You Don’t Need Permission

I’ve been reading a lot lately. A lot of the great movers and thinkers of the world of all races and creeds. People who have established generational legacies that will long outlive them after their deaths.

There’s one commonality I’ve noticed.

They all operate as if there are no rules. They don’t ask for permission. They ask for forgiveness.

In fact, most will say not knowing the rules empowered them because it allowed them to think outside the box.

It’s a simple concept but huge when applied to business.

Don Peebles is a black multimillionaire real estate developer. He didn’t come from money. Didn’t have any inheritances or rich uncles or assets. In building his real estate empire, he never wavered or inquired as to why he shouldn’t do something. He just did it and anytime there were obstacles he hurdled them. He used what he had to achieve his goals regardless.

Recently, I was listening to the story of Christina Qi. She runs a hedge fund and had no experience at all in the finance world besides an internship. Neither she nor her partners had any experience as high-level executives. Now they run Dormyard and manage billions of dollars in capital. They started with $1000.

And yes, sometimes people have safety nets to cushion falls (they come from money, 2 parent households, etc.), they all have had differing levels of obstacles as well. But for the committed, obstacles only serve as rest stops on their paths to success.

Act as if there are no rules.