Blog

Ashok Sebastian Komaranchath: If Anyone Offers You an Opportunity, Never Say No Outright

justdial.com

Aug 4, 2025, 17:40

Ashok Sebastian Komaranchath: If Anyone Offers You an Opportunity, Never Say No Outright

Ashok Sebastian Komaranchath, Consultant Medical Oncology and Clinical Lead for Oncology Services at Burjeel Cancer Institute, Oman, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Can’t believe it’s been 7 years!

‘If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!’ – Sir Richard Branson.

Many years before this quote became famous, and indeed before I had ever heard of Mr. Richard Branson, my mom used to say something similar… If anyone offers you an opportunity, or even something you are not sure is an opportunity, never say no outright. Either say yes, and learn how to do it or say maybe/I’ll look into it and figure out if it’s worth your while.

Ive followed that for decades now, never saying no to almost anything. A funny Jim Carrey movie comes to mind as well (Yes Man 2008), but fortunately, nothing as catastrophic as in that movie has happened to me (so far!)

A senior professor in Radiation oncology called me one day and asked me if I would like to author a chapter in a book on breast cancer.

I had just finished my training in Oncology 2 years prior and was practising as a junior consultant in the small city of Cochin, India. Naturally, I was overwhelmed by the request. Me? a junior nobody write a book? That too an academic one? Naturally, I panicked and nearly said No ma’am, I am far too insignificant to be eligible to undertake something like that. But what mom kept saying came back to me and I said I’ll look into it. I wouldn’t dare be as presumptuous as to confidently answer ‘YES’ to something that was clearly beyond my capabilities.

It took me less than 24 hours to call her back and say yes, on July 8th 2018. I was given a chapter, that of adjuvant endocrine therapy in early breast cancer. Something I was fairly confident of treating but with a lot of advances in the recent years. I sat down and got to work reading and researching.

But Beena madam had one more request which had me questioning my sanity for saying YES so quickly. She wanted a draft within the 1st week of August 2018, in under 1 month. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, I thought, and said YES again. Then began days and nights of frantic research, discussions, combing through PUBMED and other books. But, I kept my word and submitted my chapter on August 4th 2018.

The final publication took another 2 years, and I had to update the chapter twice based on the latest developments in that subset of patients before publication. But in the end, saying YES, allowed me the honour of having a book chapter in an academic publication by a very reputed publisher (Springer Nature) before I completed 5 years as a consultant oncologist.

Thank you to Dr. Beena for trusting me so early in my career..YES Ma’am!

and thanks Mom… for literally everything. YES Mom!”

Ashok Sebastian Komaranchath: If Anyone Offers You an Opportunity, Never Say No Outright