When I first started coaching aspiring business owners, I quickly discovered that many of them were lacking a certain crucial element for their success. They were waiting for someone to give them permission to do all that they wanted to do.
Happily, I am blessed with the mindset of a gate-crasher. I don’t wait for anyone’s okay if I see something I’d like to take on. I just go do it. So, this made it easier for me to see what my clients were struggling with.
When I created my signature coaching program, Get Clients Now!, I made sure to include as part of the program a “special permission” that participants choose to grant themselves every day. Giving yourself daily permission to take steps that might be scary, or to keep marketing even when you’re busy with client work, can give your marketing efforts a significant boost.
Now that I work primarily with self-employed professionals and creatives who write as part of their business or marketing, I often see a similar hesitation to write about certain topics — or for certain audiences — that vary from well-trodden paths. Or, that perhaps diverge from the writer’s documented background and experience.
Writers, I can’t say this strongly enough. Don’t wait for anyone else’s permission to write about subjects, and for audiences, which are calling to you. Any topic or reader group that serves your business purposes for writing is A-OK to tackle. If it helps, you have my permission.
Writing coach Ayodeji Awosika puts it like this: “Give up… your need for a neon green sign that says ‘Success Here!’ Successful authors, writers, bloggers, etc. don’t wait for the perfect answer to fall in their lap… Now is the best time in human history to become a writer. You don’t need anyone’s permission to create and publish. You don’t need a publisher to tell you whether or not you’re a good writer. Let your audience be the judge… Don’t put your identity in someone else’s hands.”
Well said, Ayo. I would add only one thing. You might need your own permission to write and publish what you truly want to. So, grant yourself that permission. Every single day.
