The Power of Yes
Years ago, living with my family in California after completing my master’s degree, I received a call inviting me to fly east for an interview for a job on the East Coast. I was already in the final stages of negotiating a job down in San Diego, so I turned down the invitation. My mother, a very positive force, scolded me for turning down the invitation and the free ride to New York – what harm could it do to check it out? I ended up accepting the East Coast job. In the first few days on the job I met a colleague in my new department who eventually became my husband. What would my life have been if I hadn’t said “Yes”?
Much later, now living with my husband and children in Oakland CA, I received another job interview invitation, this time to work for a small software company across the bay in Mountain View. Although we were considering moving, the Peninsula was not on our short list, being too expensive. However, my then job was clearly going nowhere, so I accepted the invitation to interview just for the practice.
At the same time, my parents were discussing subdividing their acre of land, and invited my husband and I to buy half the parcel and build a house next to them.
I ended up accepting the job, we agreed to the land purchase offer, and I commuted for a year while we built a house on the land where I had grown up. Where would we have ended up if I had not said “Yes” to that job interview and land buy?
Once established in our new home, I resolved to say “Yes” to any friendly overtures from my new neighbors. My mother took me to a friend’s annual Mother – Daughter Tea, where I met a woman about my age. She mentioned that she loved to exercise every weekend at the local community college, and gave me her business card in case I would like to join her. To her surprise, I called her up, and she became one of my closest friends over years of regular exercise together.
Last year I was visiting a friend who teaches at Monterey Peninsula College. One of the many foreign students in her class had invited her to come visit and perhaps do a training course for her business: training women to lead trekkers in Nepal. My friend was planning to do a two-week trek as part of the visit and said in the casual way friends do, “Why don’t you come with me?” To our mutual astonishment I said “Why not?” and because I said “yes” I enjoyed one of the most enthralling adventures of my life.
So I’m giving you fair warning: If you make me an offer, extend a casual invitation, suggest some joint activity – watch out! I’m very likely to say “yes” – just to find out what will happen next.
Allyson Johnson 