Almost every success story starts the same way. The intrepid entrepreneur finally gets a “Yes” after rejection after rejection. “No, not right now”, “No, we just don’t think it will work”, “No, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard”.
The reason for their success is they didn’t take “No” for an answer.
Lessons from a 2-Year-Old on Not Taking No for an Answer
The proudest moment in my daughter’s babyhood was the day I realized that “This kid has serious moxy!” Watching how she interacted with her environment, I realized that compared to her peers, she didn’t take “No” for an answer.
And not an asking multiple times kind of not taking “No”, but a deeply stubborn, single-minded determination kind of not taking no. More of a “No @#$% damn it” kind of no, but without the four-letter words.
It started at babyhood. You see, compared to other brand new crawlers, my daughter didn’t give up. Her crawling peers would stop at the slightest barrier, choosing to go around the pile of laundry to explore what was on the other side.
Not my little one. Faced with an obstacle, she hunkered down for a fight, bowing down her head to push through to the other side. Even if there was a much easier way around!
My inner voice said those prophetic words: Oh boy, I am in for it!
In an instant, my future as a parent flashed in front of me. I saw myself as the baffled, apologetic mother whose toddler ends up on the 6 o’clock news after narrowly escaping serious injury from climbing on top of a perilous height.
For the record, the polite term is “busy” (and thank goodness the 6 o’clock news never happened)…
The “No @#$% damn it” continued as my daughter started walking (an all determination, no skill or style endeavor on her part) and joined the ranks of the playground set.
By the age of two, her fearlessness was apparent. Seeing a kid twice her age attempt to climb to the top of the play structure, she just had to do it too! No fear, no excuses, just a quiet “No @#$% damn it” resolution that it will be done.
Often we let our fear, our inhabitations, our wishy-washy resolution get in the way of our success instead of taking a “No @#$% damn it” view of it. The minute we start to dream big, that little voice starts to question what we are doing and we slow down, we sabotage, we take “No” for an answer instead of pushing through to the final “Yes”.
Momentum Monday Challenge: Say “NO @#$% damn it” to whatever fear is holding you back and step up and do something big and bold this week!
1 Comment
As a mom of a 16 year old and a 3 year old, both stubborn boys, I see the lesson learned here. I know with the determination of a “NO @#$% damn it” attitude I will make my business a success! Thank you for the wonderful reminder of this lesson and the memories of my boys’ “determination”.