Some people fold after making one timid request.
They quit too soon.
Keep asking until you find the answers.
In sales there are usually four or five “no’s” before you get a “yes.”
Jack Canfield
There are a number of reasons why a business folds and closes its doors.
But many of them quit too soon. They become discouraged. They are tired of being told “no” or “I’m not interested” when making a sales call. They listen when others tell them that they’re never going to make it, that they are foolish to keep pouring good money after bad.
How long should you hold on?
That is a personal decision. But don’t quit until you’re absolutely sure. Don’t leave yourself room to look back and reminisce on “what might have been.”
For all sad words of tongue and pen,
the saddest are these, “It might have been” John Greenleaf Whittier
This quote is about regret and sadness. It is about what might have been, if only action had been taken. It comes from the poem “Maud Muller,” which is about a young and beautiful girl who meets a wealthy judge from the local town. Both are attracted to the other, but neither says anything. They each go on with their lives, wondering what might have been.
Yes there is a price to pay for trying and failing. But I believe the price of not trying is often much higher. Once you’ve failed or just made the decision to quit, learn from that experience and then put it in a box labeled “lessons learned.” And move on.
So, what will you do the next time opportunity knocks?
Will you freeze and wonder what might have been, or will you take a shot? Even if you mangle it badly, it’s better than nothing, right? You’ve done it, not just wondered whether you could.
You’ll learn more from a failure than from guessing what might have been.