I once knew a man who gave me some very good advice: always say “yes” to a new opportunity…

I will not proceed by explaining everything he told me. However, I will say this: I took his advice and began to say “yes” to every opportunity available to me. If a friend asked me to join a new school club (even one based on a topic of little interest to me), I would agree to it. I would soon find that by the third day of attending club meetings, I had met at least ten new faces (and in turn, gained ten new prospects for my life coaching business). Though the club itself was nothing of interest, nor did I learn anything from it, I said “yes,” and an opportunity presented itself in a very visceral manner (I still see two of those ten students I had met, and they are now paying clients of mine).

When You Say No…

When you say “no” to something, you negate its potential as an opportunity. Here is a good example: you are at a party and you notice across the room, a man who has had way too much to drink. The party continues until midnight, and before you know it you are one of the only people still there. A friend of the man you noticed approaches you and says, “I’m sorry to bother you, but my friend has had way too much to drink. I don’t have enough room in my car to seat him, and he could always take a cab….”

That is where you should cut the man off and offer to take the individual home instead. Do you know why? It is because that man, though belligerently drunk, may have something of value for you. It is called the Rule of Reciprocity (do a favor for someone and on an almost instinctive level, they will pay you back tenfold), and it means that you are doing two people here a favor: the friend, and the drunken stranger. Now, it gets interesting when you say yes to the opportunity because, on the ride to his home, you end up discussing career paths.

 

 

The next morning, you receive a call from the man (let’s call him James), offering you a job as an assistant at a very refutable law firm…

Before Saying Yes…

Though saying yes to opportunities is a great way to meet new people, experience life to a fuller extent, and so much more, there is, of course, inherent risk. In the above scenario, you were far from danger; there were others around, and it involved two parties, both of whom were well-mannered and only one of them posed a threat (which would have been maximized to the extent of him vomiting in your back seat). Now, if you decide to offer a complete stranger a ride somewhere, I advise you to assess the amount of danger before agreeing to it.

The point is to recognize red flags when you see them! A stranger at a party is different than a stranger on a random street corner. Assess the situation before you agree to it, and realize that saying “no” to an opportunity is okay, too. Just make sure that the potential pros heavily outweigh the potential cons. Say “yes” to scenarios that are safe enough to act on. When in doubt, say “no” and do not regret it!

In Conclusion

The power of saying “yes” to opportunities is essential to success. There is a concept called the Two Percent Mindset, which you can read about on our blog post found here. To be part of the two percent of people who account for over 80 percent of the world’s profit, you must begin by leaving your comfort zone and saying “yes” (even when you do not wish to, as it may lead to something wonderful…)