Now That You've Asked, How Prepared Are You to Receive — Really?
I started my business in 1995 and, over the decades, it has taught me many, many lessons about money, business, and life. One of those has to do with my relationship with goals.
First, I’ve come to view goals as a form of asking for what I need and want. Second, time has taught me that when I set goals, I need to make space for them.
If I want more clients, I need to make sure I have created the capacity and systems to seamlessly manage those additional clients.
Want to earn more? I need to be clear about the purpose of that additional revenue — I need to give it a “job”…before it arrives.
Want to add another project (like writing another book) to my plate? Well, I need to make sure the back office of my business is (and can continue) to run smoothly — and not interrupt either my client or revenue growth.
Like goals, what you “ask” for is connected to many things.
Sometimes, it’s connected to something you need — other times to something you want.
Sometimes, it’s connected to a shift you’re expecting — for something to be better, different, more convenient, less stressful.
The act of asking can be hard.
The same is true for navigating the waiting space.
So, naturally, one might think receiving what you’ve asked for is a breeze, right?!
Not so fast, my friend.
Here’s why: “asks” (like goals) contain an embedded before and after.
That means you have to make room (sometimes literally, at other times, metaphorically) for the “after.” (Otherwise, you end up with physical, mental, or emotional clutter.)
But, how often do you really prepare to receive what you’ve asked for?
Receiving what you’ve asked for can be just as hard as all the other aspects of asking!
This is an often overlooked piece of this puzzle, and it’s rarely talked about. Yet, it matters because what you do at the point of “receipt” carries a lot of weight.
What Does Preparation Look Like?
Because without realizing it, you just might sabotage the “ask” due to your lack of preparedness.
Think about the ways this might show up for you:
The new client says “yes” — and you immediately discount your rate (without them even asking), or you over-deliver to justify the “yes,” as if you have to earn what you already asked for and received.
You get the raise, the windfall, the unexpected check — and within weeks it’s absorbed into everyday life with nothing to show for it, because you never gave those funds a job.
You get the opportunity you wanted — and you’re so braced for it to fall through that you can’t actually enjoy it, or let it land.
Or, you get the “yes” — and a quiet guilt creeps in. Whom am I to have this? Did I ask for too much? Should I give some of it back?
It may not look like it, but each of these is a form of not-receiving. The thing arrived, but you weren’t ready to hold it — so it slips through your fingers, or it costs you more than it should have, or it never quite becomes yours.
Back To Where We Started
This series started with the very profound question posed by Salehe Bembury:
“What do you want that you’re not asking for?”
A question that’s taken me down this rabbit hole of exploring the relationship you and I have to the act of asking. (Thanks for coming along with me!)
What I hope is that we will all get better at asking courageously, embracing the waiting space, and intentionally preparing to receive.
And that we remember this:
The point isn’t to manage the outcome. The point is to ask anyway.
And then — when it arrives — to let yourself receive it.
Bembury asked us what we want that we’re not asking for. Maybe the fuller question, the one I’ll leave you with, is this:
What do you want — and are you ready to receive it when it comes?
About Jacquette
I love to ask questions and spark aha moments. I love to talk about why success with money is about more than just the numbers, and how the cultural impact on the intersection of money, business, and life matters–A LOT! And, I really hope I help people feel seen, heard, and not judged—especially since money is emotional and personal.
