#1217 Hesitation Blues

“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”

William Shakespeare

There once was a mailman named Phil.  Every day, Phil stopped at the same diner for a coffee before work, and every day he’d see Sophia. Sophia was, in Phil’s eyes, gorgeous.  In fact, to Phil, she was out of his league.

Still, he flirted a bit and over-tipped, hoping to gain favor.  Sophia always smiled and flirted a bit herself.  Phil figured it was part of the job - you know, tips and repeat business and all that.

Each day as he walked through the parking lot, he resolved that he would stay a little longer and really try to get up the nerve to ask her out, and each day there’d be another reason why that day was the wrong day.  She would get interrupted by a customer needing a refill, or someone would come in and need to be seated, or perhaps there were too many people in earshot, and Phil was too embarrassed to try.

Each time he left, he thought it was for the best.  After all, he wasn’t a rich, eligible, sought-after bachelor. He was just plain old Phil the mailman. His hair was thinning, his waist was thickening, and he was all too conscious about his lack of eloquence when he spoke.

This went on for months. Each day, Phil imagined that somehow Sophia would find him attractive and let him know it was OK to ask her out, and each day Phil found another reason not to.

Finally, one day, he was sure he would have the nerve. He had rehearsed it over and over in his mind, and today was the day. Win or lose, Phil was asking Sophia out today. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and walked into the diner. 

Sophia was with another customer, except she wasn’t pouring him coffee or ringing him up.  She was laughing with him and had her hand on his arm.

Phil was devastated. He turned away, put his head down, and retreated to his car.  He’d find a new coffee shop and make that his daily stop.  There was no way he could face his failure with Sophia day after day. His brain screamed at him. “You should have asked sooner!  Now she met someone, and you’re out!”

Inside the diner, Sophia and her brother continued to talk and laugh. In the following days, she wondered about the mailman.  What could have happened to him? She missed him.  He was always so friendly and kind of cute too.

Own Your Sales Gene…