Permission to Succeed: The Gatekeeper is Dead

I recently started drawing my own comic strip. I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid. I’ve even drawn a few over the years but never really published anything. And now here I am in my 40th year on this planet and barely taking the steps to start publishing my work. And as you can imagine, I fight 39 years’ worth of mental and emotional resistance every time I sit down to sketch out the next idea.

Why? Why do we do this?

First we try to blame it on perfectionism or procrastination—and believe me I’ve used both of those excuses more often than I care to admit. But in the end, they really are just excuses. There are plenty of procrastinators and perfectionists who have turned those traits into superpowers of success.

So next we try to blame the “gatekeepers”. You know, those jerks who hold all the power to grant dreams just waiting for us to try something so they can tell us “no”?—the publishers, the producers, the studio executives, the critics, the government, the CEOs, our parents, our spouses…in short, “The Man”. And for all the times we like to say it, very few of us are willing to “stick it” to him.

So why now? Why did I decide to start drawing a comic now? 

Aren’t I too late? Who would hire a guy like me with almost no traditional training, who’s spent the past 20 years working in completely unrelated jobs? Who’s going to take a chance on someone like that?

I am. I hired myself to do the job. Because I know that guy has spent the past 35 years dreaming of creating stories and drawing cartoons to tell those stories. Because I finally figured out that the only gatekeeper to my dreams is…ME!

So I want to leave you with this thought today.

The “gatekeeper” is dead. 

Now more than ever, you can create what you imagine and publish it to the world and the only permission you need is from yourself. No matter how small your budget, or how niche your idea, you can create it and send it out into the universe.

I personally believe we’re all meant to be creators.

Give yourself permission today to be the creator you were meant to be and make a positive impact on the world with your unique genius.

In case you’re wondering whether you’ve got anything special to share, here’s a little blog post from Seth Godin to help:

“Unaware 

If you don’t realize that you have power, you might not be able to exercise it.

The power to speak up, to participate, to invent, to lead, to encourage, to vote, to connect, to organize, to march, to write, to say ‘no’ or to say ‘yes’.”

It’s tempting to imagine we have less power than we do. It lets us off the hook. For now.

For more from Seth Godin, I highly suggest you subscribe to his blog. It’s a short daily read that will have you thinking, dreaming and acting.

It’s time to put yourself “on the hook” and start living your best life!

All the best!

Jeff and Sheldon

P.S. You didn't really think I was going to leave you hanging, did you? You can check out the comic I'm publishing on a fairly regular basis on IG @briscothegnome. A HUGE shoutout to anyone who becomes one of my first 100 followers.

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