The Power of Asking for Help

Asking for help is one of the most powerful things you can do in life in many, many ways.  Once you commit to doing it, you reap rewards in places and ways you could never imagine.

Let's think of this in terms of small business.  Asking for help is a really tough thing, especially for a solopreneur or an owner of a growing business.  The reason you started the business is because you had a great idea, skill or talent and felt completely confident that you would be able to turn it into a revenue-generating, successful entity.  Inherently, the small business owner sees him or herself as a subject matter expert - the best at what they do. 

So how does the person who is supposedly better than anyone else ask someone for help?  That's admitting that you are not, in fact, the best in your field, isn't it?  No.  It's the exact opposite.  It's recognizing that in order to stay the course, or move forward, etc, you need another person to assist you in remaining the best at what you do.

By asking for help, several things can occur:
1. Empowerment.  The sheer recognition that you aren't infallible and need to seek others' advice is often motivation enough to get you 'unstuck' in your situation.
2. Clarity.  Whether the clarity comes immediately after you ask a trusted colleague or friend for help, or it comes when they help you to see the situation as it is, it yields powerful perspective on how you ended up stuck.  From that you can learn from your mistakes - a key to remaining successful.  3. Productivity.  Asking and receiving help can create a 'high' leading to several days and/or weeks of extreme productivity.
4. New revenue sources.  Help often comes in the form of brainstorming.  Brainstorming the problem you are facing can not only help you to overcome it, but it can result in new opportunities for your business that you hadn't seen before.

So, why are we hesitant to ask for help when all of these great, positive outcomes result?

I recently asked for help.  It was extremely hard for me to do - and I did so reluctantly.  Now, I am SO glad that I did as I feel like I can conquer the world!  It was that easy.

A BIG thank you, personally and professionally, goes out to Whitney Hoffman, who guided me through my challenge with the grace of a master sherpa.

Do you need help with something?  Bite the bullet!  Ask!  You WILL move forward if you ask, but by not asking, you can guarantee you'll remain stuck.