How comfortable are you in asking for money? For budget? For resources? For support? For approval of your latest creative marketing idea? When was the last time you actually had to ask for any of these? Did you succeed in getting what you asked for? Did you learn anything in the process of asking?
The best talk I have ever seen on the art of asking was given by the most unlikely of people recently in February 2013 at the Ted conference. The presentation had heart, experience-based facts and a candor most business executives and professional consultants could only aspire to but it was given by a self-described “punk meets cabaret” singer by the name of Amanda Palmer. In less than 14 minutes Ms. Palmer takes you on a journey of discovery from street performer to successful musician bucking the system. Throughout that journey life lessons in trusting the universe and “just asking” are exposed with grace and humor. By the way, if you are still an unbeliever than you should know that she raised over $1.2 million via crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter when all she was asking for was $100 thousand.
Fear is the number one inhibiter to just asking for what you need: fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, fear of exclusion. It is this fear that paralyzes most marketing professionals from getting what they need to be successful. Rejection is going to happen, and happen often if you are doing your job. It is how you handle that rejection and what you learn in the process that separates the truly successful from the just occasionally lucky.
It all starts with the art of asking. Hone this skill and you will find that the universe will answer. But be prepared because as the Rolling Stones have warned “you can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.” If don’t ask you most likely won’t even get that so ask away.
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