Nothing ventured, nothing gained...

I am doing my best to live out this quote. Just as I live by God's word, I want to live by this quote supposedly coined by Ben Franklin. If I don't make any waves, if I don't speak up, if I don't ask questions, ask for a discount, a favor, etc...what have I gained?

Case in point: I was at Dick's Sporting Goods last night and I saw a two-pair pack of Reebok socks for $4.99. Upon closer inspection I saw that there were supposed to be three pair of socks in that pack, but because of the one pair missing, Dick's had lowered the price to $4.99 (I have no idea how much they cost full price). I wasn't willing to pay $4.99 for two pair of socks EVEN though they were marked down to that price because of the one missing pair. So I decided when I got to the checkout counter that I would ask the cashier if he'd take off a dollar on that price. [insert extreme heart pounding and palm sweating--not really ;-)]. I did, and he asked his manager, and of course the manager said that the price was already reduced, but me being a little more bold, asked if he would still reduce the price, regardless of the markdown. And you know what? He did, and took off a lil bit more! Instead of the two pair of socks being $4.99, they ended up being $3.39 plus tax (which came up to $3.53!) WOW. Now, I know some folk reading this post might think it's not that serious, or that I should've just been glad the socks were marked down already, but I know where God has brought me from. This was such a huge milestone for me. There was a time that I was TERRIFIED of venturing out of my comfort zone. Ask for a discount? The cashier might say no. Ask the doctor to wash his hands before touching me??? No way. Ask the waiter to re-do my order because the food isn't up to my standards? Nahhhh...it's ok.

And you know what? I'm gonna keep on asking/venturing, because I don't know what I'll gain when I do. I may not get a discount next time, but I may get more confidence to ask questions, to share my opinion without fear. I may get better at accepting a "no," I may learn to handle conflict better...which is something I could definitely stand to get better in. There are always hills to climb, mountains to conquer, valleys to go down in. I may not get it right all the time; I know I won't. But if I don't ever take that leap, I'll live life forever drowning in a sea of "shoulda coulda wouldas." I've done enough of that. Time to venture out...

Always,
Janelle