Just Ask

A common characteristic of successful individuals is the ability, confidence, and courage to ask for what they want. Learn the importance of asking for what you want.

After I sold Adgrafix, my wife and I started the search for our dream summer home.  After looking at dozens of homes, we started to become discouraged that our dream home was not out there.  However, one day while riding our bikes in our favorite summer vacation spot, we found our dream home.  The only problem was, the house was not for sale.  We decided not to let a little thing like that stop us.  We wrote a quick note expressing our interest on a napkin we had, and then placed it in the screen door of the house.  Two weeks later, we received a call from the homeowner's real estate broker and a month later the home was ours.  Since the summer of 2001, my family and I have been cherishing every moment we spend together in our dream summer home.  If we had never asked the former owner if he were interested in selling his home, the home would never have been ours to enjoy.

A common characteristic of successful individuals is the ability, confidence, and courage to ask for what they want.  Successful sales people ask for the sale rather than waiting for the prospect to ask how to buy.  Successful students ask questions about what they do not understand rather than just accepting the information presented.  Successful singles ask for dates rather than stay at home and watch reruns of "Baywatch".  Successful people understand a basic, but all too overlooked truth: you must ask for things you want; very rarely will they just be given to you.

Why doesn't everyone ask for things they want?  The most common reason is the fear of rejection, which will be covered in detail in a future article.  The second most common reason is that people assume others know what they want.  The fact is, most of us are consumed with our own thoughts and desires and are not always thinking about what other people may want.  This is not necessarily being egocentric, it is just being human.  If you want something from someone, you can never really be sure the other person knows what you want unless you ask the other person for it.

When it comes to asking for what you want, don't hold back.  Those who are "lucky" in life simply ask for things they want more often.  Do not fear rejection; have the confidence to ask for what you want.  It is a simple but powerful truth of success: those who ask more often receive more.

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