Salespeople grapple with rejection — and find ways to overcome it — every day. It comes with the territory. But on those tough days, it’s comforting to know rejection is often the springboard to great success.

Case in point: When Warren Buffett was rejected for admission to his college of choice (Harvard), he was devastated.

But it also was a pivotal moment in determining his future.

Columbia accepted him, where he worked with mentors who taught him the basic investment principles that still guide him today. And now he’s one of the most successful investors in the world.

Other successful businesspeople have also built upon rejection to find even greater success.

Ted Turner was rejected by two top schools (Princeton and Harvard) before being accepted at his third choice (Brown).

But Turner was forced to drop out when money dried up, and he went to work for his father’s billboard company.

He took over the company and grew it into a media conglomerate, one that started CNN.

Paul Purcell, head of the Robert W. Baird investment advisory company, also used rejection to help propel him to success.

When he was turned away by Stanford, it inspired him to work even harder.

He went on to graduate from Notre Dame and got his MBA at the University of Chicago — which honored him in 2009 with its Distinguished Corporate Alumnus Award.

Meanwhile, his company has thrived through tough times, and he’s grown client assets to $75 billion.

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Tags: CNN, Columbia, Harvard, Notre Dame, Paul Purcell, Princeton, rejection, Robert W. Baird, success, Ted Turner, University of Chicago, Warren Buffett