I Give You Permission to Succeed
I Give You Permission to Succeed, By Pat Flynn
You might be wondering to yourself, “Who are you, to give me permission to succeed?”
“Who are you, to tell me when I can do things?”
“Who are you, to grant me any kind of permission to do anything?”
As soon as we begin to comprehend and understand the world around us as little boys and little girls, we’re taught that it’s proper, and polite, to ask for permission. We’re taught to raise our hands before speaking in class. We’re taught to ask our parents before going out. We’re taught to ask, before borrowing something. Ask and ye shall receive.
Often, we’re granted permission without even asking for it, and sometimes we get to a point where we wait for it instead.
Permission is good, because a permission-less environment would be a chaotic place. Parents of children, teachers of students, and kings of countries understand that permission is necessary for control.
When it comes to our hopes, our dreams and our successes in life, permission is still necessary. However, there is only one person in this entire world that can grant you permission to reach your goals…
You.
Are you taking initiative, or are you waiting for others to tell you what to do?
Are you taking action, or just reading about it?
Are you giving yourself permission to succeed, or are you waiting for someone else’s permission?
So who am I to give you permission to do anything? I’m nobody.
It’s all you.
Posted on : November 23rd, 2009
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- So What Projects Are You Working On?
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37 Comments (Click Here to Leave a Comment Below)
A motivational article this time. It was quite short one. The time i started enjoying reading it came to end. Though it was nice one. More like this expecting.
Azad Shaikh
http://www.internetgeeks.org
Thanks Azad – I wanted to write more, but I struggled to make sure to keep it short and to the point. If I get a good response, I’ll be sure to write more of these “mindset” posts in the future. Thanks again!
I love this one Pat, super smooth. I’m convinced that permission is always one of the biggest barriers people face when trying to make big changes… I still struggle with this one all the time, its very easy to accept what you think is your place in the world.
Thanks Dan, and you’re totally right. However, you seem to be doing ok though, as a location independent entrepreneur who is in the Philippines…for now
Elephants are tamed by tieing a rope to their legs. Once they grow bigger the rope is untied and eventually he is accustomed to going only that far. You made your point and you may be right, but the roots for this limitation may be too deep in our minds to be released alone. Most of us needs help
Hi Pat,
You made your point
I am currently testing passive income streams as well and will have a blog soon to update with my results.
How’s the weather in SD? I’ve been planning a move for over a year and will be making a road trip from the east coast to west coast and back. And we’ll be checking out LA and SD
Anyway, keep in mind I have been inspired by your blog the most since I guess I can relate to you. (Just a regular person trying to make it out there).
It’s hard waiting M/W/F for updates, but keep up the good work!
Weather in SD is great. 75 degrees, partly cloudy, in late November. How awesome is that!?
I wish I could update more often than M/W/F, but I spend a long time writing each post (even this one), and I have my pregnant wife to take care of, hehe! Thanks for the encouragement, and hopefully we’ll chat again soon!
Hi Pat,
Great article! I have struggled with this myself and something I still have to think about on a daily basis.
After venturing out on my own after more than 20 years in the corporate world, I’ve had to redefine what success is. There’s no more performance reviews or raises or promotions in which someone else defines my success. It’s now all up to me and that is both exciting and scary sometimes.
Each day now brings something new so luckily the exciting outweighs the scary!
That’s a great way to look at it Janet, that the exiting things outweigh the scary. I’ve said this before, but sometimes we have to think, what’s the worst that can happen. Often, the worst isn’t even that bad at all, and there are so many good things that can happen that definitely outweigh the bad.
Thanks for your comment, and I hope to hear from you again soon! Cheers and good luck!
Thugh I have taken action, still sounds like me. I can not stop reading, it seems like I am always looking for a way to improve my techniques. The only thing I do different now is read then try to execute or implement.
I have been trying build my traffic and implement different strategies, so far my efforts are gradually improving. I have gone from 2-5 daily visitors to 25 to 30 daily visitors per day.
Though I have to say, if I had not been implementing the strategies I have been learning these past months I would still be stuck with a big FAT 0, as far as traffic.
So don’t just read, TAKE ACTION!
Omar
Well said Omar! Reading is good and it’s necessary, but you won’t see results until you take action. Thanks!!!
Very interesting and unusual post, Pat.
Got me thinking in a new direction and that’s (almost) always a good thing.
Hehe, thanks Shane. Tried something a little different today. Most of my blog posts are fairly long. I wanted to make a big impact, so I decided to do something different, and go short but to the point.
Pat,
Very good point. In order to keep going forward everyone needs some motivation. However, the other key factor( seldom discussed) is empowerment, which is exactly what you pointed.
Empowerment allows a person to take control and execute the authority. Unless you trust yourself to execute your authority, no one else will!
-Bheem
Oh man – I love that last sentence. We hear it all the time in other forms, like “No one will love you until you love yourself”, and that kind of thing, but I never thought about it with executing authority, which is really important when doing business online. Awesome!
Thanks Bheem!
I really enjoyed this post, Pat! I think we can all use a not-so-subtle reminder from time-to-time that we control our destiny. The mindset issues are really important when doing things on your own and venturing into new territories like internet business.
Hi Pat,
“Are you taking action, or just reading about it?” very good question to pose. I read a large quantity of blog post daily and I put into action all the great ideas I read about. My problem is using all of them to their fullest benefit.
Great post thanks for the motivation.
Yeah – with the tons of helpful information online, it can be 1)hard to choose which ones to implement, 2) hard to choose which ones to implement FIRST, and 3) how to use them to the fullest, like you said.
It’s tough to not move around from idea to idea without getting the max benefit from each. This is why I like to take things one thing at a time, if possible. Thanks Ms. Freeman!
It’s true, there are people who are waiting for permission to do the things in life they really want to do. I do love this idea, “Don’t wait for someone to give you permission.”
But thanks for reminding me.
Hey thanks your comment Deborah! And great job on your site at http://www.tekkbuzz.com – keep up the good work!
Mindset is so important. Great post. I would put giving yourself permission to fail right there along with giving yourself permission to succeed. There are so many bumps along the road towards success and many people give up way too early. Allow yourself to make mistakes early and often! The key is to learn from each one and use them to make your business better.
Vance, you’re SO right, and I’m really glad you pointed that out. We’re all so hard on ourselves these days – but it’s definitely ok to fail. It’s our failures that lead us to our success. Thanks Vance!
How is your podcast coming along?
The podcast is going REALLY well, thanks. A little iTunes exposure never hurt anyone
I can’t wait until you start dropping your podcasts!
I think this is the kind of article that NEEDS to be short and to the point. You’re completely right of course, we’re in charge of our own destinies. I am trying my best to take action and not just read! Thanks for the motivation!
I really wanted to keep going with the article, because I’m so used to writing such long posts, but thanks for reminding me that it was ok to keep it short
How’s the new D5000 treating you?
A belief that I’ve always subscribed to is the following:
“The only person standing between you and success is you.”
This is why I never understand people who blame the economy, the competition, the time of the year, their lack of education, their lack of time, or any other reason in the book they can come up with why they aren’t achieving their highest hopes and dreams.
Do you want to succeed? Truly? Then get out there and make it happen.
T.W. – I only hope that everyone could read your wonderful comment. It’s so right, especially for this day in age.
Cheers!
Hey Pat!
Great little motviational post! Love it!
Have a productive day!
D
Cheers bud! I hope all is well with you. Thanks again for the opportunity to share my story with your readers the other week
Thanks for your permission Pat : )
You’re right. I think subconsciously we are actually waiting for someone to give us permission to succeed. Especially to people who come from middle class or poor environment or where all the members in the family are not successful.. “I need permission to get out of my group or community”.
Not realizing this might be one of the reason someone is not successful.
Thanks for the post.
Chetz Yusof
Thanks for your comment Chetz. I’ve found that I myself hav caught myself at times waiting for permission. Once I figured that out, I was well on my way to doing whatever it was I was waiting for.
I have a bunch of examples, way too many for this comment field, hehe!
Good point about the middle class, I haven’t thought of that.
Hope to hear from you again soon!
Great reminder Pat – it’s all down to us.
Empowering message.
Thanks Jen – I appreciate it.
By the way, I love your blog. I read your “Power of No” post, and I couldn’t help but keep going and reading more. You’ve got a new subscriber
Jen, you’re definitely in the right field.
All the best to you!
Awesome Pat – I am glad you enjoyed that post and subscribed – that really means alot to me.
Pat,
I stumbled upon your website earlier this month, and wanted to thank you for your contributions. Were it not for your website, I wouldn’t have thought lifestyle design is possible. Your website is one heck of a resource, and since I started reading your posts, I’ve been putting together a previous idea and website I had in mind. I hope that I can do something for my niche over time. I’m hoping to post soon, but want to make sure certain things are in place before launching. For me, traction is key.
This post is another reminder of what I want to accomplish, and it may be enough of a push. Things like this can sometimes be the difference.
A Happy Thanksgiving to you. This is one of the things I am thankful for this year.
Good Post Pat, I had someone come to me about 2 months ago asking for permission to be successful. You are right, it is all about them.
Great reminder!
Just stumbled on to your blog today and will be subscribing. Keep up the great content.
Thank you