What would you do if fear of rejection were standing between you and your breakthrough?

Jeff J Hunter—one of my former clients and now a trusted mentor—was in town. (He visits the Philippines twice a year because his company, VA Staffer, is employing 95% Filipinos.)

7 years ago, I listened to the very first C.L.E.A.R. Copywriting Method workshop that he did in Davao. A few weeks later, he became my client. I won’t tell you what work I did for him or I’ll have to kill you.

It also meant:
– He shared his business nuggets – lessons and frustrations – allowing me to understand how a business owner thinks and feels.
– I discovered how generous he was not only to his family, but to his team.
– That yes, he doesn’t hire freelancers. So one day, I asked him, “So why did you hire me?” He said (and I won’t forget this), “Because how you do your work makes me feel that I am a priority.”
– He empowered me when he said, “Stop calling yourself a virtual assistant. You are a copywriter.”

Fast forward to today, I may no longer work with him, but it is still a blessing to learn from him as a mentor. He’s an early adopter, I am not. Good sensei-student match.

So here’s the situation: I’d done all my AI-driven research for my rebrand this year, but I needed a human with honesty, heart, and maybe a bit of brutal truth to weigh in.

To me, that human with honesty, heart, and can be brutal is him.

My stomach twisted into knots at the thought of asking him to squeeze just a tiny time to tell me my ideas. He’s busy—workshops, meetings, events, you name it.

Yet if I didn’t reach out, I’d be stuck staring at my work, waiting for a unicorn to solve it all.

So I took my “golden ticket”—a 30-minute ask—and sent it anyway.

To my surprise, he said yes.

I came armed with a mind map, a list of concerns, and braced myself for any feedback.

His first words? “Oh, you’ve got an idea?”

From there, we dove in.

I asked what felt like silly questions.

He answered every single one.

By the end, I walked away with crystal-clear next steps.

Not only that. He created this post about me during our meeting. The response were awesome. It didn’t only re-affirm that I made the right move. I was also introduced to new acquaintances!

Pushing past fear to get clarity? Here’s my ticket.

Lesson: Have the courage and humility to ask questions. The bad questions are the ones you don’t ask.

Jeff created this post about me during our meeting. The response was awesome!

Photo is the halo halo I gave him because the one he ordered on his plane flight back to the US made me scream, “What are tttthhhooossseeee???!!!”

Lesson: Have the courage and humility to ask questions. The bad questions are the ones you don’t ask.