I’m starting a new section to share some of the lessons and truths I’ve had the pleasure to learn. The first felt critical to share as I see a new generation of excited minds entering the business and startup world.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask the bold question you’re scared to ask. Ask for the thing you want, but feel like you don’t know how to say it. Be afraid and then let the question out into the world. Ask the question everyone is thinking but afraid to say out loud.
You’ll be amazed at the doors and conversations it opens up for you. For me, it’s created opportunities to become friends with artists I would never have expected to know, but I was curious, spoke up, and opened doors I never thought possible.
Asking questions created career moves that defied my own logic. Could I create opportunities for myself that weren’t there before? Absolutely, if I followed my instincts and asked the question I was afraid to ask. “What if we pursued something totally different and this is what it could look like?”
That question led me from years in the agency world to leading a marketing R&D team at the largest HMO in the country. And I did it virtually, out of state remote, 80% of the time, before WFH was even cool.
How? I asked.
Too often I’ve seen people hold themselves back because of their fear to ask questions that could change a trajectory, a mindset, or even a corporate legend. If it’s repeated over and over, I believe it has a black hole effect on a person’s spirit. It traps their light and holds their gravity, unnecessarily.
My advice to you, be voracious in your curiosity and questions. It will serve you well.