Figure out What You Want and Ask for It

Make the call. Most people don’t take initiative. Steve Jobs said no one he ever reached out to for help ever refused. He simply asked.

Years ago as I was sitting on the sofa of my cramped New York apartment my friend was pounding away at my laptop. He was make inquiry after inquiry looking for opportunities to get in his foot in the door. Just as he was about close shop he checked one last email before mumbling something under his breath, "You'd be amazed what you can get out of life if you just ask." That inadvertent piece of advice has become the single most influential insight of my life. And to think, I wasn't even supposed to hear it!

Here's my brief track record of simply asking:

-- Worked as an intern at a major news station in the San Francisco Bay Area and got to interview several members of the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants. I was only 19.

-- Volunteered for a New York City Council Member and was allowed to attend meetings and events not open to the public. I learned a great deal about the nuances of city government.

-- Became a casting reader for major television networks and Broadway, reading opposite stars of the stage and screen.

-- Spent time at an orphanage in Haiti.

-- Spoke at a TEDx Event by asking the coordinator if they still needed speakers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSAgO3sPBog&t=517s

-- Acted in a feature film I was only supposed to be a production assistant for

Figure out what it is you want and ask for it. The worst that can happen pales in comparison to what doors may open if you make the call.