It was a Friday, June 10th, in one of my favorite places in Brno.

I asked the waitress: “Could you take a picture of me behind the bar?” She hesitated…

I was in Brno back in June because I was attending a weekend Toastmasters event. But I arrived already on Thursday.

Brno is a city 2.5 hours away from Prague.

It has a population of 380 thousand, and its center is filled with cool hipster bars & cafes. My favorite one is called “4 Rooms”.

While it is likely more known for the nightlife (it is open till 5 am), it’s a great place to have breakfast too. The layout and lights make me feel I’m in a different world - and the menu offers an original twist on classic hipster cafe items such as eggs Benedict or affogato.

They have a very cool-looking bar. On that morning, I thought: “Would be nice to have a photo of me standing behind it.”

Of course, it’s an “employees only” area. So when the waitress - a dark-haired woman in her early twenties came to my table to ask if I wanted anything else, I asked her: “Could you take a photo of me standing behind the bar?”

When she heard my question, first she was confused. Then she said: “I don’t know. I will ask the manager.”

“No problem.”

She walked away from my table, and found her manager - a lady a couple of years her senior. I saw the waitress explain the situation - and point at me. I looked somewhere else, not to make this too awkward.

A minute later, the waitress came back to me and said: “Sorry, we can’t do that.”

A slightly awkward situation finished with a clear rejection.

But you know what? I did not mind at all.

How come?

Because I had made SAME REQUEST, in the exact SAME PLACE, one year before.

You know what the answer was back then?

“Sure, no problem!” 🤷 🤣

This means: In June this year, I already had a photo of me behind the bar in my iPhone’s camera roll. I just wanted a new one.

Many times before, I heard things like: “When you get rejected, it’s not about you, but about the other person and the situation.” But this situation made me experienced it.

It was not ME BEING REJECTED - just the situation on June 10th at 8:30 am was: No photos behind the bar for you TODAY, Lukas.

The takeaway?

Wayne Gretzky said:

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.”

You don’t get 100% of the things you don’t ask for.

Well then: Whenever you have something you consider asking: Ask!

A lot about the answer you’ll get does not depend on you, but on circumstances that change every day.

Why not improve your chances?

P.S.: I was in Brno again from Sunday to Tuesday. On Monday morning, I went to have a breakfast at 4 Rooms. Again, I asked for the photo - and this time, I got it. Improving my success rate to 66%!