Not long ago I was speaking to an author. I
had noticed that she had an endorsement from
Deepak Chopra on the cover of her book. I was
surprised and impressed, and was curious how
she managed to get an endorsement from the one
and only Deepak Chopra. A few days later, curiosity
got the best of me, and I called her and said,
“How did you get Deepak Chopra to write
you an endorsement?” She replied, “I
wrote him an email and asked him for it.”
Is it really that simple? After all, there
is the old adage "ask, and you shall receive”.
This got me to thinking. Why don’t more
people ask for what they want? I mean if you
ask for something, and you don’t get it,
you are no worse off than you already are right?
Look at children. They have no problem asking
for what they want. Even if they don’t
get it, many times they will continue to ask
until they do.
This sent me on a new mission. As an author,
motivational speaker and radio host, I could
really gain a lot by just asking for what I
want. Now, I had always been pretty good about
going out and getting what I wanted or making
what I wanted happen, but it never occurred
to me to ask someone else to give me something
I wanted. First stop, endorsement for my book.
Who do I admire and respect, and would like
to have endorsement from? Brian Tracy. I went
to his website and find his email address and
sent him a request for an endorsement. A week
or so later, he replied with “yes, It’d
be my pleasure to endorse your book. Please
see below.” Hhmmmm. Maybe getting what
you want is as simple as asking for it.
A few nights later, I got an email advertising
a new workshop by Michael Gerber, author of
The E Myth. “I bet he would be a great
interview”, I thought. I went to his website
found his email address and asked him for an
interview on my radio show, Success Made Simple
on webtalkradio.net. Then, days later, I was
watching A Big Idea with Donny Deutsch on CNBC.
One of the guests was Michael Port, author of
Book Yourself Solid and Beyond Booked Solid.
This again led me to think, he has great information
that listeners on Success Made Simple would
find valuable. Yet again, I went to his website
and asked for an interview. And yet again, he
said yes.
How could I have gone my entire adult life
and not realize how easy it was to not only
ask for the things I wanted, but actually get
them? Now, people started asking me, “How
did you get Michael Gerber on your show?”
or “Wow, Brian Tracy endorsed your book.
How’d you get that?” Of course now
it was my turn to say, I asked for it.
Think about the things you want it your life.
Do you want a raise, or different behavior from
your spouse or children? Do you want extra dressing
for your salad at dinner? Do you want a new
bike for Christmas? Think about the things you
want in your life and ask yourself if you don’t
have them because you haven’t asked for
them.
Moral of this story is, ask for what you want.
No matter what it is. If you are told no then
you’re not any worse off than you already
are. You don’t have what you want or need
now, but if you ask for it you may just get
it. Either way, you have nothing to lose and
everything to gain.
What are you waiting for? Just ask.
