It’s hard to say no. Especially if you make your living by freelancing. As I’m writing about in my upcoming Why I Failed book, I used to answer the phone saying “YES!” and then I’d ask about the gig. Big mistake.
Chris Brogan has written an advice filled post on the how of saying no and I highly recommend you check it out. To elaborate on the topic, I want to explore why you should say no: your life depends on it.
Saying no keeps you from doing things you shouldn’t do. Things that fall into two broad categories:
- Things that you have no business doing. Studying Chemical Engineering while pursuing a career in music is an example. So is spending money you don’t have on a Big Screen TV. Doing drugs. Etc.
- Things that might be worth doing but aren’t. An example is the good paying gig playing music that you swore you’d never play again (more on this in a moment).
Note that the things you shouldn’t do far out weigh the things you should which is why saying no can be so difficult.
Saying no defines who you are and how you’re known by others. Every time you say yes to the “good paying gig playing music that you swore you’d never play again” you add to your reputation as the player to call for those gigs. Here’s a quote from Chapter 8 of my book:
“…I played too many gigs on the wrong side of my (unspoken and unwritten) boundary. So instead of becoming a creatively inspiring pop/rock drummer, I became a drummer that could and would play anything, anytime, anywhere and for just about any price.”
So I became the anything, anytime, anywhere, any price drummer and it killed my career.
Learn how and why you must say no. It will empower you to stay focused on the work that takes you closer to your goals. And you know what those are, right?
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