before, refusing to let my past failures dictate my future.

And then, the impossible happened—I got accepted into medical school.

For some, this might seem like a normal achievement. But for me, it was everything. It wasn’t just about getting into med school. It was about proving to myself that I could bounce back, that failure wasn’t the end of my story—it was merely the plot twist that led me to where I am now.

Today, I’m a medical student. But even now, I continue to explore online work in my free time. But this time, I do it with a different perspective. I know now that real success isn’t just about making money online. It’s about finding purpose in what you do. It’s about doing something that matters, something that gives you a reason to get out of bed every morning and face the world.

Success is not just about financial gain. It’s about showing up for yourself even when no one else sees you. It’s about finding the strength to rise again after every setback. I had to experience those failures, feel that sting of rejection, in order to understand that my worth was never tied to a paycheck or a job. My worth comes from my determination, my passion, and my refusal to quit.

Looking back, I realize that those online jobs and every platform I tried were not failures in the traditional sense. They were lessons. They were reminders that sometimes the road to success is not a straight path. You might stumble, you might fall, but if you get back up, you’ll find that the journey was worth it.

I learned to trust the process and to believe in myself, even when the odds seemed stacked against me. And while my path to medical school wasn’t easy, it has been one of the most rewarding journeys of my life.

So, thank you, Outlier. And thank you to every failure that tried to break me—because without you, I wouldn’t have found myself. You were the catalysts that pushed me to rediscover my true purpose. You made me who I am today, and for that, I will always be grateful.