“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” ~ Alfred North Whitehead
Because I’m on a ten-day traveling stint, much planning has gone into ensuring everything runs smoothly. Our National Speakers Association (NSA) Convention, also known as Influence, was from Friday to Monday. I had a speaking engagement on Tuesday, and I’m now in Miami to attend a four-day intensive workshop.
A few weeks ago, when I was booking my travel home for Monday, I noticed that I had already accepted an all-day virtual training for that date. Well, there was no way I could make it home in time, nor did I want to add another day to my hotel stay.
Instead, I called a speaker friend, Eric, who lives about an hour away, to ask if I could use his house for the program, and he was fine with it. Cool. I reserved a rental car, and even though I thought it might be a little tight on time, I knew I could make the program happen. It was getting back to the airport that may be the issue.
Then, while at the NSA Convention, I told another one of my other speaker friends, Dave, about my predicament. It turns out that he lives ten minutes from where I’m staying and is close to the airport. He also has a full studio set up in his home and is happy to let me use it. Perfect! That will save me a ton of time, the expense of the rental car, and a lot of stress if the “travel gods” aren’t smiling for the drive back to the airport.
I let Eric know about the change in plans, and all is good. It’s always nice to have a Plan B ready!
Here are the lessons I learned:
* Even though I felt I might be imposing, I asked anyway. People are usually happy to support a friend in need.
* I felt guilty about canceling on Eric but realized that friends also understand that sometimes another option makes better sense – and we’ll get together next time I’m in the area.
* Finally, when you trust that everything will work out – and you take action to ensure that it does – sometimes it works out even better than expected.
What lessons have you learned about asking for help or support?
Have fun,
Lisa
PS – There is nothing like being around people who understand why you do what you do. That’s the beauty of being involved with a professional association like the National Speakers Association. I feel like I’m at home, surrounded by the love and support of amazing friends!