Trigger warning, contains references to Megan Markle…
There’s a funny little book I read years ago that for a while, got me into all sorts of scrapes. Nothing serious, in fact, most of them were very positive indeed actually.
It is called “The Yes Man” and is by a British comedian named Danny Wallace and borrows a lot from another novel by a chap called Luke Rhinehart, named “The Dice Man”.
The basic premise being to see where being more open and positive and saying “YES” to more things takes you.
It got made into a film starring Jim Carrey which grossed $226m worldwide, so it turns out, it can take you pretty far!
However, an even more valuable lesson I learned more recently was the direct opposite.
Saying “NO.”
Not in a mean way.
I’ve just become more discerning in what I do, where I go, how I work and who I work with.
- I don’t work on Friday afternoons – they are spent with family.
- I don’t do morning meetings – that is when I write because my brain is sharper and I am then more relaxed and creative in the afternoons when I do catch up with clients.
- I avoid meetings on Mondays as that is when I do the majority of my media pitching.
Oh and I won’t work with Megan Markle, even if she is looking for a new PR guru as the press breathlessly reported on Friday.
I’ve said YES to Richard Branson and James Caan as you surely know by now but I’ve also said NO to many more, including Colonel Gaddafi.
In the words of the great military leader, Captain Edmund Blackadder;
“Call me Mr Picky but I think I’ll pass.”