The Power of Asking
When you need something, either in the business world or your personal life, try asking for it and see what happens.
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about how I could provide you value in my first post here on Medium. What can I say that you don’t already know? Wasting your time is the last thing I want.
Then it hit me: tell you all about the power of asking.
While it may seem obvious, you’d be amazed at how much power the simple act of asking someone a question or telling them what you want has. Countless opportunities have been presented to me just by asking for them. It’s how I found my mentor, clients, and been granted access to things I had no business having access to.
When I first got on LinkedIn and made my account, I began blindly making connections with people. I got my first three or four that way, but then tried a different approach. I started adding personalized messages to my connection invites. That’s when things started to change.
In those personalized messages, I told each person exactly what I wanted, exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t mince words. It was direct and to the point. But don’t get that twisted, being direct and to the point is NOT the same as being aggressive or mean.
You’ve got to find the balance between being polite and being direct. Truly being genuine in your actions goes a long way in finding this balance. Don’t look at people for what they can do for you, but rather for what you can do for each other. Symbiotic relationships are always the way forward. Value is the currency the world trades in. Find a way to provide it, and you’ll never go hungry.
I’d like to end this post with an offer to you all. Not to sell or push anything, but to extend an olive branch instead. If there’s anything you want from me (nothing’s too big or small), feel free to send me a message and I’ll get back to you right away. This is the way we go forward as a collective, by asking, doing, and providing value to one another.
