Happy Leap Year… As you know this is my year of True Highs AKA my year of adventures. Last month I took a hot air balloon ride. This month, I stayed on the ground and visited a new city in a different country; Vancouver. Now as someone who is severely directionally impaired, I have had a huge fear of getting lost in a strange place and NEVER ventured to a new city alone, let alone walked around sightseeing for a full day. I did have a wonderful host Louise Baker-Griffiths who drove me to the spots I couldn’t walk to and it was truly a fulfilling adventure.
The greatest lesson I learned from this adventure was from a little girl learning to ride her bike (see training wheels in the picture) around the beautiful path along the sea wall. Because she was riding so slowly, I was walking along side her and her father. She kept saying, “Look, Daddy!” And as he (and I) would look at what she was seeing, I was able to experience beauty I never would have noticed if not for the eye of this child. Thank you little girl for making my adventure a truly unique experience!
Today’s article taps into Leap Year and what you would do if you knew you would hear YES...
LEAP YEAR Seize The Day!
By Jessica Sitomer
Anna Brady played by Amy Adams plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy on February 29, leap day, because, according to Irish tradition, a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it.
Imagine the requests you’d be willing to make if you knew you were guaranteed to get a YES!
Requests are defined as:
1. the act or an instance of asking for something
2. something asked for
as opposed to:
Favors that are defined as:
1. friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior
2. gracious kindness also an act of such kindness
When asking for a favor it implies reciprocity… not with a request.
It is understood in the business world that the reply to a request can be to AGREE, REFUSE or OFFER ANOTHER POSSIBILITY. If you can’t accept “no” as an answer, you’re making a demand NOT a request!
I’d like to expand the Irish tradition, by giving you the mindset that on Leap Day, everyone will say YES to your business requests. I’m not guaranteeing they will, I simply want you to go in with the attitude of expectation that you will get a YES. Why? Because the way you make your request will exude confidence.
You may even want to use Leap Day as your intro by saying, “Did you know that Leap Day is the one day a year that when you make a business request, the person to whom you’ve made the request must say yes?” Be playful about it and be sure to ask for some thing they can say (which is most likely NOT WORK). Here are some examples of business requests you can make:
Referrals to Guild members and/or people in entertainment
Referrals to Mentors
Feedback on your material (reel, script, resume)
A meeting/strategy meeting
Advice on obtaining your goal
A set visit
Their time or help with a project
Be specific with your requests. Ask for measurable results.
“I request you watch my reel by Monday”
“I request three referrals to episodic directors”
And Action!
1. Take a LEAP and make 5 business requests today!
As in all romantic comedies, Anna’s plan didn’t go according to plan, yet, she still got her happy ending. If you want yours, like Anna, you must take a LEAP!
