Do you really need Permission?
The 4 things you need to unlock creativity and Innovation.
Founders.
Creators ..
Entrepreneurs…
Intrapreneurs….
and the list goes on and on. Fond terms coined to define those who have pushed past barriers and done the unimaginable.
We like them, love them, track them, want to be like them, but when the opportunity comes for us to chase an idea tugging at our hearts, we look for Permission.
Per-mission.
The word has it’s origins from an Old French permetre and directly from Latin permittere meaning — let pass, give up, hand over or grant liberty.
Words that are hardly associated breaking barriers or succeeding against odds. This instead, is a quote that has been associated with breaking past the norms.
It’s Easier to Ask Forgiveness Than It Is To Get Permission.
This quote has always been attributed to a dear lady called Amazing Grace, she was a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and pioneering computer scientist. I did some more digging and found it’s origin in the 18th century. Read more about it here.
So to the subject at hand - except we are contravening hard set rules OR operating requirements for mission critical systems… we really don’t need permission.
Permission is mostly an excuse for avoiding the real things we need to do.
We need four things instead to unlock the awesomeness we all have inside.
Thankfully they are free, simple to understand, but to be honest, could take a great deal of discipline to do. Let’s take a look.
- We need Audacity: To elect ourselves as solutions to the problems we experience. To create the answers we’ve noticed are missing in our world. Can it be you? YES!
2. We need Curiosity: To look for every related information to solve the puzzle. To keep asking how, where, why, when, or who.
3. We need Tenacity: We need tenacity to keep going after a fall, disappointment, or setback. In case you have not been told, it’s going to be hard…like haaarrrddd!
There are nights you’ll be awake wondering how you got here, and if you shouldn’t go back to your safe, predictable life. Being part of a community helps, a good support system like family, friends, and pets help.
I dare say creative hobbies like cooking, painting, and playing an instrument also help ease depression. But it the end, tenacity grows after you have survived wave after wave of setbacks.
4. We need focus: To move away from the things that do not serve or enable our goals and redirect that energy to the goal or to rest.
In the end, you’ll realize, you didn’t need permission. It was always, all yours to give, plus a heavy dose of Audacity, Curiosity, Tenacity and Focus.
So what have YOU been holding yourself back from?
