“Who did Michael Jordan ask to be great?”
That’s the question that stopped the conversation.
(We were in Chicago, so I figured it would hit home.)
I had just wrapped a workshop, and a woman came up to pick my brain. She was listing off reasons why she wasn’t working on her life’s mission, but at the heart of it she was asking for permission to start.
The scary part is, nobody can give it to you; you have to give yourself permission to succeed.
“Let me bounce this idea off you.”
This is a common question I get after workshops or when people find out I’m a consultant.
It seems like it’s an easy question, but really, it’s another form of asking permission.
Basically, they’re asking this dude they’re meeting for the first time to validate their idea in order for them to feel comfortable enough to move forward.
The reality is, if a single stranger’s opinion is going to make or break your success, you have deeper work to do than asking me what I think.
Why do we do that?
When we’re kids, we’re told to ask permission for everything.
“Can I go to the restroom?”
“Can I stay the night with Erik?”
“Can we get a puppy?”
Then you turn 18, and BOOM everything changes. Some people, though, never stop asking permission to be alive. They’re looking for someone else to validate their place in the universe.
They’ve forgotten that billions of years have conspired to put just the right conditions together to make sure you are alive to enjoy this ride we call life.
You’re the person in charge of giving yourself the permission to win. The universe created you. You’re here. Make it count.
It’s your choice.
The people who have made the most amazing lives for themselves don’t ask permission to be great. It’s less “who will let me?” and more “who is going to be foolish enough to try and stop me?”
That’s how committed to your own success you have to be. You have to be willing to stand in your place in the universe, and make it count.
Now, if you choose to forge ahead and create your own path to success, I’m here to encourage and support you to the best of my abilities. If you choose not to, and stay in the grind, that’s cool too.
But it’s up to you to make the choice.