I walked in the office and looked straight into the eyes of a deer complete with antlers mounted on the wall. To my left was a taxidermied bear, and standing to my right was the Delegate, towering over me by nearly a foot and a half.
I took a deep breath. This was going to be fun. Maybe.
It really was a great meeting. I had the fun today of going to our state capitol to advocate for our state’s investment in early childhood education. And this guy, who from his voting record clearly disagreed with me on any number of things – guns, affordable housing, fossil fuels, was ready for us. He knew every data point we had to share and knew the stories of the families we help.
And, he is ready to help. Appearances are often deceiving. He gets this need. And that is all I was asking him to support. This thing, not everything.
I can remember when I was running for office and raising money. I needed to reach out to anyone who could help and there was a long list of people I assumed would say no. No because they were friends with an opponent, or they weren’t working, or they had stopped talking to someone in our family. I assumed all sorts of reasons. I set aside a day to call those people. I figured I could only feel so bad.
That day, like today taught me a lot. Looks can be deceiving. And if you don’t ask, the answer is always “no.” People I was assuming couldn’t give, did. People I assumed wouldn’t give, did. No, not everyone or even the majority. Maybe only 20-30%. But those yesses added up and were important not just for the dollars but the lesson.
So, ask for things. Don’t take no personally and don’t decide for others by not asking.