I gleaned the title of this post from a Zig Ziglar talk I was listening to. And you don't have to be a salesperson -- though we all are -- to understand this.

There's something you want that another person can supply you with. And you know this, but you're afraid to ask, for a myriad of reasons: What this person might say, how you very well may be rejected, what others may say about your asking, how you'll feel about the entire ordeal. The only real outcome is that person saying "Yes" or "No." Nothing else happens. The police will not lock you up. Lightning will not strike you from above. You will not form heart failure.

And you could be rejected, by multiple people, many times, for the same request. But being afraid to ask pretty much guarantees that you will never make a sale (figuratively speaking). And salespeople who don't make sales go hungry.