How to get what you want

In life, do you get what you deserve or what you ask for? I've always been taught to believe the former. If you do good, sooner or what, you get what's coming to you. My parents have even taught me to believe that asking for anything is rude, obscence almost. So I've learned never to ask for anything, even if I really, really want it or feel I've earned it or am actually entitled to it. And when I do ask for something, I feel awful, like the person I've requested something from has this power over me that I'm not quite comfortable with giving to them. So, I usually just bite my tongue. Explains why I usually end up getting paid minimum wage for any jobs I do - or not paid at all, in a number of cases. It's all right, I suppose, because there are a lot more important things in life than money, like decency and respect, so I guess it all evens out. Lately, however, I'm feeling more and more like people who are willing to be impolite and ask for things are cutting right in front of me. Is that it? Is the secret of getting what you want actually coming right out and demanding it? It just seems so...crass. Plus, there's that big "I'll have to owe" thing. I don't like IOUs. People have a way of collecting, with interest.

Final thought: My father taught me to never live life in debt.