I stumbled upon this great quote tonight:
“If you want to achieve greatness,
stop asking for permission.”
It stopped me in my tracks. After giving it the ‘ol SU thumbs up, I sat and thought about it for a little while. It’s an interesting thought because many of us struggle with this to some degree.
Permission Denied
The passionate missionary wants to give her life in service to the Lord and His people. She asks her family for permission to head off into danger. Her family says no, “You need to sit down and stay where its safe.” She misses her calling.
The hard-working office worker comes up with a way to save the company millions. She asks her under-qualified, ill-equipped middle manager for permission to make it happen. He says no; it’ll make him look bad. The company suffers.
The would-be entrepreneur wants to create something amazing. He asks his wallet for permission to sacrifice his job position and financial comfort. His credit cards say no, “You’ve got bills to pay.” The business never happens.
Brought Down From Within
Most often, we ask ourselves for permission. Surprisingly, we like to tell ourselves no.
- We sabotage ourselves with limiting beliefs.
- We give in to waves of numbing doubt.
- We succumb to crippling fear.
In my own life, I’ve used the pursuit of internal permission to rationalize my way out of doing a lot of things. Operating under the guise of wisdom and discernment, I’ve managed to wimp out on some great opportunities. We truly can be our own worst enemies sometimes.
Passion Granted
Here’s my challenge. Stop asking.
- Stop asking for permission to pursue your dreams.
- Start taking the necessary steps to bring them to fruition.
- Stop asking for permission to follow your passion.
- Start doing the work that makes you come alive.
- Stop asking for permission to achieve greatness.
- Start being bold in your disregard for the status quo.
Now that you have permission to stop asking for permission, get out there and do something that matters. No one can stop you.
What kind of permission are you looking for?
I have found this to be so true. Thank you for verbalizing it
Thanks for reading, Jim.
Better to apologize…
Absolutely!
Cosigned.
Man, this post is great, Kenny! I find myself asking for permission to even share my ideas sometimes! I am still working through the process of lining up with my calling in God, but this post reminds me that as it is revealed–I can not sabotage myself by asking myself or others for permission to move forward!
Thank you, Lindsey! It’s hard when we try to filter ourselves. I spent a long time asking myself for permission to share ideas or speak up in groups. It always resulted in me squashing my own ideas and thoughts.
When God lays something on our hearts, we’ve got all the permission we need.
it is interesting, because when someone gave me permission to go and do what I wanted it was the most freeing thing in the world. I was like most, looking for someone to say it was okay to charge church leaders money or okay to do what you like, now that I have heard that its okay I am now fighting the voice of fear.
But its a good fight
That’s why its vital to have friends who know God, know you, and speak truth into your life. Those types of people essentially give you permission before you ever think to ask for it. It helps you deal with this problem before it even becomes a problem. That’s an amazing asset.
In my experience it seems we all too often think we need to seek permission when in fact no one cares if you go ahead and do it or not. The permission thing is based in in our minds and not in reality!! Great post!!
great post. just what i needed to hear. now if you could just write a post for those people that think i have to have their permission – that would be great! haha.
I know this may sound odd, but permission is a lot like validation. For the longest time, I sought my dad’s permission/validation and it about crippled me. I became obsessed with it. Dude, this is solid stuff.
Just the title makes me want to hug you. Have you read the Alchemist? That’s the book that made “stop asking for permission” true for me. I went from being someone who thought about great ideas, to being someone who works towards great ideas. Not that I always do this, but I always try. I imagine a world where everyone listens to their calling, and I see hope. Beautiful.