Don't ask, Don't get!

He was by far the scruffiest person in the Costa café at St Pancras station. I was killing time on my way to speak in Chatham, sharing a table with a stranger as the place was crammed full. As I sat eating my chilli panini I noticed this man, about the same age as me, who really looked out of place. He had a suit jacket on like me, but his jeans and Caterpillar boots with no laces didn't seem quite right with me. They didn't with him either as he was hobbling about.

He looked around for a few seconds and then homed in on someone at each table. "Could you spare a few pence towards a cup of tea," he asked, again and again. It was obvious this chap had fallen on hard times. I couldn't believe how everyone gave their excuses. I wondered how I would have felt if that were me.

I waited for him to ask me – I would have gladly bought him a cuppa. But he kept looking straight past me. Was I really that unapproachable? I was disappointed that he didn’t ask me. I love finding out about people and helping them if iCan.

I was beginning to get really disheartened for the man, then, as I got up to leave, a middle-aged lady stood up and offered him what looked like 70 pence. “At last,” I thought. This was just great to see. As I walked past him I gave him a smile and whispered “follow me” – which he did. I wondered if he thought I was about to arrest him.

I gave him a comforting smile as we stopped at the other side of the concourse. I discovered he was called Alfred and he had been in the UK for two weeks. He came from Nigeria and was such a softly spoken young man. I asked him why he hadn't asked me and he told me he thought he already had. I asked him what he wanted the money for and he said it was for a bed for the night, which was going to cost £18. I asked him how many people he had to speak to each day to get his money. “Hundreds,” he said. But he always got a bed for the night. This guy was an inspiration to me – as anyone who has ever achieved any level of success in the world will confirm - so I gave him £10 and asked for his picture.




Nothing in life worth having will be handed to you on a plate.

Like Alfred, anyone in sales knows that you have to work through the rejections. JK Rowling couldn't get a publisher for over a year. It took me months to get an agent interested in what was to be my Number One bestselling book. I did think about giving up, but I dug deep and kept going.

What is it you want to achieve?

Are you prepared to work through all the nos, the rejections and the setbacks to get it?

You can.


Richard McCann
p.s. If you would like to improve your communication skills then our next Speaker Bootcamp is on 22nd July in Leeds.
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