Waiting for Permission

[On Not Killing Creativity - VI]

We are programmed to ask for permission.
Put in the request for vacation days.
Ask for 10 extra minutes for lunch.
Submit the proposal for clearance.
Plead for a raise or a change.
Submit the bid, the case, the project, the idea for review.
Ask, ask, ask for permission.

There is (almost) always someone above you, up the chain of command, that gives permission.

The opposite of permission is not un-authorization or non-consent or denial. The opposite of permission is initiation.

Permission dissuades creativity; initiation encourages it.

If you see it, do it. And more vision will come.
If you dream it, make it. And more dreams will manifest.
If you imagine it, sketch it, write about it, build it. And your imagination will run wild.

Nobody needs to give you permission to start your thing in your basement after the kids are in bed. But if you ask for permission, the flame that burns underneath your dream, dwindles. And eventually extinguishes.