Stop Asking For Permission

I'm not 100% sure I know what I'm doing.

I need to learn just a little more before I can officially make this happen.

There's someone doing something similar, and I'm not as good as them.

What if <fill in any negative blank here> happens?

Do any of these sound familiar when you're getting ready to take on something, whether it be a business or even a new job?  As much as I would love to tell you that I know all of these things because I hear them from clients, the truth of the matter is, that I've said them at least once fifty times to myself.

We all go through this.

Every.  Single. One. Of. Us.

I've said this many times before, but I think it's important to realize that the only thing standing between you and the person who actually made it happen, is that they just decided to make it happen.  They didn't know more, weren't more prepared, or didn't wait long enough for something lucky to fall from the sky.  They just made it happen.

Last month I wrote a series about the lessons I learned from putting together my first large event.  Even though I closed it out at ten, there were so many other lessons I took away from it.  Everyone was amazed that I had taken on something so large, and I shrugged it off because I didn't consider myself special, I just considered myself as wanting to do something.

I learned a valuable lesson about leadership.  That so many times we wait for someone to give us permission to be a leader, or to take on something big.  However, it's very rare that permission is going to come when we need it the most.  The only person who really can give us it, is ourselves.

I had been trying to put this in the right words, but Seth Godin did it so eloquently when I recently saw him at EntreLeadership.

Stop waiting for the perfect time.  Stop waiting for someone to tell you that you can.  Stop waiting to take that first step because you're thinking of all the things that can go wrong, and give yourself permission to make it happen.  Whether it's finally starting the business you've dreamed about, or taking it to the next level.  Just set the date and go.