Who are you still trying to prove yourself to?

Maybe it's someone who doubted you, overlooked you, or told you that you would never succeed. Or maybe you've become your own toughest critic, constantly chasing the next accomplishment because nothing ever feels like enough.

In Chapter Eleven of the Permission Granted series, we're talking about the exhausting pressure to constantly prove that we're worthy, capable, qualified, or successful.

We'll explore why our accomplishments should never determine our worth, how to pursue excellence without falling into perfectionism, and what happens when we stop building our lives around other people's approval.

Sis, you can celebrate your accomplishments, pursue your dreams, and continue growing without making your entire life a performance for somebody else's validation.

Your life is not a courtroom, and you are not on trial.

🎧 Listen to Permission Granted | Chapter Eleven: Permission to Stop Proving Yourself on P31 Unfiltered.

And if you're ready to build a business without constantly chasing everybody else's definition of success, join us inside The Solo CEO Lab at TheSoloCEOLab.com.

Permission to Stop Proving Yourself. Permission granted.

You’re capable. You’re resourceful. You know how to figure things out. But just because you can do everything yourself doesn’t mean you should.

In Chapter Ten of the Permission Granted series, we’re talking about why asking for help can be so difficult, especially when you’re used to being the person everyone else depends on.

We’ll talk about the difference between being capable and carrying too much, why you shouldn’t decide someone will say no before you even ask, and how help can look like delegation, hiring someone, using technology, or simply allowing another person to use their gifts.

Sometimes strength isn’t saying, “I’ve got it.” Sometimes strength is being able to say, “I need help with this.”

And if you’re building a business and tired of figuring everything out alone, come join us inside The Solo CEO Lab, because we may be in business for ourselves, but we don’t have to be in business by ourselves.

🎧 Permission Granted | Chapter Ten: Permission to Ask for Help

Permission granted.

You know how to give. You know how to help, encourage, support, and show up for everybody else. But what happens when it’s your turn to receive?

In Chapter Nine of the Permission Granted series, we’re talking about why receiving help, generosity, compliments, opportunities, and even good seasons can feel uncomfortable when you’re used to being the strong one.

Sometimes saying, “I’ve got it,” isn’t strength. Sometimes it’s a sign that we’ve become so accustomed to doing everything ourselves that we don’t know how to let someone help us carry the load.

In this episode, we’ll talk about receiving without guilt, accepting support without feeling indebted, and recognizing that sometimes the answer to your prayer may arrive through another person.

Sis, you don’t always have to be the one pouring.

Sometimes you get to say, “Thank you. I receive that.”

🎧 Permission Granted | Chapter Nine: Permission to Receive

Permission granted.

Can you be grateful for what you have and still want more?

Absolutely.

Sometimes we have been taught to believe that wanting more means we are ungrateful, greedy, or dissatisfied with what God has already given us. So instead of being honest about what we desire, we shrink the vision, lower the goal, and tell ourselves we should simply be thankful.

But gratitude and desire can exist in the same heart.

In Chapter Eight of the Permission Granted series, we’re talking about what it means to desire growth without allowing comparison, insecurity, or the constant pursuit of “more” to control us.

We’ll explore the difference between contentment and complacency, why understanding the motive behind your desires matters, and an important question we often forget to ask: If I receive more, am I prepared to steward more?

We’ll also challenge the assumption that bigger is always better. Sometimes you don’t need more clients; you need better clients. You may not need more followers; you may need a deeper connection with the audience you already have. Sometimes the answer isn’t more at all. It may be better, different, or even less.

This episode will help you define what your more actually means, understand why you want it, and identify what greater stewardship may require from you.

You can appreciate where you are while having a vision for where you want to go.

You can be content and still grow.

You can be grateful and still say, “I want more.”

🎧 Listen to Permission Granted | Chapter Eight: Permission to Want More on P31 Unfiltered.

Permission to Want More. Permission granted.

🎙️ Permission Granted | Chapter Six: Permission to Start Before You’re Ready

What happens when the thing you prayed for, worked for, invested in, and told everybody you were going to do… doesn’t fit anymore?

• Maybe nothing went wrong.
• Maybe it was right for that season.
• Maybe you simply learned more, healed, grew, or became someone who wants something different.

But now you’re stuck because you’ve already invested the time. You’ve already spent the money. People know you for this. And changing your mind feels a whole lot like admitting you failed.

Sis, changing your mind does not automatically mean you failed.

In Chapter Seven of the Permission Granted series, we’re talking about what it means to recognize when a season, goal, identity, or direction may no longer fit—and how to tell the difference between something that needs to be released and something that’s simply difficult.

In this episode, we unpack:

✨ Why yesterday’s investment doesn’t have to determine tomorrow’s decision✨ How to recognize when you’ve outgrown an old version of yourself✨ Why something can be right for one season and not the next✨ The difference between discernment and running from discomfort✨ Why you don’t owe everyone a defense of your growth✨ Four questions to ask before making a major change

And we’re asking one powerful question:

If I weren’t considering everything I’ve already invested, would I choose this again today?

Maybe the answer is yes.

Maybe it needs to evolve.

Or maybe it’s time to release it.

Either way, you’re allowed to tell yourself the truth.

You don’t have to disrespect your past to embrace your future.

Permission to change your mind.

🔥 Permission granted.

How long have you been saying, “I’m getting ready”?

One more course. One more certification. One more revision. One more piece of equipment. One more confirmation. One more prayer.

And somehow… you’re still preparing to start.

Sis, what if “I’m getting ready” has become fear with a planner? 👀

In Chapter Six of the Permission Granted series, we’re talking about the difference between preparation and procrastination—and why you may never feel completely ready for the thing God is calling you to do.

In this episode, we unpack:

✨ Why feeling uncertain doesn’t necessarily mean you’re unprepared✨ How God often develops us while we’re moving✨ The difference between excellence and perfectionism✨ How “I’m waiting on God” can sometimes become a hiding place✨ Why confidence often comes after you start—not before✨ The Ready-Enough Test to help you identify your next faithful step

This isn’t permission to be reckless or skip necessary preparation.

It’s permission to stop waiting for the magical moment when you have every answer, every resource, and absolutely no fear.

Maybe you don’t need to see the entire staircase.

Maybe you just need enough light for the next step.

So this week, we’re moving something from:

“I’m going to…”

to:

“I started.”

Write the first page. Record the video. Send the email. Make the offer. Submit the application. Announce the date.

Start small. Start nervous. Start with what you have.

Because, Sis...

You can be nervous and obedient at the same time.

🎧 Listen to Permission Granted | Chapter Six: Permission to Start Before You’re Ready on P31 Unfiltered.

Permission to start. Permission granted.

When was the last time you rested without feeling guilty about it?

Not because everything was finished. Not because you had earned it. And not because you were so exhausted that your body finally forced you to stop.

For many of us, being busy has become so connected to being valuable that slowing down feels wrong. If we aren't producing, building, helping, fixing, posting, or accomplishing something, that little voice starts whispering, “You should be doing something.”

Sis, we need to talk about that.

In Chapter Five of the Permission Granted series, we're confronting the belief that our worth is tied to our productivity and asking a deeper question:

Do you trust God enough to stop?

In this episode, we're talking about:

✨ Why your productivity is not your identity
✨ The difference between fruitfulness and constant productivity
✨ Why rest is biblical—not lazy
✨ What Jesus modeled about stepping away even when there was still work to do
✨ Why sometimes rest requires more faith than work
✨ The different kinds of rest you may actually need

Because there will always be another email.

Another task.

Another idea.

Another person who needs something.

Another thing you could be doing.

But rest isn't a reward you earn after you've exhausted yourself.

Sometimes rest is simply an act of faith that says:

“God, I've done what I can do today. I trust You with the rest.”

🎧 Listen to Permission Granted | Chapter Five: Permission to Rest on P31 Unfiltered.

And this week, give yourself permission to put it down for a minute.

You are more than what you produce.

You are more than what you accomplish.

You are God's daughter.

Permission to rest.

Permission granted.

What if one of the most important things you can say in this season is simply...

No.

No to the opportunity that doesn't align.

No to the request you don't have capacity for.

No to constantly rescuing everybody.

No to rearranging your priorities because someone else has an emergency.

No to saying yes out of guilt while the assignment God gave you keeps getting pushed to the side.

For many women, saying no isn't difficult because we don't know what we want.

It's difficult because we don't want to disappoint people.

We want to help.

We want to serve.

We want to be dependable.

And somewhere along the way, we started believing that being a good Christian woman meant always being available.

But here's the truth:

Every yes costs you something.

Your time.

Your energy.

Your attention.

Your focus.

Your emotional capacity.

And sometimes saying yes to everybody else is exactly how you keep saying no to the assignment God gave you.

In Chapter Four of the Permission Granted series, Dr. Tesha D. Colston is challenging us to rethink boundaries, availability, and what it really means to faithfully steward our time.

In this episode, we're talking about:

✨ Why every good opportunity isn't necessarily your God assignment
✨ What Jesus teaches us about allowing assignment—not demand—to determine our direction
✨ The hidden cost behind every yes
✨ Why Nehemiah's declaration, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down," is a boundary lesson we still need today
✨ Why someone else's disappointment doesn't automatically mean you've done something wrong
✨ How to say no with grace without explaining yourself into exhaustion
✨ The difference between sacrifice that comes from obedience and sacrifice driven by guilt
✨ A practical Assignment Filter to help you decide what deserves your yes

You'll also be challenged to ask yourself one important question:

What am I currently saying yes to that is causing me to say no to something God told me was important?

Because you don't have unlimited capacity.

And God never asked you to.

Sometimes protecting the great work God has placed in front of you requires the courage to say:

"I can't do that in this season."

No guilt.

No apology tour.

No five-paragraph explanation.

Just wisdom, discernment, and obedience.

If you're building a business and you're ready to stop carrying everything like it all depends on you, I want to invite you into The Solo CEO Lab.

P31 Unfiltered is where we have the conversation.
The Solo CEO Lab is where we do the work.

Inside the Lab, we're learning how to simplify the work, use AI and practical systems, build visibility and authority, create income, and protect the capacity we need to actually lead what we're building.

Visit TheSoloCEOLab.com to join us.

You have permission to protect your time.

You have permission to protect your energy.

You have permission to decline good opportunities so you have capacity for God opportunities.

You have permission to disappoint someone's expectation without abandoning your assignment.

And you have permission to recognize that every need you encounter is not automatically yours to meet.

Sis...

Protect the yes God gave you.

Permission to say no.

Permission granted.

God has already spoken.

Now... walk in it.