As a coach, I have the opportunity to help people discover the fears that hold them back so they can be removed.  And what a difference it makes when fear’s grip is loosened!

This may seem like a BORING subject but this experience was profound and life changing for me and I’m hoping you’ll catch even a glimpse of the point.  It can certainly mean money in your pocket.

I struggled for many years with a deep down fear of rejection as I slowly but meticulously worked at peeling away layer after layer.  I would think I had it licked, and then something would prove to me that there were still painful memories buried somewhere within my consciousness.  So I would work away at it some more.

I never liked putting myself in a position where someone could tell me “no” when I asked something of them.

The true test came when I was assigned to do something I had never been willing to do.

I’ve learned to follow my heart but this was one of the times that it didn’t seem to make much sense to me.  I’d heard about an online training program that was pretty expensive.  It didn’t seem like they were offering anything new to me but yet I felt very drawn to it.  So I went ahead with it and got one thing from it that changed my life.

Because I take a lot of training in various subjects, sometimes I hear people getting upset about something that they didn’t think was worth the price.  I have found that all of the seemingly little things that I have picked up over the years have built into a solid understanding that now allows me to be more successful.  I am happy to get just one nugget to add to my storehouse of information.

Well, in this particular training, I really did feel like I knew it all.  But we were given the assignment to go out and get as many “no’s” as we possibly could.  I was working with a group and had committed to doing all of the homework so I took this seriously, as much as I didn’t want to do it.

I thought of things that would really help me out but that I couldn’t imagine being told anything but no.  What I found amazed me.  I got the opposite.  I went out on a limb, not caring if I got a no because that was the assignment.  My focus wasn’t on getting my feelings hurt.  I was determined to get some no’s so my homework would be complete-but I could hardly get one.

That experience changed my life and it continues to have an impact on me.  I learned how many people are willing to say yes when asked to do something that is constructive and helpful.

I saw this article and couldn’t agree more.  He hit the nail on the head and if you haven’t ever tried it, you just might be pleasantly surprised.

The Biggest Success Secret: Be Bold and Ask

By Keith Ferrazzi