Stop Asking for Permission

For years, I waited to be picked.
Picked by publishers.
Picked by event organizers.
Picked by platforms I thought held the keys to my future.

And then one day, I stopped waiting—and started building.
Not out of anger. Not out of ego. But out of clarity. I realized I didn’t need permission to take up space. I already had something worth saying—and I’d spent far too long shrinking it to fit inside someone else’s vision.

So I created my own.

The Trap of Waiting
Permission-seeking is subtle. It shows up dressed as “humility,” but often it’s fear in disguise.
We tell ourselves we’re “just preparing.”
We say we’re “not quite ready yet.”
We think someone else will show up and unlock the door.

But what if you are the key?

What if the email you’ve been waiting for will never come… because it’s waiting on you to send it?

What if the stage is already yours—you just haven’t stepped up to claim it?

From Rejection to Redirection
When I first submitted Reaching Back, I faced rejection. More than once. But I knew the story mattered. So I found another way. And that book—my first born—has now been reprinted more than sixteen times and sold in over twenty countries. Not because I got a yes, but because I gave one to myself.

The truth?
Every major move I’ve made has come from saying “yes” before I felt ready.
Yes to writing the next book.
Yes to stepping on the stage.
Yes to founding my own agency.
Yes to being the face of a vision nobody else could yet see.

You Deserve to Be Here
I’m not here because someone handed me a mic.
I’m here because I built a stage from my own story—and invited others to stand with me.

And now I want to invite you.

To stop waiting.
To stop apologizing.
To stop playing small in a world that needs your full voice.

Whether you’re a writer, speaker, creative, or entrepreneur—you don’t need permission to lead. You just need to trust that what’s inside of you is already enough.

The Call is Coming From Inside the House
You are the gate. You are the greenlight.
The stage you deserve may not exist yet—but you have the power to build it.

So take up space.
Speak your truth.
Start the thing.

Not next year.
Not when it’s perfect.
Now.

You’ve already been chosen—by you.
—  Nea