If I could go back to 2021 and give myself advice, here's what I'd say: **1. Stop asking for permission** I spent years waiting for someone to tell me I was ready. Ready to start a newsletter. Ready to charge for my work. Ready to call myself a writer. Spoiler alert: no one's coming to give you permission. You just start. The first version of this newsletter was embarrassingly bad. I cringe reading those early issues. But if I'd waited until I was "ready," I'd still be waiting. You become ready by starting before you're ready. **2. Your heroes are just people who started earlier** I used to think successful people had something I didn't. Some special talent or connection or luck. Then I met a few of them. Turns out they're just people who started earlier and kept going. That's really it. The person you admire? They have the same 24 hours. They had the same doubts when they started. They just didn't let those doubts win. **3. Optimize for energy, not time** I used to obsess over "saving time." Every hack, every shortcut, every efficiency trick. But time isn't the constraint. Energy is. You can have 4 hours free and waste all of them if you're exhausted, distracted, or doing work that drains you. Now I protect my energy like it's my job. I do creative work when I'm sharp. I do admin when I'm foggy. I say no to things that consistently drain me. --- What would you tell your past self? Hit reply—I read everything. Still figuring it out, Sarah