ISSUE No. 02 | SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 | IN HER POWER
There is something I've been thinking about this week.
How often do we already know what we want to do...
but we're waiting for something outside of us to make it feel safe to do it?
The qualification.
The invitation.
The perfect website.
The promotion.
More followers.
More money.
Someone more senior saying, “Yes, you're ready.”
Sometimes we call it preparation.
And sometimes it genuinely is.
But sometimes we're waiting for permission.
I don't mean throwing caution to the wind or making decisions without doing the work.
I mean those moments when you've researched it, thought about it, talked about it, probably made three different plans for it...
and the only thing left is to decide.
So here's the question I want to leave with you this Tuesday:
Where are you still waiting for permission when you already have enough information to make a decision?
There comes a point when preparation becomes hiding
I've had plenty of moments in business where I've wanted somebody else to tell me I was making the right decision.
Should I launch it?
Should I change direction?
Should I put myself forward?
Should I charge that?
Should I walk away?
Should I build the thing I can't yet see anybody else building?
And experience has taught me something.
Clarity doesn't always arrive before the decision.
Sometimes it arrives because you made one.
That's difficult when you're used to being responsible.
When people rely on you.
When you've worked hard for what you've built.
When getting something wrong has real consequences.
So I'm not telling you to “just go for it.”
I'm saying learn to recognise the difference between information you genuinely still need and certainty you're never going to get.
Those are not the same thing.
There are decisions in my own life and business that would probably still be sitting on a notebook somewhere if I'd waited until I felt 100% ready.
At some point I had to say:
I know enough to take the next step.
Not the next ten.
Just the next one.
🤎
Natalia x
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Proverbs 31:25
I've always loved that this doesn't say she knows exactly what the days to come will bring.
She doesn't.
Strength isn't having every answer.
Sometimes strength is being able to move without having every answer.
To make the best decision you can with what you know today.
To trust yourself enough to adjust if you learn something new tomorrow.
You don't need certainty about the whole journey to take responsibility for the next step.
YOUR ONE QUESTION THIS WEEK
Think about one thing you've been putting off.
Not five things.
One.
Maybe it's sending the email.
Applying for the role.
Having the conversation.
Putting yourself forward for the opportunity.
Changing the offer.
Asking for the introduction.
Publishing the idea.
Starting the business.
Leaving something that no longer fits.
Now ask yourself:
What information am I genuinely missing?
If there is something important you don't know, go and find it.
But if the truthful answer is...
“Nothing. I'm just scared to make the decision.”
Then you have your answer too.
Write this sentence somewhere today:
“The next decision I am ready to make is…”
And finish it.
Then decide what the smallest real action is that would make that decision visible.
Do that.
THE WOMAN WHO DIDN'T WAIT
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune started a school for Black girls with very little money and an enormous conviction that education could change what was possible for the next generation.
She didn't begin with everything she would eventually need.
She began with what she had and built from there.
That's the reminder I want us to carry this week.
You don't always need the whole road.
Sometimes you just need enough to take the next step.
Now I want to hear from you 🤎
Last week I asked what you needed more of in this season.
This week I want to ask something different.
Finish this sentence:
“If I stopped waiting for permission, I would…”
Hit reply and tell me.
Sometimes even writing it down makes you realise you've known the answer for longer than you thought.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
There's a lot happening inside Top 100 this week.
On Thursday, we're talking about leadership from the inside out and introducing you to some of the women bringing that conversation into October's Summit.
Then on Saturday, I'm taking you Inside Top 100 again for a conversation about the difference between having expertise and becoming recognised for it.
Because the rooms you enter matter.
But so does the woman who walks into them.
I'll see you Thursday. 🤎
Natalia x
Founder, Top 100 Most Powerful Black Women
Until next Tuesday, stay in your power. The room is ready for you. 🤎
Natalia x
Founder, Top 100 Most Powerful Black Women
Responses