The Worst Answer to Just About Everything

The worst answer to just about any inquiry? It's "maybe."

Maybe is inertia. Purgatory. Uncertainty. 

Maybe is a siren call for wasting time. Maybe is all too often a distraction.

If you're pursuing the "maybe" again and again, in hopes it'll turn into a yes, you're likely burning valuable cycles and spinning your wheels. It’s time to reconsider your mindset. 

Is this a winning business idea? Do you want to buy my product? The best answer is yes. The next best answer is no. And the worst answer is maybe.

Will you attend the meeting? Will you complete the project by 5pm? Will you feed my dog tonight? Will you marry me?

Yes. No. Maybe. That's the order of preference for the answer you want to hear.

Yes is easy to hear. It's exciting. It connects the external result to the internal expectation.  Yes! I'll be there. Yes! It's on the way now. Yes! and Yes! The ring fits.

“No" is hard. It's not what you want to hear, at all. But it's better than a maybe.

Maybe is a distraction from the next yes. It's a delay to success at best, a detour at worst.

Maybe usually means no, but we don't treat it that way, because, well, it’s not no, it’s maybe. 

"Maybe" the other person just doesn't want to say no, or maybe they're really not sure and just need to think about it. "Maybe" they don't want to disappoint you, or maybe they just don't know. Maybe, they'll eventually say yes. Maybe maybe maybe. We don't know.

If we're  pursuing the maybes in the world, we’re taking away the opportunity for all kinds of possible yeses. 

Yes means yes. Yes is a signed contract. It's money in your pocket. It's a happy dog. It's a new beginning.

No means no. The deal is dead. The hunger persists. "No" means the end.

Maybe, however, is opaque; and needy. It's attractive. It wants attention. It craves resolution. It’s seductive yet elusive in its attainment.

The problem with pursuing a maybe is that you're spending time and energy on something of undetermined value.  

No means stop, there’s no additional value for you here. We’re done. Put your energy elsewhere. 

Yes means "let's go". Let's keep the energy moving.  

Maybe? Maybe is deadly. 

Maybe is a pause in time that continues to require energy; and that energy is almost always the expense of something of greater value. If you're asking the right question, and asking it often enough, then pursuing a maybe means you're letting the yeses pass you by.

Salespeople know this. It's why they want full pipelines with lots of prospects.  And marketers, whether we realize it or not, leverage this all the time with expiring offers and limited time deals. You don't have forever to give me an answer. Give me a yes or give me a no, and let me move on. Because maybe will lead nowhere. It might even put me out of business.

If you have a tendency to keep your attention on the maybes, re-evaluate your approach. As a creative people, we are full of hope. We see possibilities in everything. We know that in the present moment, anything can happen. The phone can ring with an offer to option the book, or with word that a friend has died. The news can report that the developing weather system is headed away from shore, or that the second tower has fallen. 

Maybes are full of hope, too. But unlike the present moment, they can take forever to resolve themselves. And they call for our attention, even though they're out of our control.

Yeses and nos ask nothing of us. They only give. They give clarity. They give freedom. They let us go. They unbind us from the unknown and provide us with certainty.

Look for what you want. Ask if this is it. Get a yes. Get a no. If you get a maybe -- keep moving.  And keep looking.