One of my best friends is going to be 67 years old in a month.
We’ve been friends for almost 40 years. Throughout those years we’ve given and received business advice to each other. Some of it was good and some maybe not so good. It has been helpful to have someone to discuss business decisions with.
Decisions don’t have to be big either. Do you think I should go to the party? It is just a help for a little advice or just a nudge toward doing something.
The other day we were talking about doing something. It wasn’t a big thing, it wasn’t going to take much money and it wasn’t going to be time consuming. We both decided that we needed to do this.
Then we made the most important decision. We were not going to ask for permission any more. We had gotten to the age that we didn’t need anyone’s permission to do anything. There were not any mentors around to tell us to do things.
What a relief. Not having to think about what someone else thought is certainly liberating. We decided that there was no use even asking ourselves. We were going to say yes. AT this point in life what were we waiting on?
I did have a friend that would push you into something all the time. A mutual friend got a chance to drive a red Corvette. He took the test drive and then sent a picture to my late friend. His reply was “Please tell me you bought it.” He was quick to tell you that life was speeding by and there was no use in trying to wait for a better time.
I’m still looking for advice on some things. I’m not asking for permission. I just want a little bad influence to get me headed in a certain direction.
One of my favorite quotes is “You know all those things that you have always wanted to do? You should go do them.” One of my friends says that is a good quote but that I can be a bad influence. I did influence him to make a decision on something he really wanted to do.
It turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of his life.
Most of the afternoon, I’ve been working on a list of things I need to get done. Some of the things on the list have been there a long time. I’ve been putting them off. I’ve probably been waiting for someone to give me some sort of permission to do this. Well, I don’t have to get permission anymore.
With this newfound freedom, the list of things to do is getting longer. Scheduling, getting the money lined up and other logistics still take some work. The best part is not having to ask anyone for permission.
For my friend’s 67th birthday, I’m giving him a permission pass. If he wants to do anything, He will already have permission to do whatever he wants.
