There is something to be said about the psychology around being afraid of getting an answer of “NO!” As an entrepreneur you have to know that most doors won’t just open for you, you’ll have to kick them down.

However, kicking down doors doesn’t work if you are afraid to ask for uncommon things because you think the answer will be “NO!” anyway.

I’m personally still working through this concept, as the fear of rejection still drives up my blood pressure.  I try to remember one quote when this happens:

Closed mouths don’t get fed.

I don’t know the origin of this quote, (so if you do drop it in the comments), but its been one of my go to quotes ever since I first heard it.  Bottom line, there is only one way to get to “Yes” without getting to “No!” first.  That’s by going after low hanging fruit.

Going after low hanging fruit eliminates the most difficult and risky options and leaves you with the easiest opportunities to peruse.   Think about that for a second.  We’ve all been told that without risk there is no reward and that hard work pays off. We all know that the process is there to weed out the weak.   Going after the low hanging fruit as a practice in our lives will produce worse outcomes than getting a “NO!”  Going after the low hanging fruit will guarantee you have an extraordinarily ordinary life.

One exercise many suggest to help us overcome our fear of “NO!” is to think about a request we would ask if getting a “Yes” was guaranteed.  Now think of all the possibilities that will be available once you get that “Yes.”  Don’t make it something extreme like “Ask Warren Buffet to give me a billion dollars.”  That makes this exercise less valuable.  Make the ask meaningful to your current circumstances.  Now bookmark those answers and use them to motivate you the next time the fear of rejection starts to drive up your anxiety. Better yet, actually go out and make that request.