On the morning of my 31st birthday I decided to make a list of things I have learned over the years. This list became lessons I have been taught by others, quotes that I have inspired me in one way or another or just general ideas that I enjoy. I posted it on my Facebook page as my status for that day, and it got a lot of positive responses. So, at the encouragement from my sister (Nadia Zerka), I am going to write in more detail what each lesson learned means to me.
Number 1
You don't know what you can get unless you ask for it, the worst thing someone can tell you is no.
This is kind of two lessons in one. Anyone that has ever met my dad, whether it is from personal or business encounters, they know that this is his motto. I can't even remember the first time my dad told me this, but I can remember using this lesson multiple times.
The first time it really benefited me the most was when I started at the University of Michigan-Flint. I was registering for classes with the help of my cousin Ronny. Since I was transferring from Mott Community College, I had to figure out what classes transferred, and which ones I had to retake for credit. One of the math courses I had taken a Mott didn't transfer, and I did not want to take it again. At the time I was planning on studying Political Science, and had absolutely no interest in taking any additional math courses. I asked the counselor what I could do, and she informed me that I would have to speak with someone in the Math department to override it. With my dad's words ringing in my head "The worst they'll tell you is no", Ronny and I set off to the Math department. After we walked into the office with saw a professor and started to explain my situation. I wasn't able to articulate what I needed exactly, so my cousin Ronny took over and in the end the Professor signed the piece of paper and I was able to by pass that class. It saved me a lot of time and money in the end.
Another time that it really helped me out was during the Premier Orlando hair show in 2009. We found ourselves short of a few office items, pens, receipt paper and shopper bags. As I was making a list of what we needed, the convention foreman was going around checking on all the vendors. When he approached our booth I had asked him for the items that we needed. He told me "Let me see what I can do" and left the booth. One of my co-workers looked at me and said "I can't believe you asked him for that stuff" I turned to her and said the words of my dad "You don't know what you can get unless you ask for it, the worst thing he will tell me is no". A few moments later he had came back with everything I asked for. He then asked if there was anything else we needed, and another thought came to mind. Our backroom staff was short of space in the Model Prep area, however there was a larger room next to them that was empty. So I kindly asked the foreman if there was a way we could have the larger room, at no extra charge. He got on his walkie talkie and spoke to some people, came back and said "No problem, its yours. You can still use the one you have as well". With a bit of pride in my step, I walked to the back and informed everyone that they now had use of the bigger room.
I could go on and on about stories like these, but I can leave that for another time. Just remember, all you have to do is ask.
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