Vanessa Patrick is the author of The Power of Saying No. She says a major factor holding us back professionally and creatively is an ingrained habit of saying yes to things that we really want to say no to. In her book, Twyla Tharp describes how she agreed to choreograph what she calls a bad piece of music purely out of a sense of obligation to the Oscar. Whatever your reasons for starting with a project, whether crass or noble, they must be clear and unencumbered.
Too often, we say "yes" to friends, bosses, and even strangers when what we really want to say is "absolutely not." Why do we do this? Vanessa Patrick, a marketing professor at the University of Houston, has spent years researching this question. The answer she's come up with could change your life.