✍️ Editor’s Note:
Zalman is my therapist—and my secret weapon.
When I was unraveling, he didn’t just offer support. He helped me see the patterns running my life and gave me language sharp enough to cut through them.
His insights show up everywhere in Permission to Be Powerful—because they changed me. Now I want them to reach you.
This is your introduction to Zalman, LCSW. You’ll be hearing more from him.
—Anton
Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,
Take a breath.
Now take a moment to pause—not to fix anything, not to figure anything out—but just to reflect.
Look at your life.
Where you are.
Where you’ve been.
What you’ve carried.
There’s not a soul alive who doesn’t zero in on what they wish were different.
Better health.
More ease.
More love.
More clarity.
Less stress.
Fewer regrets.
We all zoom in on what feels off, incomplete, behind.
Try it now.
Close your eyes for a moment and think about the one thing you know better than anything else in this world: yourself.
What comes up first?
Is it what you love about how you look in the mirror?
The richness of your friendships?
The pride you feel in your accomplishments?
Or is it something else?
Maybe what flashes across your mind are the things you wish were different.
The changes you haven’t made yet.
The words you didn’t say.
The cycles you haven’t broken.
And here’s the hard question—if you want it so badly…
Why hasn’t it changed yet?
Why haven’t you started that morning routine you daydream about?
Why haven’t you reached out to that person you miss?
Why haven’t you finally faced that one thing that keeps showing up in different clothes?
The Tug of War
Here’s the truth that hurts—and heals:
You’re in a tug of war.
On one end, there’s your will to change—to evolve, to grow, to break patterns and reclaim your life.
On the other end?
The part of you that clings to the familiar.
That wants to stay safe.
That fears failure.
That whispers, “Don’t try again, you’ll only disappoint yourself.”
And here’s the kicker:
That second voice?
It usually wins.
Not because you’re weak.
But because it’s old.
It’s wired in.
It’s a voice that formed when you were just trying to survive childhood—avoiding pain, rejection, punishment, or invisibility.
It learned to play small because that’s what kept you safe.
Groaning Is the Beginning
So what does it take to finally shift the momentum?
Groaning.
Not literal groaning (though sometimes that helps)…
But the kind of deep soul-exhale that happens when you hit that I’m done point.
The moment where your heart says:
“I can’t keep doing this to myself.”
It’s the bottom where something ancient in you rises.
Something tired of your own self-abandonment.
Something sacred.
In that groan is a spark.
A whisper.
A flicker of your Adult Self—the part of you that sees the pattern, sees the pain, and still chooses to move forward.
Even with fear.
Even with baggage.
Even with uncertainty.
The Voice That Knows
That voice is small at first.
But it gets louder with practice.
Like a muscle, your trust in that voice grows every time you listen to it.
Every time you override the old scripts.
Every time you choose something different.
That might look like:
Saying no when you used to say yes just to be liked.
Waking up when you said you would, even if you only get one thing done.
Sitting with the urge to self-sabotage and not giving in.
Speaking to yourself like someone you actually care about.
The smallest act of integrity with yourself—even one sentence, one moment—strengthens the new neural path.
What Now?
So…what is your inner voice groaning for?
What does it want you to hear?
What’s one small step—tiny, manageable, loving—that you could take today to support it?
Start there.
Because you don’t need a massive plan right now.
You need a signal to your own heart that says: I hear you. I’m showing up.
And if you want help doing that—real help, not fluff—come inside the VIP tier of Permission to Be Powerful.
VIP Is for People Who Are Done Performing Change and Ready to Live It
Inside VIP, we go deeper than surface goals.
We go into your patterns, your triggers, your inner child, your adult self, and the exact tools that can help you shift the tug of war.
Here’s what you’ll find:
🧠 The Life Pattern Decoder – Understand the lifelong pattern that’s been running the show
💥 The Trigger Workbook – Turn emotional reactivity into a healing moment
🛠️ Thought Filters & Scripts – Train your mind to reject false beliefs in real-time
🔥 Zalman’s Inner Child & Adult Self Map – Rebuild trust with the parts of you that got stuck
🎯 The ADHD X-Factor, AI Prompt Bible, and Trillion Dollar Swipe File – Because growth happens in both your heart and your hustle
And right now, you can try it all free for 30 days.
No pressure. No weird upsells.
Just real tools, real structure, and a place to finally feel met in your transformation.
👉 [Join VIP now — Free for 30 Days]
Because maybe groaning isn’t the end.
Maybe it’s the sound your soul makes right before it finally gets free.
See you inside,
Zalman, LCSW
Test-ride Your Permission to be Powerful VIP Membership FREE for 30 Days.
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