Most people don’t actually say “no” to things. They don’t have to.
Strangers especially. They say “yes” or they don’t say anything. This was one of the first fundamental lessons I learned in sales: some people will agree to a sale and then you make money, and the rest will remain as they are and you won’t make money. But none of them take money from you.
This means your risk factor is near zero for just about every interaction.
Get over your embarrassment! Ask one hundred people if they’d like to join you for a cup of coffee. Some of them will and the rest won’t. The ones that agree will be boons – you’ll learn from them, enjoy your time, maybe find a new business partner, friend, or paramour. The ones that don’t join you will simply vanish back into the population from whence they came, costing you nothing.
Whatever you want in life, some percentage of the population has the ability to help you get it. The rest have no power to prevent you. So ask until you reach the right number. There are only two answers you can get: yes or nothing.
The Opportunity Machine 