I think you might be missing the point. It's funny that she got a free cab ride or a forklift driving lesson, but the fact that men are caving to her is making her task harder, not easier.
I'm not doing this to celebrate being rude, or being self-centered - it's about exploring my boundaries. I explicitly list in my rules that I shouldn't be cruel, or put people in particularly uncomfortable situations. My entire life I've placed rules around myself where there often are none (not talking to well-known entrepreneurs, for example, simply because I'm intimidated), and I'd like to change that.
As for po's other comment ("Although... on second thought, it would be good training for startup founders"), it's funny you should say that. I started this therapy the day after a partner and I decided to start a company, so this is an exercise not just for personal improvement but, in theory, professional improvement as well. I want to be able to take advantage of all of the opportunities ahead (talking to investors or reaching out to potential partners), instead of being intimidated or too timid upon approach.
And a couple of things to end this with: 1) I'll definitely try harder to ask for things from women rather than men, as the commenters pointed out 2) I should have / could have paid the cab driver at the end, to thank him for the help
Interesting discussion! These comments are in and of themselves continuing the rejection process (this life-on-display is a new experience for me, too) and I'm hoping for this to be a reasonably positive experience for everyone involved.
I'm happy to have helped by rejecting your idea. :-) Although it was online so it's was far too easy on my part. To be frank, if you had told me your idea in person, I would have either picked up that you feel inhibited by your boundaries or I would have thought to myself "What a self-centered jerk" and said nothing.
Maybe my opinion of this is being colored by living in Japan. Most Japanese will never outright reject you and you have to pay close attention to make sure you're not overstepping social bounds. I've seen so many foreigners who live and work here completely oblivious to these cues and it only serves to ostracize them. On the other hand, they have a completely different startup culture and that strategy doesn't cut it in NYC.
I guess my advice is to practice letting go of inhibition but also practice the other side of the equation: empathy. You're probably already good at the empathy part. It would be too easy to deal with rejection by simply putting on blinders.
All of this talk of rejection, empathy, letting go, etc… reminds me of buddhism.
(P.S. my sister is a reliability test engineer at a forklift company and she had to get licensed to drive them)
Those who take risks that are successful should not be rewarded on a 1:1 basis as if they had not taken the risk.