“If you show up regularly with generosity, everything else is gonna take care of itself.” Seth Godin
Trust. It’s such a little word that is packed with a lot of punch. It’s something that we all crave, but rarely give to others.
And yet trust is exactly what we are building with others when they read our words, listen to our podcasts or read our books. And when we have trust, we have people’s permission to get into their lives a little bit more.
In a world full of noise, the best way to get attention and keep it is by building trust.
When Waiting for Permission is a Bad Idea
Sometimes waiting for permission is the worst thing you could do.
I mean, we don’t ever want to force what we have to say on someone who doesn’t want to hear it. But the truth is:
No one is going to give you permission to be yourself.
If you want to be a writer, a artist, a musician or whatever your dream is, you must pick yourself.
You can’t wait for someone with all the qualifications to show up on your doorstep to validate you and tell you you’re good enough.
You must begin to let yourself be you.
Why do we wait for permission?
- We’re anxious that what we’re about to do won’t work out.
- We’re scared that we’ll fail.
- We’re insecure of our own gifts and skills.
- We don’t believe we have anything to offer.
Those are the reasons I waited for years to begin to write my first book. I thought I wasn’t good enough to be an author. So I was convinced I needed to wait for validation from an agent or one of the big publishing houses to tell me that I was a writer.
And honestly, it’s the same fear and nervousness I’m facing now as I’m finishing my next book. It’s scary stepping out into the unknown.
Fear is a very real thing. And it’s true that life throws us all kinds of curve balls that are scary. It’s also true that we’re not as good right now as we could be, but we are good enough to start.
So maybe it’s time that you got started on your dream.
Affirmation from others won’t get rid of fear…
Having someone tell you they love your work, is nice. But that isn’t enough to keep you going day after day. What you really need is the will to keep following your passion when no one cheers you on.
What you’re creating, isn’t easy work, but it’s good work. It hardly ever happens until you realize you have a gift to give to the world.[Tweet this]
All of us are missing out, until you decide to give yourself permission to be you.
This is scary as much as it is exciting. But only you can choose to move forward, tossing aside fear and overcoming the obstacles that stand in your way.
You will need to be brave.
The exciting thing is, that as you take those steps forward, you will gain a sense of momentum that will be hard to shake. And as you continue being brave, you’ll become stronger.
That is if you don’t quit.
Still…
Many of us are still waiting to be picked.
We are hoping someone will give us the keys to the magic kingdom, giving us the right to enter.
But that will never happen.
The truth is, no one can make you begin but you.
And that’s the scary part.
This calling we feel, to be ourselves rests solely on you and me and our willingness to show our true selves to ourselves and to others. And honestly, I can’t think of anything scarier than that.
Choose today to stop waiting for permission. Create the work you love and put it out into the world.
Have you been waiting for permission, to begin the work you love? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
