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Melissa had the skills, but was stuck.
She was ready to level up to COO. She had the capability, the track record, and the results. But she wasn’t given the opportunity.
Melissa thought she needed a new strategy. As we laid out a solid plan together… She discovered that wasn’t the real problem.
Her biggest barrier was her mind mastery.
Until we started working together, Melissa hadn’t realized how much she was waiting for permission.
“I knew that if I waited for permission, I’d never receive my turn.”
1. She gave her best energy to the wrong people.
People who didn’t fully see her value.
2. She made herself small.
In language. In presence.
3. She found that she stepped back.
Giving others the spotlight.
4. She didn’t trust her own evaluation.
She hoped someone else would confirm it.
So even though Melissa had a plan, a clear strategy to find her next leadership role.
She found she couldn’t take real action until something changed, on the inside.
That’s what we worked on. And then…
Everything changed.
She stopped waiting to be chosen.
She started choosing herself.
Now?
✅ She has criteria for the people she wants to work with
(instead of looking for the first person to choose her)
✅ She uses her voice and owns her expertise
(instead of softening her message to make others comfortable)
✅ She values what she brings, and trusts it
(instead of waiting for others to validate her worth)
She’s no longer bracing for rejection.
She’s excited and creating what’s next.
Sometimes you don’t know what’s holding you back, until you have someone who can hold up a mirror.
“I knew that if I waited for permission, I’d never receive my turn.”
Shirley Chisholm
First Black Woman to be elected to the United States Congress
