Do you take no for an answer?
Where has taking no for an answer ever gotten you?
What do never taking no for an answer and having a positive mindset have in common?
How does having a positive mindset have a direct result on your success or failure in business and life?
Check out this 1st class example of not taking no for an answer and having a positive mind set:
(See the Kurt Warner Update below for the REAL Kurt Warner Story but this one is a fun read.)
In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.
Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn’t possible.
He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn’t afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, “Well, let’s take the kids with us.”
She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome.
Kurtis asked Brenda, “I still don’t understand why the kids can’t come with us?” Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities – just like her first husband and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary – – – he had a different mindset.
That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.
A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children. Since then they have added two more kids.
So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl. Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.
It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. He has also been the NLF’s Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player.
What more can I say? Not taking no for an answer gave Kurt Warner the chance to show his true colors to his future wife. If “no” was enough to frustrate him off, this great story wouldn’t even exist.
I had a client once tell me:
No is the first two letters of “Not yet!”
Starting an online business can be hard! You’ll probably hear no quite a bit before you get that first Yes. But you have to persist, you have to consider no as a “not yet” and stay positive if you want to succeed.
The Kurt Warner story goes further than not taking no for an answer though: Kurt’s positive mindset is the biggest key to his success, both in the NFL and most importantly, with his family. That mindset is what all internet business owners have to have if they ever want to achieve their full potential and see the best results with their new internet business.
Best of luck to Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals on their persuit of the 2009 Super Bowl and thanks for his example of true success!
UPDATE: I actually called Kurt Warner’s office today to see if I could get this article published on his site and had a great conversation with one of the secretaries. I directed her to MollerMarketing.com to verify that everything I posted was “accurate and publishable”. She recommended going to Snopes.com and searching “Kurt Warner” to find the real story about Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Warner. Here it is:
http://www.snopes.com/glurge/warner.asp
What can we learn from this?
Viral marketing emails, which is how I got this story in the first place, can be full of fluff. If they are interesting, touching, inspiring or funny, though, they’ll be passed around all over the internet and could really help promote what you’re doing.
This story made me actually want the Cardinals to beat the Eagles :).
What viral marketing campaign are YOU working on?
8 replies on “Why Never Taking No For an Answer & Positive Mindset Equal Success”
“No” meaning “Not yet” is a valuable concept and I appreciate being reminded of that tonight. Thanks. Kurt Warner is awesome and has always been an example to me in many ways. Great post, Nate. Thanks!
Kurt Warner’s “positive mindset” payed off tonight as they beat the Philadelphia Eagles. “Not Yet” is such a manifestation of a positive mindset and never giving up. I’ve found that when I’m on my “A-Game” in growing business and finding creative joint ventures, there usually aren’t too many no’s, just not yets. Thanks for the comment Julie! Great to connect via Twitter too!
This is great! Even when someone says no, you might want to move on as well. The great thing about the internet is that it makes finding people, services, and products so much easier. If one company or person says no they can’t or no they won’t, move on to the next one! If you find that you have gone the rounds through different companies and no one can do what you need them to do, go back to your number one pick and start negotiating with them. I know my buddy has been in negotiations with companies for years sometimes before they finally are willing and/or able to do what he needs and wants them to do. NO=NOT YET all the way!!
Thanks for the comment Jon. I’m sure you’ve seen clients that have this mindset and clients that don’t. The question we all need to answer is:
“What can we do to help nay-sayers develop this mindset and take no as a not yet?”
Answers welcome from all!
No! I’m not going to read this post: j/k Good advice, I like the story.
I agree with whole heartedly with the concept of not accepting “No” as an answer, only when applied in a non-selfish manner. And by selfish, I mean against your own self-interest, and that of the person you refuse to accept “no” from.
IE: Selling them something that is against their self interest (trying to talk a person who can barely afford their house payment into buying a vacation package, or put money down on a car).
Thanks Nate
To me mind set is 90% of the success. This was a great post. Thanks for the reminder.
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