I’ve told you that when I was a kid, I hated pizza. But I had never eaten any. There was just something about it I was sure I wouldn’t like.
Yeah, dumb.
You know what happened. You know my parents told me to “try one bite” and if I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to eat any more.
Of course I loved it.
On the other hand, my grandfather told me that beets were good for me and I would like them. Nope.
So, parents and grandparents aren’t right about everything. But they’re right about one thing. You won’t know until you try it.
We know this is true as adults. Or do we?
More than a few attorneys tell me they don’t like (take your pick of marketing activities). So they don’t do it. Even though they never tried it.
More often, they have tried it. They just didn’t try it enough. Or learn how to do it properly. So they don’t do it again.
I’ve done this. I’m sure you have, too. We think we know better. We’re stubborn. And we tell ourselves that something isn’t for us.
My message to you, and to myself, is to not only try things that might be good for us, but to give them a fair try.
One time might not be enough to determine that networking isn’t your thing. Maybe it was the wrong organization for you, or you met the wrong people. Try again.
Advertising? Yes, you might lose money and decide it’s not for you. But you could also learn from your first experience, improve, and go on to earn a fortune.
One time being interviewed on a podcast or giving a talk (and messing up) doesn’t mean it will always be that way.
Giving things a fair a fair try also means being willing to learn more. You might try something you read about in a book, for example, and get poor results. But you might read another book that gives you another way and that might be just what you needed.
You wouldn’t know that if you didn’t read that other book.
But what if you give something a fair try and hate it? What then?
Don’t do it. Don’t continue doing things you hate, even if they work. Delegate them or outsource them, or do something else that works that you enjoy.
I tried beets and hated them, even if they were good for me.
Pizza was an entirely different story.
