Red

Lights

Flashing

Stop 

Light

Activated

The healing power of "No!"

 

No thank you. Not now. No way. No how. Not. Nope.

It isn't personal. 

Oh yes it is. Very personal. 

If you are an amateur, a novice, a greenhorn, a neophyte, a tenderfoot, or in my case, a babe in the woods, the word "NO" stings. It hurts. Rejected. Not good enough. Not worthy of honorable mention.

Ouch!

NO...has the power to overshadow all the Yes, Yes, Yes, Come on in, For Sure, So True, Of Course, Right This Way successes.

That's why I advise any of you out there in the ether, trying on something novel, starting an adventure, rebranding your business or launching a new idea, to hitch up your flimsy little fish fins and before leaving the pond, prior to your nosedive into the ocean...

...to buy boots. Steel toed construction worker boots.  

Purchase a hard hat and body armor. 

Live life like a lizard. Thick skinned and adaptable.

On the road to big, bigger, biggest and good, better, best, you will meet the troll under the bridge. Head on. Waving a red octagonal sign loudly labeled "Who goes there?" Boldly, you smile and introduce yourself. Make your pitch. Cock that bat over your shoulder and prepare to knock it out of the park. Whooosh. A swing and a miss.

NO.

Mr. or Mrs. Troll, on a roll, demand you pay the toll. 

Here are your choices. Stomping around feels good. Cussing under your breath is an option. Slapping your forehead with the palm of your hand is okay, but whoa, such a headache. Crying, weeping and wailing while slinking off towards home is very dramatic...a trail of tears. Ah! The pain of an artist. The suffering. Indeed.

How about this? What if "No" is part of the plan. Maybe it doesn't mean not ever. Never. Maybe it just means Not Right Now. Maybe there is another way around the tollbooth.

Remember when we were kids and Mom took us to buy new school shoes? How she'd pinch the toe and make sure there was room for growth? Hearing the word NO is tough when your toes are pinched and your feet are itchy. The important thing to remember is who wears the shoes. And the pants. The big girl pants, in my case.

You would never be here, in this moment in time, if you did not do something well. You love what you do. You love the people you meet. You live to be in the game. You try. You try very hard and so do those people who occasionally have to tell you No. Not right now. It's not a trick. They hear it too. The No. 

So while you may hear the word No, let me translate one more time. NO is simply an opportunity to lace up your boots , walk around in your own shoes and your own space. The space that you created, coordinated and cultivated. It began with a seed.

It is now a garden numbering flowers to the power of yes. 

Yes I believe I will. 

Yes I believe I am able. 

Yes I believe. In fairies. In Santa. In things I cannot see.

This is the part where someone says, "Clap if you believe"...

...and the light turns green...