Take the Ask Challenge

Want to shake up your week and add some fun? Take the Ask Challenge. It doesn’t require much on your part – just a small step outside your comfort zone. Ready? Ask for something extra. That’s it! Sounds easy. Could be easy. Could be rewarding in a small way, or it could be the crack in the door to a whole new universe of opportunity.

Here’s what you do. Say you’re shopping at the mall. You find a t-shirt and go to the store register. The clerk folds the item and starts to toss it into a bag. You want the hanger. Ask if you can have the hanger. Ten minutes later you’re in the food court and have decided on a hot submarine sandwich. Ask if the prep cook will cut the sandwich into three pieces and wrap them individually in aluminum foil so they’ll stay hot. After you get home and do one or two chores, ask one of the kids if they’ll rub your hands for a minute. Any little extra will do as long as it’s something you’d like, but would’ve let slide had you not decided to take the Ask Challenge.

You can ask with no expectation of giving back other than your thanks, or you can offer to give something in return. You may decide to do something for the person who gave to you at a later date. The idea is to let your mind open up to the possibility of asking.

Tell me what you did and how it worked out. How did it feel to ask? Did you get what you asked for? Did it start you thinking about asking for other things you might like? I want to hear from you.

Author/speaker Janet F. Williams is a high-end sales professional, sales trainer and coach for personal and professional development. She speaks on topics contained in her award-winning book “You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Get” to businesses, networking groups, non-profits, book clubs and more. For more information or to buy the book, please visit: www.JanetFWilliams.com and www.GoodDayMedia.com.

One Response to “Take the Ask Challenge”

  1. August 13th, 2009 at 12:55 am

    I was shopping this weekend, and asked for – and got – the hangers. One store didn’t ask me, they just threw the hangers in the bag with the tops, so I didn’t even have to ask.

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