Stop Waiting For Permission

Your real work begins the moment you stop asking for permission.

Let me be clear: Doing your work is not the same as going to work.

Your work is personal.
It matters more—and costs more.
It’s the thing only you can give the world.

Let me be clear again: permission is the obstacle.

It’s the invisible barrier most people never question.
We wait for someone to notice us. To pick us.
To validate our idea, our calling, our gut instinct.

But that moment rarely comes.

The truth is—and no one tells us this: You don’t need permission.
You never did.

It turns out, the people who make a mark—the creators, the builders, the ones shaping the future—know this.

They’ve stopped waiting to be crowned.
They’ve stopped hoping for the perfect time.
They’ve stopped looking for a green light from someone else.

They know the secret: Action is greater than permission. Always.

I have an Ivy League–educated friend who left her corporate career to open a justice-driven bakery in NYC.
Another friend is a policy expert who spends his life fighting for children and families—one bill, one voice, one conversation at a time.
The most talented football coach I work with cares more about joy than scoreboards—and lives to light a fire in others.
An old friend, recently laid off from international aid work, now wholeheartedly advocates for others in the same position—to help them find meaningful work and to remind them of their dignity.

These heroes didn’t wait for permission.
They didn’t need a title, a nod, or a perfect plan.
They just knew: This is mine to do.
So they’re doing it.

Permission is the lie.
Action is the truth.

No boss is coming.
No title will crown you.
No moment will feel perfect.

The work is yours.
Stop waiting for permission.
Stop asking for it.
Begin your work.