YES!
“How many of you think that maybe you’ve said “Yes” to too many things when you should have said “NO”? Yeah, me, too. Except…. as I’ve grown older… or should I say as I’ve “matured” – I’ve found that there are many more times I wish I had said “Yes”! I think that if you look back in time with me, you just might agree that more often than not, saying “Yes” leads to a lot more fun!
And I’m not talking about having been divorced twice….
Because even those relationships had a lot of “Yes” that felt pretty good! I got married because I said “Yes” to love! And even though things didn’t work out SO well, they did work for quite a while – 16 years each time.
But more recently, as I found myself with a lot more time on my hands, I started to get out in public more and meeting more people than I used to meet. A couple of summers ago, I started going to Alive at Five”. A Toastmaster invited me to volunteer to serve beer in the beer tent.
I said “Yes.”
I was pointed to a tap in the back of the tent. I grabbed a plastic cup and pulled a beer. It had about an inch of foam on the top. “That’s no good” she said. “Try again.”
I did try again, and managed to only get about ¾ of an inch of foam on the next one.
“That’s no good” she said. “Why don’t you move up front to the tables and wait on people. I said “Yes.”
I had a lot of fun chatting with people and taking the wood tokens for beers. There was great music playing and I started dancing around a little. Did I mention that we were allowed to drink for free?
That’s when Sue Ferrin spotted me dancing, and said “You should be in Dancing with the Stars.”
I said “Yeah, right. Sign me up.” She did!
That’s how I found myself dancing in front of more than 600 people on the stage at the Civic Center! And, Yes, I had a great time! I made new friends ! AND… I got a trophy!
That’s when another Toastmaster sent me an e-mail about the “Red Eye Tens.” She said “You like to do this kind of stuff, you should try it.”
I said “Yes.”
I found myself with a script in my hand at 9:00 am the next Saturday morning, learning the lines of a ten-minute play along with others who had said “Yes.” Our group memorized all the lines when we put the play on for the public at 7:00 pm that same night! And YES, I wasn’t too bad! I had a lead role in the play and I thought I did pretty well! As a matter of fact, Michael Gilboe, director of Performing Arts at UGF – the guy who had arranged for the Red Eye Tens production – said to me afterwards “You were pretty good. You have a voice that projects well. Can you sing, too?”
I said “Yes.” I didn’t say I could sing well…..
“You should try out for the musical South Pacific when it comes up.”
“I said “__ __ __.”
I went to tryouts in the Green Room at the back of the stage area. I was handed a script to read lines from. I didn’t do too badly. Then I was told it was time to sing. Well, I hadn’t exactly prepared for that. And this time we went into the music room where there were a LOT of other people. I thought about running, but I didn’t.
I sang. “Some Enchanted Evening…..”
I didn’t need to finish. The Director said “That’s enough.”
I said “__ __ __.”
But I got a part playing Commander Harbison! And as rehearsals got underway, I met a lot of awesome people and made new friends – I drank with some of them last night – and next week are dress rehearsals and the show starts April 11th!
Did you ever notice how one thing leads to another? Some people say that there’s a woman to blame…. But I know….
It’s all about saying “YES.”
So like Jim Carrey in the movie YES Man – just say YES! You never know where you’ll end up, but you’ll most likely make new friends and have a YES of a time!