You Don’t Need Permission to Succeed
There comes a moment in every journey when you feel something shifting inside you, quietly at first, like a whisper you almost ignore. A nudge. A pull. A knowing.
Maybe you’ve felt it too.
That subtle awareness that you were made for more. That your gifts are asking for room. That your spirit is stretching beyond the limits you once accepted. And yet, even with that clarity rising within you, something makes you hesitate.
Not because you lack vision.
Not because you lack preparation.
But because somewhere along the way, you were taught to wait.
To wait for someone to notice you.
To wait for someone to approve you.
To wait for someone to confirm what God already placed in your heart.
I know that feeling deeply. Not as an idea, but as a lived experience. There were seasons when I dimmed my own light, not because it wasn’t shining, but because I was afraid of stepping forward without a co‑sign. I questioned my timing. I questioned my readiness. I questioned whether choosing myself would disappoint the people around me.
But here’s what I learned on the other side of that hesitation: your calling doesn’t wait for consensus. It grows. It presses. It insists. And eventually, it demands that you stop seeking permission for what you were born to do.
And that’s where this week’s reflection begins.
Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught, directly or indirectly, that success requires approval.
Approval from a boss.
Approval from family.
Approval from people who may never fully understand the call on our lives.
So we wait.
We wait to be chosen.
We wait to be affirmed.
We wait for someone else to validate what we already feel stirring within us.
But here’s the truth I’ve learned: success doesn’t require permission—it requires ownership.
In Success Is In Your Reach, I talk about the danger of waiting too long to step into who you’re becoming. Not because you aren’t capable, but because you’ve been conditioned to believe someone else needs to co-sign your growth. That mindset keeps talented, gifted, prepared people standing still, despite being more than ready to move.
There was a time when I delayed decisions, muted my instincts, and questioned my next steps. Not because I lacked experience, but because I was waiting for affirmation outside of myself. I wanted certainty. I wanted reassurance. I wanted to know I wouldn’t disappoint anyone if I chose differently.
The shift came when I realized this: waiting for permission was costing me momentum.
No one else could feel the weight of my calling.
No one else could see the full picture forming ahead.
And no one else was responsible for stewarding my gifts.
I was.
Permission isn’t always given, it’s claimed. And claiming it requires courage. It requires trusting that the same God who planted the vision will also provide the wisdom to walk it out.
If you’ve been hesitating in this season, I want you to hear this clearly: you are not behind. You are not late. But you may be waiting unnecessarily.
Here are a few questions to reflect on this week:
- Where are you waiting for approval instead of trusting your discernment?
- What decision have you delayed because you’re worried about how it will be received?
- What would change if you fully owned your next step?
Action Steps
- Identify one area where you’ve been waiting instead of deciding.
- Write down the fear attached to moving forward, and challenge it with truth.
- Take one intentional step this week without asking for permission.
Affirmation
I trust the wisdom God has placed within me.
I move with confidence, clarity, and courage.
I no longer wait, I walk.
You don’t need permission to become who you’re called to be.
You just need the courage to say yes to yourself.
Success is still within your reach.
