I lunched with my friend Mary the other day.

We chatted it up and spoke about her struggles with addiction and mood disorders.

She had recently gone through a divorce. Two, in fact! And the worst part of it all was that they were aired on social, a fact that really got to her.

But there was one thing that really stood out for me. It was a commitment of hers that REALLY hit home.

She found herself constantly hitting a wall with her employer – the studio that she worked for – and so decided to take a drastic turn.

“I’m gonna found my own film production company,” she told me, over a breakfast favorite of two raw eggs in milk (don’t ask me, ‘cause I don’t get it), her face beaming with passionate pride.

And so she did.

I told her about my own struggles then. Told her about my dreams, of doing great things, only in a different niche altogether; in healthcare.

Really, it’s all the same. Especially when you think of it in a “grand scheme” type of way.

I told her I was tired of the NOs I had received. That I was taking all of those NO’s and that I vowed to turn each one of them into YES. Because I was going to do it myself, and not depend on anyone else to do it.

She laughed. And said she totally got it. She was doing the same exact thing.

We both agreed on one crucial point: that sometimes more doors open by giving yourself a YES than by having someone else give it to you. That it may be rough – really, really rough! – in the short term. But that in the long, it feels’ amazing as hell.

Moral of the story? Don’t be afraid to venture into new territory and be your own boss. Give yourself a YES. A lot of ‘em.

Be like Mary.