Can I ASK Again?

Last week I had a piece published by the Huffington Post that focused on a subject matter that I feel warrants a double-whammy call-out. So here I am in the theme of “play it again Sam” with my celebration of sisterhood - our tribe, not our bloodlines. Yes, this one is for the girls - a call to arms for us to nurture our creative and professional selves. Remember, friends are the family we choose, so if we can’t work this stuff out in the comfort of our sisterhood, where can we? I wanted to make sure that the message planted a seed and grew offshoots of possibility within all of us.The ASK is merely the process of taking charge of your own destiny and not sitting around waiting to see how things unfold. It’s about getting in the driver’s seat and steering the bus in the right direction. In the process we need to take a look around and decide, who are we taking along for the ride and how do we create a community of reciprocity and solidarity?As women, sometimes we can get sloppy with our own self-care as we busy ourselves with the care of everything, and everyone else. Is your self-care in check? What about our sisters, are we doing the best we can to support one another in our careers and pursuits? Are we dream-keepers?The ASK was created as a Note To Self – a literal reminder, giving ourselves permission to reach out and make our intentions known, to verbalize our requests and desires - to stretch that seldom used muscle.For those of you who may have missed it, the ASK outlines 3 specific and simple steps.1.) Be clear in identifying your own ASK.2.) Be brave enough to give yourself permission to ASK for help from others.3.) Be generous in the support of another’s ASK.As an initiating task, I challenged each of us to start with 3 people – to ASK and to ASK for. The exercise hopefully prompts not only a commitment to self, but also a promise to others. It shines a spotlight on some excuses and weak theories we like to hide behind such as, “I don’t like to ask for help.” To that, I would respond, do you like feeling sorry for yourself? Because the reality is, if we don’t ask, we might as well take a seat on the sidelines and watch the parade go by. Come on, ladies – we want more than that. Hop on board!My ASK is for your help in expanding my following as I build my platform. Would you send my website to 3 members of your tribe and ask them to OPT-IN? My giveback is to continue providing inspiring content that keeps us reaching, and to serve as a networking matchmaker for my sisters whenever possible.Revisiting my ASK this week brought up some additional interesting things for me and forced me to take a look at some of my own “stuff.” While thrilled by some of the great responses and ASKs that were presented to me, I was feeling a little insecure about some of the ASKs that I wasn’t getting. Suddenly, my inner demons started to whisper, “Why isn’t so-and-so reaching out to you?” “Why hasn’t so-and-so signed up for your newsletter?” “Maybe so-and-so is mad at you because you did a shout-out for this one and not that one?” STOP. Pull that needle from the record please.There is room at the ball for all of us. We each have our own unique and wonderful voice, gift and purpose. If we subscribe to this kind of negative and fear-based thinking, we risk remaining stuck with our dreams unfulfilled.Poppycock, I say! It’s the start of a new week, the start of summer, it’s the start of something new the moment you decide. Let’s table the unproductive mind chatter and get out there and stake our claims for ourselves and each other.ASK yourself what your ASK is and then, what ASK could I do for a sister? Seriously – what are we waiting for? You don’t want to mess with the sisterhood – let’s be fierce mama bear advocates for each other. United we stand, divided we fall. We are not competitors, we are comrades on this journey.Let’s start an “ASK-kicking" movement. ASK along with me.