“make the sale” or “get the part”

[meliss]

Hi, what do these expressions mean? I suppose that they are not about ability to sell something... Thank you.
"More examples [of not loving ourselves]: ... We don’t “make the sale,” or “get the part,” and we are sure we are “not good enough.” (You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay)

 

[J&K Tutoring]

...they are not about ability to [STRIKE]sale[/STRIKE] sell something... Sale is a noun; sell is a verb.

We don’t “make the sale,” or “get the part,” and we are sure we are “not good enough.”

Certainly making a sale is about the ability to sell something, and getting the part is too, in a way: we are 'selling' ourselves.

The meaning of this sentence is that, when we fail at something, we may tend to think that it was because we are not a good enough person- that there is some defect in our personality. That might be true, but the author wants to make the point that most of the time there are other factors in the buyer's (or director's) decision: Maybe the customer bought from someone else because he/she liked the other product better. Maybe you didn't get the part because the director wanted someone taller. There are many, many reasons for our failures that have nothing to do with our personality.