The Power of No




Rejection hurts no matter how softly it’s delivered. It took just one line in the brief letter to tell me they weren’t interested in my project. 

Rejected again. 

That’s the life of a grant-writer. You spend hours carefully crafting words about an exciting endeavor with provable results. All that’s needed is money. And then you wait to hear if a corporation or foundation will buy in.

I’ve heard no more times than I’ve heard yes. But quitting was never an option with needs stacked as high as they are in our small rural community. If I’ve learned anything from a decade of grant writing is the power of no. 

Every no has a lesson to learn. The no becomes the catalyst to look beyond the rejection letter, go back and rework the words to express the need more convincingly. And it works. Eventually. Good projects are always funded….eventually.







So there you have my word for the week—eventually. The power of no is that eventually it will be a yes. 

Have you heard a no recently? Maybe at work, or in a relationship? Maybe a job application, or from a friend? 

Don’t let a no stop you, let it give you power to keep going. Go back and rework your ideas or your words. The yes may take longer than you hoped and look different than you imagined, but all good things work out…..eventually.

Pay attention to what you are taught, and you will be successful.   Proverbs 16:20a

Popular posts from this blog

Dreaming the Dream

Image
Dreaming big dreams about the future is easy for kids. The only thing standing in the way is time.  Kid’s dreams are not about skills, or opportunities, or even practicality. Those things come much later.  My grandson hopes to be professional soccer player when he grows up. This week, a small piece of his dream came true when his Boys and Girls Club was invited to participate in pre-game activities with the Seattle Sounders Football Club.  He got to suit up in a real jersey and walk on the field with a real pro player. Imagine a young soccer player looking up to who he hopes to be one day. If you haven’t taken the time to talk to a child about their future dreams—you should.  They believe. As we get older we sometimes forget that dreams fuel our hopes—and that's something we all need. So, do you still dream? Or have you left those childhood thoughts behind?  S pending time with children will  inspire you to believe agai
Read more

Wild or Tame? Which One Are You?

Image
Finally! Research that explains why I act the way I do. Columbia University’s Motivational Science Center studied people’s activities and what brought them the most happiness. Even more telling were how those activities changed as they aged. Twenty-somethings tend to equate happiness with high-energy activities. Words like excited and ecstatic are usually attached to spontaneous things—even risky things—and living life full throttle.  Researchers labeled this Promotion Motivation —the urge to take chances, including career moves that may not work out. Happiness comes from happenings—the more happenings, the more happiness. By age forty, adults associate happiness with things running smoothly at work and home. It’s also about feeling secure in relationships. Keeping healthy matters more too. This behavior is called Prevention Motivation —and people are more concerned with preserving and maintaining the things they value. It appears that time ofte
Read more

The Quiet Dad

Image
After my granddaughter’s gymnastics, she’d always ask to go to the park next door—even in the winter. When you’re a high energy child, cold is relative. Our routine seemed to overlap with a dad and his son. I’d watch them as I watched my granddaughter go through her favorite activities—crossbar, swings, spinner, and the curly slide.  But the dad was not doing the same. He’d go hand-in-hand with his boy—pointing to trees, clouds, and the texture of the grass. I could see they were in a different place—one of sights, smells, and feels.   His son didn’t speak, so the father spoke into the silence around them. Since it was winter, the park was quiet—just the four of us—an energetic girl, and a boy who experienced the park in a way I never had.   We were at the same place, but in different worlds.    I saw a father’s love for his son expressed in quiet words of exploration. Never once did his son use the swing or try the crossbars. His world was spent touching tree bark and looking a
Read more