Master the ASK

MASTERY AFRICA TUESDAY

SKILLS FOR WEALTH: THE SKILL OF ASKING

Two interesting things happened to me at work on two consecutive days.

Small things.

But they made me think deeply about one skill every builder needs to master:

ASKING.

The first ask

One day, I had a headache.

A colleague had just walked into my office and, without thinking too much about it, I asked him:

Do you have any painkillers?

He reached into his pocket.

Panadol.

Not a whole packet. Not several tablets.

Just one pair.

Exactly what I needed.

I remember thinking: What are the odds?

Why did I ask him?

Why did he happen to walk into my office at that particular moment?

Why did he happen to have exactly what I needed sitting in his pocket?

I even joked with him:

Imagine if God answered every prayer this fast. You ask, and immediately the answer appears! or even life if we asked and answers came this fast.

Then something happened again the following day.

The second ask

I noticed another colleague wearing beautiful pearl earrings.

I love pearls.

I complimented them, and the conversation led to her telling me:

You are my friend. I will give you a pair.

And she did.

She had one other pair.

It almost felt as though those earrings had been sitting there waiting for me to ask.

Again, I thought:

What are the odds?

Two days.

Two completely different things.

Two asks.

And twice, the person standing in front of me happened to have exactly what I wanted at that particular moment.

Medicine one day.

Pearls the next.

Small things, perhaps.

But the lesson was enormous.

What if you simply asked?

The Panadol was already in my colleague's pocket.

The pearl earrings already existed.

But I didn't know.

The ask revealed what was available.

And that made me wonder:

How many things could already be within our reach, but we never discover them because we never ask?

How many opportunities?

How many introductions?

How many conversations?

How many partnerships?

How much knowledge?

How much funding?

How many doors?

Someone could be carrying exactly what you need, but they cannot read your mind.

Ask. Seek. Knock.

The Bible gives us a powerful principle in Matthew 7:7–8:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

There is movement in every one of those instructions.

Ask.

Seek.

Knock.

James 4:2 gives us another striking statement:

You do not have because you do not ask.

And John 16:24 says:

Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Even in our relationship with God, we are taught to ask.

The answer will not always be the answer we want. Sometimes it is yes. Sometimes no. Sometimes wait.

But we still ask.

Why should it be so different when dealing with people?

Builders ask

If we are talking about skills for wealth, asking belongs on the list.

Because wealth is not only created through money.

Wealth can begin with access.

Access to information.

Access to relationships.

Access to capital.

Access to markets.

Access to opportunities.

Access to rooms.

Access to people who know something you don't know.

And sometimes the bridge between where you are and that access is one simple question.

Can you help me?

Builders ask.

They ask customers questions before building products.

They ask mentors for advice.

They ask investors for funding.

They ask for introductions.

They ask for partnerships.

They ask for opportunities.

They ask to sit at tables they have never sat at before.

They ask to meet people they have always wanted to meet.

They ask for the sale.

They ask for better terms.

They ask for the business.

They ask questions when they don't understand.

They ask for help when they cannot do something alone.

What are you afraid of?

Sometimes we don't ask because we are afraid of hearing no.

But think about it.

If you don't ask, you have effectively given yourself the no.

You rejected yourself before the other person had an opportunity to respond.

Imagine wanting to meet someone who could transform your business.

You know somebody who knows them.

But you never say:

Would you introduce me?

Nothing happens.

Imagine looking for funding for an idea.

You meet someone who could potentially invest or introduce you to an investor.

But you never say:

Could I have 15 minutes to tell you what I am building?

Nothing happens.

Imagine wanting to learn from somebody.

You admire what they have built for years, but you never ask:

Could I learn from you?

They may say no.

They may say yes.

They may say not now.

They may say, I can't help you, but I know someone who can.

You don't know until you ask.

Asking is not begging

This distinction matters.

Asking is not begging.

Asking is not entitlement.

Asking is not demanding that somebody gives you something simply because you want it.

Asking is communicating clearly what you need or want and giving another person the freedom to respond.

Great builders learn how to ask without entitlement.

They understand that another person's no must be respected.

They also understand that rejection is not necessarily personal.

Sometimes the timing is wrong.

Sometimes the person doesn't have the capacity.

Sometimes you are asking the wrong person.

Sometimes your proposition isn't strong enough yet.

Sometimes you need to come back better prepared.

And sometimes the answer is simply no.

That's okay.

Ask anyway.

Master the ASK

There is an art to asking.

Know WHAT you are asking for

Be specific.

Don't simply say:

Please help me.

Help you with what?

Instead:

Would you be willing to introduce me to the person responsible for partnerships in your organisation?

Clarity makes it easier for someone to help you.

Know WHO to ask

Not everybody can answer every ask.

If you need capital, understand who funds businesses like yours.

If you need an introduction, identify who genuinely knows the person.

If you need expertise, find someone who has actually done what you are trying to do.

The right ask to the right person is powerful.

Know WHY they should say yes

This becomes particularly important when asking for funding, partnerships, jobs or business opportunities.

Don't only communicate your need.

Communicate the value.

What are you building?

What problem are you solving?

Why does it matter?

What is in it for them?

Why are you the person to do it?

A strong ask isn't simply:

I need money.

It is:

Here is what I am building. Here is the problem it solves. Here is the opportunity. Here is what I have already done. Here is what I need. Would you be interested in discussing it?

That is a different conversation.

Know WHEN to ask

Timing matters.

There are moments when someone may be receptive and moments when they simply aren't.

Learn to read the room.

Sometimes your first ask shouldn't be for money.

It should be for information.

Sometimes your first ask shouldn't be for a job.

It should be for a conversation.

Sometimes your first ask shouldn't be:

Invest in me.

It should be:

What would you need to see before considering investing in something like this?

That question alone could teach you how to make your next ask better.

Know HOW to ask

Ask confidently.

Ask respectfully.

Ask clearly.

Ask without entitlement.

And then give the other person space to answer.

Confidence says:

I believe there is value here, and I am willing to ask.

Entitlement says:

You owe me a yes.

Builders need the first, not the second.

Learn to ask for help

There is another side to this skill.

Builders sometimes believe they have to know everything and do everything themselves.

They don't.

Knowing when to say I don't know and Can you help me? can save you years of unnecessary mistakes.

Someone has already solved a problem you are struggling with.

Someone knows something you don't.

Someone has walked the road you are beginning.

Ask.

How did you do it?

What mistake should I avoid?

Who should I speak to?

What would you do differently?

Can you show me?

Questions are one of the cheapest forms of education available to a builder.

Become someone who can answer an ask

But there is another lesson from those two days that I don't want to miss.

Don't only become someone who knows how to ask.

Become someone who carries something another person can ask for.

My colleague carried Panadol.

My other colleague had another pair of pearls.

What are you carrying?

Knowledge?

Connections?

Experience?

Capital?

Encouragement?

Access?

An opportunity?

A phone number?

A recommendation?

A seat at a table?

One day, somebody may come to you with an ask.

And perhaps you will realise:

I have exactly what this person needs.

Great builders don't only open doors for themselves.

They become doors for other people.

What haven't you asked for?

Perhaps this is the question for this Mastery Africa Tuesday:

What haven't you asked for because you are afraid of the answer?

Is there someone you want to meet?

Ask for the introduction.

Do you need funding?

Ask—but prepare your value proposition first.

Do you need help?

Ask.

Do you want an opportunity?

Ask.

Do you want someone's advice?

Ask.

Do you want the business?

Ask for the business.

Do you want someone to connect you?

Ask for the connection.

Do you need clarity?

Ask the question.

People cannot read your thoughts.

They cannot know what you need unless you communicate it.

And you never really know what the person standing in front of you is carrying.

Maybe it's Panadol.

Maybe it's a pair of beautiful pearl earrings.

Maybe it's an introduction that changes the trajectory of your career.

Maybe it's the capital that gets your idea started.

Maybe it's one piece of advice that saves you five years.

Maybe it's the opportunity you have been praying for.

But you may never know unless you ask.

THE MASTERY LESSON

Learn to ask.

Ask God.

Ask people.

Ask questions.

Ask for help.

Ask for opportunities.

Ask for introductions.

Ask for funding.

Ask for the meeting.

Ask for the sale.

Ask for what you need.

The answer may be yes, no, or not yet.?

But don't answer no on somebody else's behalf simply because you were too afraid to ask.

ASK. SEEK. KNOCK.

Sometimes the door doesn't open because nobody knocked.

Master the skill of asking. It could be one of the most valuable skills you ever learn.

MASTERY AFRICA TUESDAY | SKILLS FOR WEALTH

MN COLLECTIVE | INSIGHTS UNFILTERED

BELIEVE. BRAND. BUILD AFRICA.

Less waiting. More building.

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SLIDE 1 — COVER

MASTERY AFRICA TUESDAY

SKILLS FOR BUILDERS

MASTER THE ART OF ASKING

ASK. SEEK. KNOCK.

Less waiting. More building.

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SLIDE 2 — THE LESSON

WHAT IF YOU JUST ASKED?

The opportunity may already exist.
The connection may already exist.
The help may already exist.

But nobody can read your mind.

Sometimes, you simply have to ASK.

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SLIDE 3 — BUILDERS ASK

BUILDERS ASK.

Ask for the opportunity.
Ask for the introduction.
Ask for the meeting.
Ask for help.
Ask for funding.
Ask for the business.

You don't know the answer until you ask.

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SLIDE 4 — DON'T REJECT YOURSELF

WHAT'S THE WORST ANSWER?

NO.

If you never ask, you have already given yourself the no.

The answer could be:

YES.
NO.
NOT YET.
LET ME CONNECT YOU.

Give someone the opportunity to answer.

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SLIDE 5 — MASTER THE ASK

HOW DO BUILDERS ASK?

Know WHAT you want.

Know WHO to ask.

Know WHY they should say yes.

Know WHEN to ask.

Know HOW to communicate the value.

Ask confidently. Never entitled.

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SLIDE 6 — ASKING IS NOT BEGGING

ASKING IS A SKILL.

Asking is not begging.

It is clearly communicating what you need, want or are building—and giving another person the opportunity to respond.

Clarity. Confidence. Courage.

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SLIDE 7 — WHAT ARE YOU CARRYING?

Don't only learn how to ask.

Become someone who can answer another person's ask.

Carry knowledge.
Carry connections.
Carry opportunities.
Carry solutions.

Great builders open doors for others too.

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SLIDE 8 — THE BUILDER'S CHALLENGE

WHAT HAVEN'T YOU ASKED FOR?

The introduction?
The opportunity?
The funding?
The meeting?
The help?
The sale?

ASK. SEEK. KNOCK.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.”
Matthew 7:7

MN COLLECTIVE | INSIGHTS UNFILTERED

BELIEVE. BRAND. BUILD AFRICA.
Less waiting. More building.