Yesterday, I went to Chicago Startup Week. I told my accountability buddy, Nicole Villeneuve, that my goal was to ask one person if they knew of a space to host my meetup. She challenged me to 5. I asked 7.
After asking strangers for $100 dollars, to play paper scissors rock, and talking to my hand in public, this was easy. However, pre-discomfort-challenge-Dashie would have struggled to ask strangers for Meetup space.
Over the last few months I’ve learned many lessons on asking:
- Be calm and the other person will be calm
- Getting a no is fine
- Put the other person’s needs before yours
- Nobody cares or remembers if you screw up
I didn’t merely learn these, I know them. My body knows this. It’s visceral. Not just intellectual.
I was on fire yesterday asking, asking, asking. I got some great suggestions. But I do need to follow up and reach out to these spaces.
About me: I’m Dashiell Bark-Huss and I’m putting my name here to see if google will pick up this blog from searching my name.