Business and Personal Mottos for 2018 Part One

I’m not one that’s down for the “New Year…New Me” motto that folks tend to do every January, or last week in December. And I’m damn sure not here for New Year’s Resolutions. For one, I always tend to screw up the resolutions – I’m not going to curse anymore, I’m going to go on a diet, I’m gonna join a gym – you know all that crap because, “New Year…New Me”.

Y’all can keep that.

I still plan on eating a ton of shit that’s going to put weight on me and I have a bad back, so there goes the exercising. Whoops.

Shoutout to those that actually keep up with their resolutions and change themselves. Me on the other hand, I like to have a motto for the year and keep it in the forefront of my mind and implement it in one way or another. With that said, starting this week, I’m going to share some of my business and personal mottos for 2018.

A Closed Mouth Don’t Get Fed:

I remember the first time I heard this statement I had no idea what it meant. A friend of a friend said this in response to a conversation about asking for raises. This person said it so nonchalantly, “Well, a closed mouth don’t get fed, so stop guessing.” At the time, it was the smartest, yet simplest response ever – it made all the sense in the world. Here I was stressing about whether or not I’d get a raise since I had done everything my boss asked me to do and then some. No amount of worry, stress, or anxiety was going to give me the answer, unless I opened my mouth and ask.

So I did.

I didn’t get the raise, but I learned that if I don’t open my mouth and ask for any opportunity, that I just simply wouldn’t get it. From that moment on I opened my mouth and asked. Whether it was a raise, a gig, vacation time – it didn’t matter what it was, all that mattered is that I didn’t keep my mouth shut and wonder.

All that person can say is, “No.” and I think a lot of us are afraid of hearing that word. We’re disappointed when it happens and then we allow that person’s answer to dictate the rest of our day. We have to do better with rejection.

But here’s the thing when it comes to rejection – it doesn’t last forever. We need to take that person’s “no” and turn it into a “yes” somehow. Go back to the drawing board, reconfigure some things in order to turn that “no” into a “yes”. Don’t give up, keep on fine tuning until you get your “yes”, it doesn’t matter how many “no’s” you get, somewhere along the line you’ll get a “yes”. And here’s the thing, that “yes” doesn’t have to come from the person you initially asked.

We’ve read stories on how writers have had their works rejected time and time and time again, but someone along the way said “yes”, and that “yes” is all they needed to prosper.

So in 2018, don’t keep your mouth closed. *If you see or want something – go for it, until it’s yours!

Come back tomorrow for another motto you should implement in 2018.

*Disclaimer: I can’t believe I have to put this here, but, THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH RELATIONSHIPS, SOMEONE YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE, OR ANYTHING SIMILAR. IF SOMEONE SAYS NO, DON’T HUNT THEM AND CHASE THEM DOWN, JERKS!