--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never, ever, take a \"no\" from someone…" description: "\"Never, ever, take a \"no\" from someone who's not empowered to give you a \"yes\" in the first place.\" — Peter Greenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/peter-greenberg-87023_empowered_never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s_2202889.jpg" --- # Never, ever, take a "no" from someone who's not empowered… ![“Never, ever, take a "no" from someone who's not empowered to give you a "yes" in the first place.” quote by Peter Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/peter-greenberg-87023_empowered_never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s_2202889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/peter-greenberg-87023_empowered_never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s_2202889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/peter-greenberg-87023_empowered_never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s_2202889.jpg) > “Never, ever, take a "no" from someone who's not empowered to give you a "yes" in the first place.” [Peter Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Don’t accept rejection from those lacking authority to grant you opportunities. **In simple terms:** Ignore “no” from the powerless. Key Takeaway Seek validation from decision‑makers. Themes career assertiveness authority Mood determined pragmatic Type professional advice When to use this quote - job search - networking - project proposals - team leadership Key Concepts leadership negotiation empowerment Questions to Reflect On - Who truly controls the outcome? - When is it wise to listen to a “no”? A Different Perspective You may overlook useful feedback from peers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diplomat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomat/) [Empowered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowered/) [Empowered Yes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowered-yes-4847099/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place/) [Yes Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yes-place-4847100/) ## Related quotes > [Even when I was a child, I used to constantly get into trouble at school because I couldn't stop talking and people didn't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cmat/even-when-i-was-a-child-i-used-to-constantly-get-into-trouble-at/) [CMAT](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cmat/) > [I don't know where I will be in 5 weeks let alone five years. But if I am still working in politics, I hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-huckabee-sanders/i-don-t-know-where-i-will-be-in-5-weeks-let-alone-five-years-but-if-i/) [Sarah Huckabee Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-huckabee-sanders/) > [It is of considerable importance that politicians stick to their commitments or do not make such commitments in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-rees-mogg/it-is-of-considerable-importance-that-politicians-stick-to-their/) [Jacob Rees-Mogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-rees-mogg/) > [We have to make it easier to afford to go into education in the first place, so you don't leave with crippling debt that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-whitmer/we-have-to-make-it-easier-to-afford-to-go-into-education-in-the-first/) [Gretchen Whitmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-whitmer/) > [All these expectations on me exist because of me in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-campbell/all-these-expectations-on-me-exist-because-of-me-in-the-first-place/) [Luke Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-campbell/) > [At the secret CIA training facility called 'The Farm,' aspiring case-officers learn how to recruit spies and steal secrets. As a former CIA officer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/at-the-secret-cia-training-facility-called-the-farm-aspiring-case/) [Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/) > [The first year I moved to Nashville, I started playing these songwriter nights with people like Nickel Creek, Duncan Sheik, and even Ryan Adams...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mat-kearney/the-first-year-i-moved-to-nashville-i-started-playing-these/) [Mat Kearney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mat-kearney/) > [If we were really tough on crime, we'd do more to stop it from happening in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-p-meek/if-we-were-really-tough-on-crime-we-d-do-more-to-stop-it-from/) [Carrie P. Meek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-p-meek/) > [There was never a burning desire to be a top actress in the first place. I happily gave up my career to marry Mahesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namrata-shirodkar/there-was-never-a-burning-desire-to-be-a-top-actress-in-the-first/) [Namrata Shirodkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namrata-shirodkar/) > [If there's no fire, there's no scream. If there's no scream, then no one hears you and no one comes to help you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/if-there-s-no-fire-there-s-no-scream-if-there-s-no-scream-then-no-one/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [It's nice to be in first place. But just because you're not on a winner doesn't mean you're a loser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/it-s-nice-to-be-in-first-place-but-just-because-you-re-not-on-a/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [Every penny we spend comes from the taxpayer. We thus owe it to the taxpayer to work as hard managing that money wisely as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-mulvaney/every-penny-we-spend-comes-from-the-taxpayer-we-thus-owe-it-to-the/) [Mick Mulvaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-mulvaney/) > [At times you are going to miss people. When that happens, others have to come to the front and show the calibre that brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-phelan/at-times-you-are-going-to-miss-people-when-that-happens-others-have/) [Mike Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-phelan/) > [Too many of us fail to fulfill our needs because we say no rather than yes, or perhaps later in life, yes when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/too-many-of-us-fail-to-fulfill-our-needs-because-we-say-no-rather/) [William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/) > [How much more comfortable it is to say 'Yes, and...' than 'Yes, but...'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-fagg/how-much-more-comfortable-it-is-to-say-yes-and-than-yes-but/) [Lawrence Fagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-fagg/) ## More by Peter Greenberg > [The PhD student is someone who forgoes current income in order to forgo future income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenberg/the-phd-student-is-someone-who-forgoes-current-income-in-order-to/) [Peter Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenberg/) > [From the moment you decide to go somewhere, until the time you return, there are about 47 different points of abuse that are awaiting you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenberg/from-the-moment-you-decide-to-go-somewhere-until-the-time-you-return/) [Peter Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenberg/) [Explore all 3 Peter Greenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenberg/) ## More Diplomat quotes > [How much more comfortable it is to say 'Yes, and...' than 'Yes, but...'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-fagg/how-much-more-comfortable-it-is-to-say-yes-and-than-yes-but/) [Lawrence Fagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-fagg/) > [Too many of us fail to fulfill our needs because we say no rather than yes, or perhaps later in life, yes when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/too-many-of-us-fail-to-fulfill-our-needs-because-we-say-no-rather/) [William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/) > [In truth, the degree of anyone's success depends on how often they can say the word yes and hear the word no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/in-truth-the-degree-of-anyone-s-success-depends-on-how-often-they-can/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I know firsthand from my experience working counterintelligence investigations for the FBI that kicking a diplomat out of the country is no small thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asha-rangappa/i-know-firsthand-from-my-experience-working-counterintelligence/) [Asha Rangappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asha-rangappa/) > [“You don't have to say yes to everything, you know. 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Kuykendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-kuykendall/) > [Your capacity to say "No" determines your capacity to say "Yes" to greater things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-stanley-jones/your-capacity-to-say-no-determines-your-capacity-to-say-yes-to/) [E. Stanley Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-stanley-jones/) > [I majored in political communications, so I intended to be a diplomat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-ramirez/i-majored-in-political-communications-so-i-intended-to-be-a-diplomat/) [Edgar Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-ramirez/) > [Saying no to something is actually much more powerful than saying yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/saying-no-to-something-is-actually-much-more-powerful-than-saying-yes/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [My father was a diplomat and served as Pakistan's ambassador to 14 countries. I was born in London and grew up there and studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adnan-sami/my-father-was-a-diplomat-and-served-as-pakistan-s-ambassador-to-14/) [Adnan Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adnan-sami/) > [“Did I want him to act? Or would I prefer a lifetime of longing provided we both kept this little Ping-Pong game going: not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/did-i-want-him-to-act-or-would-i-prefer-a-lifetime-of-longing/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Browse all 340 Diplomat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never, ever, take a \"no\" from someone who's not empowered to give you a \"yes\" in the first place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Greenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenberg/never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s-not-empowered-to-give-you-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Diplomat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenberg/never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s-not-empowered-to-give-you-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/peter-greenberg-87023_empowered_never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s_2202889.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/peter-greenberg-87023_empowered_never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s_2202889.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/peter-greenberg-87023_empowered_never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s_2202889.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never, ever, take a \"no\" from someone who's not empowered to give you a \"yes\" in the first place.” — Peter Greenberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Greenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never, ever, take a \"no\" from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenberg/never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s-not-empowered-to-give-you-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenberg/never-ever-take-a-no-from-someone-who-s-not-empowered-to-give-you-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```