Dear Permission to be Powerful reader,
Staying true to who you really are.
Who you know yourself to be.
Upholding your standards.
Asserting your values.
It’s really important.
Not everybody takes it that seriously, but it’s very important.
And if you don’t have integrity, you’re gonna really miss out on some of the finer things in life.
What does that mean?
In my view, it means you’re playing for keeps.
No holds barred.
You’re not taking any prisoners.
You’re taking yourself seriously.
You matter.
You count.
Not more than the next guy necessarily, but you count.
And you’re not to be dismissed, overlooked, or belittled.
If you don’t even know that you count…
You can tolerate people treating you in all sorts of ways.
Because you don’t count.
So you don’t have a say.
You don’t get to decide what treatment exists in your life.
That’s what you’re saying.
I used to believe that shit.
I’m playing for keeps, man.
I had to cross an ocean just to get here.
It took me twenty fucking years just to get here.
Along the way, I became one of the best writers in my field.
I started working for different online influencers like Ramit Sethi…
and Neil Patel…
Eventually, I started working for Agora, which is considered where all the best copywriters go.
Agora is like the Juilliard or Harvard of my industry.
I went there, where the top 1% go.
Just going there—everybody at Agora is better than pretty much every on-the-streets copywriter.
Not universally, because there are some bootstrappers out there. But Agora held itself to a true standard.
And later, I wrote for Tony Robbins.
As a copywriter, I’m outstanding.
I’m not saying there’s nobody better.
I’m not saying I can’t improve or that I don’t have more to learn.
I’m saying I learned how to be a master at my craft, and it matters.
It counts.
It’s real.
I worked with the best in the fucking world.
And maybe I came out the other side without money, but I came out with knowledge and wisdom and experience and battle scars.
Most internet marketers are mostly just approximating.
They can create, but they can’t innovate.
All of their products are derivative.
All of their products are a copy of somebody else’s product.
They’re always following the trend.
To go the other way, it takes integrity.
And when you have that, you’re not just a content creator.
You’re an artist.
You’re creating something real in the world that’s unique and beautiful.
And I’ve chosen to live as true to my values as possible.
Period.
One of the reasons why—not all the reasons, but one reason why—is because I wasn’t always true to myself.
Life as “the Chauffeur” meant living in self-denial.
Staying in unhappy situations for years longer than I should because it’s just what feels normal.
It’s what I know.
It’s the devil I know.
I had to get a green card.
I had to fucking immigrate to this country just to get here.
And if I didn’t do this, I’d be stuck in poverty and misery for the rest of my life.
And so I’m thirty-nine, and here I am, and I’m broke.
And I’m not saying it out of shame.
You might think I’m going nowhere.
It may be true.
You may be right.
But given my track record, I think I’m going somewhere, and so is this publication.
And core to my philosophy is that you count and you matter.
And don’t let anybody, anybody tell you different.
Don’t let anybody come and treat you like you don’t matter.
Once you get that in your heart, all of a sudden the bullshitters and abusers in your life will just start dropping like flies.
Reality says I have a giant list, and we’re figuring our shit out.
I’m just taking a while.
It’s harder than it looks.
And if you believe that Permission to be Powerful is going somewhere, like I do.
If you feel the energy in every word that I write, the passion and the conviction—if that’s what keeps you reading this publication…
I want you to consider supporting Permission to be Powerful for just one dollar per month.
That’s it.
That’s a special promotion for becoming a paid member.
I’m gonna bring a lot of cool shit to the table.
And I’m looking for my early adopters.
The people who want to help this message spread, who believe in it and who see the value in it.
You count.
You matter.
Tony V.
Editor-in-Chief
Permission to be Powerful
