It shouldn’t be a mystery but we probably should ask for help more often than we do.
Real talk, It’s one of those things that I never understood about people.
Many make it seem like a crime to ask someone for help.
You often hear that you have to
be resourceful…
self sufficient…
a problem solver…
all of these things are true, especially when you are an entrepreneur.
However, there was also something that bugged me about that advice.
In the same breath, people will often tell you to find a mentor
and hang around those who have the success that you want.
This to me is the very definition of hypocrisy!
Why the hell wouldn’t I ask people who have the success I want for the answers??
Why else would I hang out with them if not to learn how to do what they do?
(if we have nothing else in common)
Now, you may be saying:
“the self reliant advice is more for smaller things you can solve on your own”
My answer to that is
“I already solve small problems on my own! I want them solved faster!”
That’s the key, I don’t want to have to spend more and more time search for the answer to solved problems…
…I want to spend my time working on making money!
this reminds me of something a calculus professor in college said to us.
This professor was an active engineer at JPL (Jet propulsion laboratory) in California.
When we would have math tests, he would allow us to use our books and notes to help in the test
but in turn, he would make the tests more difficult.
His reasoning was this (ill paraphrase since is been 18+ years since I had this class):
1) In the industry, when you are presented with a problem, your boss doesn’t tell you to put the books away before tackling the problem…only a fool would do that!
2) Also in industry, we dont need to solve problems that have been solved, we need to use the tools available to help us solve the problems that have not been solved yet
This is how I feel about the situation…esp when it comes to small things like getting your first offers out there and knowing when a deal is worth pursuing or not.
So, never be afraid to ask me for help, even if you think the issue is a “small one”
Why dont you try it now and ask me a question…?
Just comment on this post and I will answer your question to the best of my ability.
-Coach Vic