Knocking every door

That’s a beautiful watch” she said. I looked up, interrupted from the retail-therapy of looking at skin care products at the H&G store. “Oh thank you!” I said with a smile. Well, it was no random exchange. She continued “I sell Amway products. They are very effective. Would you be interested to buy?” I was taken aback. Why would she come out of the blue and ask a stranger to buy products from her? I politely refused and moved on.

A few days later, I came across this project “100 days of rejection” by an entrepreneur named Jia Jiang. I watched his TED talk. Jiang who was turned down by investors realized that one of the main roadblocks in his path was the fear of rejection. To desensitize himself, he spent 100 days asking for simple, harmless things that are likely to be rejected. On Day 1, he asked a stranger for $100. Well, obviously he was turned down. On Day 2, he asked for a burger refill. However, there was progress. On Day 1, his heart was pounding hard and palms were sweating. When the stranger refused to give 100$, he ran! He was embarrassed and ashamed. On Day 2, when the waiter refused a refill, he spoke about how a refill would be just nice. It was less intimidating and he had a decent conversation with the waiter. I do not want to ruin the essence and humor of the TED talk by writing down everything here- you should watch it yourself. But ultimately, he ended up giving a lecture at Texas university on rejection. He ends the talk by saying that he fulfilled his life dream by just asking!

We all live in fear of rejection but once you desensitize, life becomes easier. Getting out of comfort zone and ASKING can be a daunting task. But in the long run, those who master this wonderful trait, are undeniably more successful.

As a part-introvert, I think twice even before asking that extra sauce. :P Well, I guess this project should be on my new year resolution.  Err.. Some other year!