Wednesday, March 30, 2011

If It's Not Worth Asking For, It's Not Worth Getting

My dad has a saying that I probably heard about a million times in my 18 years under his roof that goes like this: 'If it's not worth asking for, it's not worth getting.'  It can be applied to the big stuff in life like applying to a challenging university like UNC-Chapel Hill or calling to follow up with an employer after an interview or pushing to see a foreclosed home even though you'd probably end up in a bidding war if you made an offer on it.  You can also apply it to smaller things in life too. 

Take this storage tin, for example:
The other night I saw it sitting by its lonely self on a Target clearance endcap.  I'd picked it up on an earlier Target run, because I thought it'd make good book storage in Charm's big boy room, but there was no price on it, not even a UPC code so I set it back down on the shelf.  On this night, I decided to pick it up and take it to the checkout.  I had no idea what would happen, but I told myself that if they let me name my price, I'd take it home for $2.50 (I'd seen similar things in the $10-$12 range, and 75% off of that would be about $2.50 on the low end.)  After I presented it to the clerk, she called over a manager who called back to the home storage crew.  She asked me what price I'd be willing to pay if they didn't find anything in the back to compare it to, and I said $2.50.  She looked at me like I was crazy, and then said, "Umm...let's see what they find."  The home storage crew couldn't find anything comparable, so the manager told the clerk to give it to me for $2.50.  SWEET!! 

Now the storage tin is in Charm's Room and looks like this:
There are some things from my childhood that I will never, ever forget.  My Pa's saying is one of them because it rings so true for the big stuff in life and the small stuff too.  If you want something bad enough, just ask for it!!

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