My habit of asking helped me become a best-selling author. I first discovered this secret in the book ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne. In this book, Rhonda talks about the 3 steps (ask, believe and receive) to manifest whatever we want using the law of attraction. I realized the power of the 1st step (asking) when I actually started practicing it.
In the below video I explain how the Power of Asking made me a bestselling author:
(Click here to watch on YouTube)
When I started writing my book Job Escape Plan, I got the idea of interviewing successful online entrepreneurs and include the interviews in the book. But I was very shy and hesitant to ask people for this favor. When I shared this idea with my accountability partner, he said that this is an excellent idea and I must ask these entrepreneurs to be featured in my book. He understood that I was hesitating and told me to just think of the consequences of asking. There were only 3 possibilities: I would get a reply saying yes, or I would get a reply saying no, or in the worst-case scenario, I would get no reply at all. He made me understand that I am not going to lose anything by asking. I therefore went ahead and emailed a few online entrepreneurs and 7 of them instantly agreed to be a part of my book project! This was one of the most important reasons for my book to become a bestseller. Had I not asked for this help, the book would not have reached so many people.
I later analysed what was holding me back from asking. The actual reason was – the fear of rejection. I was thinking that I would feel bad when someone says ‘no’ to me. But now I look at this in a different way. When someone says ‘no’, they are actually not rejecting me personally. They are saying no to my request at that point of time. This means that I can always go back to that person asking for the same help at a later time when its convenient to them. I realized that it’s okay to hear no for an answer. This change in attitude opened many doors in my life.
Now I ask help from everybody for every thing. While launching my book, I asked all my friends, relatives and acquaintances to read and review my book. This resulted in the book getting over 100 positive reviews within the 1st week of its launch. I also started reaching out to all the famous podcasters and bloggers asking them to feature me. This helped me to promote my book in a big way and spread my message to a larger audience.
The habit of asking has been a game changer in my life. I request you also to develop this habit and not worry about getting rejected. If you think you deserve a promotion, just ask your boss. If you want to take your girl out for a date, go and ask her. Ask more often and watch your life change for the better.