One Yes Away

Have you ever seen, Yes Man featuring Jim Carrey? His character, Carl, doesn’t do much with his life at the beginning of the movie. He avoids spending time with his friends, is unhappy, and lacks motivation to do much of anything. He is convinced to attend a conference that encourages everyone to say, “Yes.” Carl believes that he is cursed to only respond, “Yes” to questions. His life then transforms as he starts saying, “Yes” to everything. He pulls an all-nighter, drinks a lot of Red Bull, helps a lady put up shelves in her apartment, and gives out loans to anyone who asks.

Although the movie is a bit extreme, it shows the power of saying, “Yes.” Saying “Yes” to adventure will open up your life. You will meet new people, experience wonderful moments, and travel to places you never thought you would see.

You are always one yes away from getting what you are looking for. You don’t know when that yes will occur. No one ever hears about the people who stop early. We hear about the legends who believed so much in their businesses, books, and products that they wouldn’t take, “No” for an answer. JK Rowling, Sylvester Stallone, Walt Disney, and Thomas Edison all failed or were turned down before they reached their big breaks.

One yes could change your life.

In a TEDx talk, Kwame Alexander shows the power of yes. Kwame is an author among many other talents. He shares a story of how he was rejected by countless publishers before self-publishing one of his books. After it was a hit, an agency reached out and published his work. That book went on to become a Newbery Award winner. Alexander encourages, “When all of the no’s leave there is only room for yes. It only takes one.”

I’m not always the best at saying, “Yes” to most things. There are many days where I prefer to sit in my apartment and relax by myself. I feel the tug to serve in the community, spend time with people I don’t know, or help out someone in need. Unfortunately, my response is often, “no.” I’m much more comfortable being by myself.

I don’t want to be known for the times I said, “No.” I’d rather be remembered for the times I kept saying, “Yes.” I wanted to be remembered for looking for a, “Yes” when I was faced with rejection. I want to be remembered for fighting when others may not believe.

Where are you holding back in your life? Say, “Yes.” Go after something this week. Start a new journey. Begin a new challenge. Some of you have brilliant ideas that keep getting rejected. Keep fighting for the breakthrough.

One yes could change your whole life. One yes could change millions of lives.

I appreciate you.

-JP