Saying "No"

During one of my informational interviews, I was informed about a local nonprofit named "Young Women's Alliance". Last week, I was able to attend one of their meetings--it was a general meeting, and one of the best meetings of the year! It involved a panel discussion of the advisory board for YWA, and we were given the opportunity to listen to the women speak, and then ask them questions. It was interesting to hear their perspectives. I believe all three of the women were entrepreneurs and each of them were also on the boards of various nonprofits and had even started some nonprofits. It was really interesting to see how these women have dealt with juggling their personal and professional lives. One of the things that they mentioned was getting the ability to use the word "no" and how much that has changed their lives. I think that all of us (especially women) have had trouble using that word and how big of an impact it will have on their lives. I have a very very hard time saying no, but I am slowly learning how to. When I tell some people that I am interested in working for/with nonprofits, some make faces and say that nonprofits just burn their people out. Learning how to say no will be crucial to making sure that this doesn't happen to me!