Ask and You Might be Turned Down

Greetings:

After reading Jack Canfield's ezine (I posted it on the blog yesterday) I was reminded of a situation that happened to me while I was working on my Doctorate Degree.

Needing some additional information for the research I was doing, I asked a fellow student if she would share a study with me that she had completed. The study was not in my area of interest. However, what I wanted to see was the layout and process she went through to pull it all together. Her reply was a flat refusal to share her information.

Just because you ask doesn't mean that the other person has to say Yes. But if you don't ask you won't know what the possibilities are. The way I looked at this situation was that I didn't have the paper to begin with, so I had nothing to lose. If she said No then I was in the same place I was already, except I now knew I needed to find a different source.

I sent a thank you email back to her. After all, she had helped me determine a way that wasn't going to work. Actually, in the end she did share the information after realizing there was no way I could steal her research. The other thing to understand is that when someone says No, it might mean that they simply don't understand the request. When I was able to explain in a way she understood, she was happy to share her paper with me.

No isn't personal and it is always an option. Just because you ask doesn't mean the other person has to comply. That is the right they have. But if you don't ask you will never know. When asking for something, go into it knowing that the answer may not be Yes. And that is fine.

It is always worth asking even if you do get a no. No doesn't mean anything and you haven't lost anything. You life will not change.

Here's to taking action,

Rachelle