It might sound obvious, yet you have to get through the No’s to get to the Yes’. The trouble is that every No has the power to bring you down, cut you to size and discourage you just a smidge, which is enough to eventually prevent you from asking again. There is no clear indication which No is the last No that will lead to a Yes, so it means one more time and possibly one more No. I love the image Bessie Smith gives here of a mountain of No’s before she had one Yes.
Would you scale a mountain of No’s to get to one yes? Depends what you want badly enough, right? That mountain can be very overwhelming and leave one feeling like debris on the side of the path. It is at just that moment that we have to decide if we are going to just lay there or get back up, ask again, try one more time. We’ve all had those moments and have hopefully kept going, kept moving, kept asking one more time.
I think about Thomas Edison trying ten thousand different filament options before he found one that would work in the light bulb. Not only did he never give up he kept track of how many didn’t work. Imagine what that felt like. Going home and having to say – yet again – that one didn’t work. Over and over and over again. And yet the next day he got up, went to work, and tried again. He truly had a mountain of No’s before he found the one Yes. I’m glad he kept trying.
The worst thing they can say is No. That’s it, that’s how awful it can get. After they say No, it’s time to move on to another try, another possible No until there is finally a Yes. Let this post be your reminder that your next No is just one No closer to your triumphant Yes. Don’t give up, never surrender, and keep climbing that mountain to get to your Yes!
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