Fellow Badass: When you are out to accomplish something big and audacious, you will have plenty of people who resist you along the way. Your biggest source of resistance will often be the people closest to you...not because they dont want to see you succeed...but rather they dont want to see you fail. But when youre up to something big and audacious, to a certain extent, you have to be willing to fail. You have to be willing for people to poo-poo your idea. You have to be willing to hear No, after No, after No. When I first came up with the idea to start Badass Businesswomen over four years ago, the resistance was THICK. My parents hated it. My grandparents hated it. My colleagues hated it. They said things like, This will ruin your reputation. People wont get it. On one hand I didnt blame them. I knew they were just protecting me. But in my heart, I saw the vision. As I shared my vision and tried to enroll people around me, I got No, after No, after No. But I stuck with it. Even when it felt like the whole world was against me. Now look where Im at. The latest victory came recently in an envelope shipped from Tokyo. In it was a letter from Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, telling me she was looking forward to my Badass Businesswomen program in September. Good thing I blew off the naysayers, huh? Who cares about all the people who thought it was a dumb idea when I have one of the most influential women in the world as my biggest fan? Now I have a new vision...a new project that will serve as the driving force behind Badass...the thing I want to focus on for the next six years of my life. My partner in crime on this one is 19-year-old Misato Oi...a Japanese Super Star Badass of epic proportion. Shes an award-winning poet, Judo player with 10 years of practice, and the singular voice for Japanese girls at the G20 Summit this year in Sydney, Australia. Since meeting her two months ago, shes blown my mind with her lofty aspirations and fearless dreaming. She and I are soul sisters, and Ive taken her under my wing to make sure shes empowered in her mission to be a voice of change in Japan. (In fact, you too can help Misato help Japan...click here to donate what you can to cover the $3,000 worth of travel expenses it will take for her accompany me and help me give speeches to her peers in September. The speeches will be 10x better with her there translating and sharing her story!!!) https://indiegogo/projects/women-s-stories This week I pitched our lofty new idea for the first time to a huge international corporate sponsor. Though this sponsor loves Misato and I...they came back with a No. They cant support our project. It doesnt conform with their internal guidelines. I could have been disheartened. It could have knocked the wind out of me. It could have made me doubt the idea. Instead, I emailed Misato and said, Congratulations...we got our first No...and it will be the first of many Nos to come! It was a learning moment for her. May it be a learning moment for you. If the people around you arent saying No, then youre not asking for big enough things. Plus, No doesnt mean No forever. It means, No for now. Mark my words, Im going back to that sponsor once we have an angle that fits better with their interests and guidelines. Next time you get a No, dont let it phase you. Let it set your heart on fire. Let it be the fuel you need to keep asking..until you start hearing... Yes... Yes... Yes...
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 19:03:13 +0000
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