Power of Positive Thinking

Yesterday, I attended a Mary Kay "boot camp". It was basically an all day training seminar that covered several different subjects. While I found the entire day's lessons to be very inspiring, the first subject, "Attitude", was the most inspiring to me.

In this training session, we were not only told about the power of positive thinking, but the destructiveness of negative thinking. We were taught about how the word "No" is not really negative. "No" means that nothing changes. For example, if you ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar, and they tell you, "Yes," you now have more than what you did before. However, if they say, "No," you still have exactly what you had before. Your neighbor didn't take anything from you, so you haven't lost anything.

The point here, is that you shouldn't be afraid to ask someone for something for fear that they will say, "No." If they say, "No," that only means that nothing changes. But what if they say, "Yes?" You have then gained something, right?

After meeting with my sales director, I decided that to achieve what I want from my Mary Kay business, I really need to have some sort of inventory in stock so that I can deliver to my customers on the spot, instead of making them wait for their order to be shipped. The problem with this idea was that I have absolutely ZERO funds and ZERO available credit with which to purchase my start-up inventory.

So, I started going through my list of who I normally go to for help when I need it. Mom? No, she already helped as much as she could. Aunt? No, she's having her own financial troubles right now. Father-in-Law? He's already paying for my attorney fees to deal with my dead-beat ex-husband.

Then I thought about my Dad. I don't know why, but I've always been afraid to ask my Dad for anything. I've never asked him for anything, because I've always been afraid that he would say, "No." But then I thought about the lesson I had just learned in my training session. What if I asked him and he said, "No?" I wouldn't be any worse off than I already was, would I? So, what did I have to lose?

I decided to wait until today to ask my Dad for the help I needed. It wasn't because I was still afraid to ask him, but because I wanted to wait until after church. I wanted to have the chance to pray about it, not only at home, but also in the house of God.

The more I prayed about it, and the more I thought about it, the more positive I became about it. By the time I left church this afternoon, I was no longer thinking about "if" I got my inventory, but "when" I got my inventory. It was no longer a possibility for me; It was DEFINITELY going to happen.

When I called my Dad this afternoon, there was no fear left in me. I was just going to lay it all out there for him and ask for what I wanted. If he said, "No," then I was just going to find another way to make it happen. I had nothing to lose, and only good to gain.

My Dad said, "Yes." I will get my start-up inventory. I will have a successful Mary Kay business. I will pay my Dad back in no time. I will not let fear hold me back.