One piece of advice my late father gave me: Always ask; the worst they can say is no.
Feelings of rejection, before & after the question, are yours & yours alone. If you never ask you'll be eaten up inside over what might've been. If you do, you can find comfort in the certainty.
@joebradford
I think part of learning how to be a man is being afraid of rejection but asking anyway. Another part of being a man is handling rejection gracefully. I would almost suggest to test a person's character, reject them first and see how they respond. Insults and anger is a red flag
@joebradford
I wrote a poem I follow and share with my mentees around taking chances
In life
If you never ask
you’ll never know
The best be a YES
The worst maybe a NO
It matters that you did not let that chance GO
You asked & got to KNOW
The YES or the NO