Using No as a Stepping Stone to Success

Carol Mason

I grew up in Chappaqua, New York. Chappaqua is an affluent suburb twenty-five miles north of New York City where I was exposed to pretty much any opportunity you can think of. I was accustomed to the good things in life, and this made me desire to attain all of this and more when I became an adult. Even as a young girl, I always dreamed big. I would daydream of being a super model and having my photo taken by all the important magazines, being a professional athlete competing in the Olympics, or a multimillionaire being chauffeured around in a limousine. I always knew that one day I would be successful, no matter what other people’s thought of me. My parents always encouraged me to pursue my dreams and never stood in my way.

My first dream at the age of twelve was being a professional tennis player. Since I started playing tennis when I was eleven at the age most people considered too late for professional competition, all I heard was that I could never be good enough to turn pro and shouldn’t waste my time and effort. I wasn’t going to let that stop me. My dream was like the bull’s-eye on a dartboard. My determination and focus was piercing. I was going to be a top player, no matter what sacrifices were required. I trained daily after school, went to weekly tennis lessons given by a top Australian coach, and played in a tournament practically every weekend.

A Vital Lesson Along the way my tennis coach, Alan Lane, taught me a vital lesson that I still utilize to this day. He taught me to look in the mirror every morning and tell myself, "I love who I am," as well as additional positive statements such as, "You are a great tennis player, and you will win matches. You have the potential to be the best tennis player ever." If you follow this lesson as well you will be amazed at the way your subconscious mind changes its way of thinking, and you will start to see results. You have to love yourself before others can love you. You have to be grateful for all that you have before the universe will send more your way. I spent the next few years playing in tournaments, and I achieved a top ranking on the East Coast. To date, I am the first and only female tennis player at Horace Greeley High School to go to the New York state finals. I played #1 singles for my high school and rarely lost a match. During my senior year I was approached by a sports agent who presented me with multiple full tennis scholarships to colleges I dreamed of attending. I’m not telling you this to brag, but rather to show you an example of how I overcame years of nos and never gave up. If you put your mind to something and stay focused, you too can achieve great things. After playing college tennis for two years I knew I wanted to turn pro. This meant finding a sponsor to pay for everything. This is a tough task because sponsors pay for private coaching, entry fees to tournaments all around the world, and all travel expenses, which can amount to a minimum of $100,000. I cannot tell you how many wealthy individuals and corporations told me no. Desperate and determined, I proceeded to get dressed in my tennis best, printed out my tennis resume, and began to drive around to the wealthiest neighborhoods. I knocked on homeowners’ doors and gave them my speech. One day I got the courage to call Nick Bollettieri, who coaches some of the world’s top tennis players and was always on TV. People thought I was crazy calling someone so famous. Nick told me he was coming to New York for the U.S. Open and would watch me play, and if he thought I had potential he would sponsor me. Well, I played my heart out, and he said yes! I can’t imagine my life today if I hadn’t made the decision to pick up the phone and make that call. Taking that risk gave me the reward of playing on the pro tour for four and a half years and traveling all over the world. Even though I didn’t reach the top 100 world rankings, I am proud of what I achieved. Even though all along I kept hearing how I would never achieve my dream, how nobody would sponsor me, how I started too late, etc., I made it happen and nobody can take that away from me. I learned how to channel those nos into finding that one yes. It was my perseverance that changed my life forever.

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next