I Don't Understand Your Hesitations

I was a guest on a podcast recently. A podcast I don't feel like I was worthy of appearing on. This podcast is hosted by a guru, expert, author, and known speaker in the real estate industry. He interviews titans of the industry, the CEOs, the influencers, and the people who really make real estate happen.

So when he asked me to appear on his podcast, I was a little shocked. But there's a moral to this story, and it started less than four years prior.

When I moved to Dubai, we connected on LinkedIn. He was fascinated with my move to the Middle East, as he had previously worked abroad as well. Being the networker I am, I kept in touch. When I decided it was time to move back home, I pinged my network, him included, and he introduced me to the company I work for full-time today.

When he called asking my opinion, I called back. When he invited me to a conference, I said I'd be there. I nurtured a relationship, said yes at every turn, and as a result, I found myself sitting in front of a microphone talking about the real estate industry.

I wish I could grab you, the reader, in this moment and shout: 'JUST SAY YES!'

I've seen this for years. People waver, they waffle, they hesitate, they second-guess, they overthink, and they overprocess. They just don't say yes enough. For whatever reason, the word yes is always second to no.

I wasn't asked to appear on this podcast because I'm an expert or smarter than anyone else. I was asked because I had created a relationship with someone, cultivated and nurtured it, and said yes at every turn. My not-so-secret secret to my career has been getting myself into rooms I probably didn't deserve to be in, with people who were better than me — all because I was willing to say yes.

Saying yes is rarely about the moment itself. It's about what saying yes unlocks over time. Every yes puts you in motion, places you in new rooms, connects you to new people, and exposes you to ideas you never would have found otherwise. Yes builds a kind of momentum that compounds quietly until one day your entire landscape has changed simply because you were willing to step forward when everyone else stayed put.