Getting Approval

Thought leaders such as Seth Godin and Melea Seward say that you don’t need to wait for anyone’s approval to start doing your work in the world. In principle, I agree. Yet, I know how good it can feel to get approval or a blessing of someone who means a lot to me.

Whose approval, permission or blessing would it be nice to have for you in order to do your work in the world?

Let’s imagine we could start a petition that asks for approval, permission and blessing of people who mean a lot to you.

Please take out a piece of paper and a pen, and make a list of people whom you would like to sign the petition. (Not to worry, this list is just for you.) Be brave and think big: feel free to add anyone ranging from your family members to the Dali Lama, anyone living or dead, real or fictional.

And make sure that your own name is on the list, too!

On the bottom of your list, please add: “Your signature indicates your approval, permission and blessing for me to do my work in the world.”

Now, this is big: sign the petition for yourself.

Done?

The next step is to go through each name on the list and ask: “If this person truly understood my work and truly had my best interest in mind, would he sign the petition for me?” For each “yes”, please sign the petition on behalf of that person.
There.
Take it in.

And now with everyone’s blessing, go do your work in the world!