No Means Hello!
A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success. Bo Bennett (1972-), business man author and programmer.
No Rejected
What is it about the word no that seems to get the best of us? From the very start as children, we just don’t seem to like it and the power it has over us. We rebel against it right from the start and will plot to overthrow it. As a child we hear it so often that we become experts at counter attacking, by way of tantrums, insidious plots and downright espionage.
Why is this word so powerful? It might even be downright harmful to adults when heard on a job interview, a date attempt or the chase for a dream. Hearing it in situations where we have our heart invested can deliver a crushing blow to the ego that can send us whirling into a depression and a negative belief system that cripples us for months and even years to come!
No Immunity
The word no really lies at the root of many fears. Just the thought of hearing it and bearing its implications can render most of us paralyzed and unwilling to even have a go at our dreams. However, there are many that just seem immune to its harmful rays. We all know people that seem to blow right through the stop sign that a solid no can throw into their path. Almost a nonchalant shrugging off of its power to slow them down, but how in the world do they do it?
The hardest part is that some of these superheroes seem downright goofy. Don’t they get how dangerous a word that can be? Where is their caution? Where is their fear? It’s almost like the rest of us are screaming at them like some unsuspecting character in a horror flick about to meet the obvious doom lurking around the corner! Ironically, however, those that seem deafened to the power of no, are actually screaming at us…or better yet laughing at us and wondering what we are so worried about.
Jagged Nos
You see, to them the word no has no negative effect. To these seemingly fearless sorts, the word is not a stop sign at all. It actually is a source of energy and a message of course correction hurling them closer to their goals. Clearly we can all agree that the pathway to our goals is jagged and laden with twists and turns all marked by nos. So maybe it’s all in our heads. Maybe it’s simply the difference in the way people interpret their nos that marks the difference between winners and losers.
So let’s try an experiment. The next time we hear the word no, let’s program ourselves to hear the word hello. After all, hello is a relatively universal way to begin a discussion, whether it be at a job interview, on a sales call or even when we first stumble upon a love attraction. I’m sure we can all agree that it’s a lot easier to hear 7 or 8 hellos rather than nos which usually come before we get what we really want. So from now on…no means hello!
