Always Ask for what you want

This month, my oldest daughter turned 9, THE childhood half way mark. It’s hard to believe that in this same amount of time, she’ll be leaving for college and will begin her life “outside of the nest.” I’m a bit nostalgic and I am feeling the need to teach her all of her life lessons today, but I will keep to my most important one here.

My mom always told me, “You’re only on loan to me to teach you what I can teach you. Your real job is to go out there and make a difference in this world by living a good life that helps others.” She taught me to be strong and courageous, for I will only regret the things I didn’t do. To ensure I kept my regrets to a minimum, she taught me this incredibly important life lesson:

Always ask for what you want. What’s the worst that could happen? Someone says, “No.” What does that matter? No is just a word. Don’t allow yourself to put any power behind that word. It only sits among all the other words in the dictionary. Don’t let it mean anything to you and don’t let it stall your progress. It’s only a word. A “no” from one person is only an invitation to receive a yes from the right person.

Don’t get me wrong. All of your other childhood lessons apply here too. You must ask with nice manners; continue to make good choices so that they know you’re intentions are pure; and be gracious if you are told “no.” However, you never know what will happen if you don’t ask. Dreams can be realized and you may find yourself doing something you never thought possible. By asking for what you want, you own your own destiny rather than assuming other people share your vision. Just ask. It never hurts as long as you do it politely and with a good heart. Always put it out there because you never know, they may just say, “Yes.”

So my sweet little 9 year old, my wish for you is to own that beautiful life of yours; own all of your amazing dreams and don’t ever be scared of the word, “no.”