You Don’t Need More Time —Why waiting to be “ready” is keeping you stuck

What if the only thing standing between you and your next level…
 is the fact that you keep waiting to feel ready?

In this powerful episode of the Black Sheep Leadership Podcast, Athena Renee breaks down why most people stay stuck, overthink their purpose, and delay the very thing that could change their lives.

This episode is a wake-up call for:

•  procrastination 
•  perfectionism 
•  fear of judgment 
•  fear of starting small 
•  waiting for validation 

You’ll learn:

🔹 Why clarity comes through movement
 🔹 The hidden power of small beginnings
 🔹 Why most successful people started before they were ready
 🔹 How momentum changes your life
 🔹 The Black Sheep advantage most people overlook

If you’ve been:
 ✔ delaying your purpose
 ✔ overthinking your next move
 ✔ scared to start publicly
 ✔ waiting for the “perfect time”

This episode is for you.

Because the truth is:

You don’t need more time.

You need movement.

 #BlackSheepLeadership
 #StartWhereYouAre
 #PurposeDriven
 #ExecutionMode
 #GrowthMindset
 #MindsetShift
 #NoMoreExcuses
 #LeadershipMindset
 #PersonalDevelopment
 #BlackSheepMindset
 #ClarityIsPower
 #BuildYourLife
 #StayFocused
 #MoveDifferent
 #SelfLeadership
 #ThinkDifferent
 #LevelUpYourLife
 #TakeAction
 #SmallBeginnings
 #OwnYourLife 

"INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE EXECUTION IS RARE"

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Hey everybody, I want to welcome you to the Black Sheet Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Athena Renee, and this is where the underdogs, misfits, and overlook leaders come to turn pain into power and build a life by design so that you can leave a legacy behind. Now, listen, if this is your first time tapping in, I want to send a warm welcome to you. What's up, family? Because you are in the right place at the right time. Now, if you're back again, I want to send a what's up family to you as well. And I appreciate you coming back to tap in and link up with us because you already know what time it is. Now let's do this quick vibe check. If you're easily offended, sensitive, entitled, waiting on somebody to come save you or allergic to accountability, this is not your safe space. So go ahead and tap out now. But if you're ready to think different, so you can move different and level up different, stay locked in because by the end of this episode, you're walking away with something that you can execute immediately. Alright? So let's get to work. Today we're gonna be talking about why you need to start where you are. Start where you are, you don't need more time because time is not guaranteed. Okay? See, most people are waiting for the perfect moment. That doesn't exist. They're waiting for more money, more confidence, more followers. You know, one of black sheep issues is we don't have a lot of support. So sometimes we can find ourselves waiting on more support, more certainty, you know, before they start building the life they actually want. But let me tell you something that changed my life. You don't start at the perfect time, you perfect the time that you have. Okay, let me say it again for the people in the back. You don't wait for the perfect time, you perfect the time that you have. See, most black sheep, a lot of times, we are ultra talent, so it's not a talent thing. Okay, but it's because we keep waiting to feel ready, and readiness is one of the biggest lies that fear ever created. You have to start where you are, not where you wish you were, not where Instagram says you should be by the age of 25, 35, or 40, not where your family claims you should be. Start where you are, and you know, you know, one of the most clearest, best things to be able to start where you are, it just simply means to start with the decision to level up. It all starts with a decision, okay? And sometimes people say, Well, I need more clarity. Guess what? When you start with a decision that you want to level up, you will continue to get clarity on the when, where, what, and how. But it starts with a decision. This is why you must study how you are making your decisions, because everything starts with a decision, and this is the power of starting where you are, because when you make a verbal confession to yourself, and you let's just say, friends, if you say, you know what, I'm going to lose these last 20 pounds so I can get my health in order, right? The why, the when, the how, and the what, any questions that you have that will continue to bring you clarity, trust me, all of those things will come to clarity, will come to you based upon the decision you've made to make the transformation. But see, the thing about it is a lot of black sheep, again, they talk about perfecting the time or they talk about the perfect time. You know, I had um I was friends with a a young lady a while back, and she had she come from a huge family that absolutely would support any and everything that she would do. I'm talking about anything, huge support system, absolutely not the black sheep, right? Now, she might feel like the black sheep because she's one of the she's one of the children that has been the most unproductive. Right? I'm not throwing shade, I'm just telling you. And a lot of times when you look at different family structures, um, you'll see some of the kids, you'll see, you'll be like, Man, why they didn't do anything with their life, right? And you'll look at the other kids, and don't get me wrong, everybody have different experiences with their parents. But there was a concept that a pastor was speaking about. He said, in the household, if you have the food and you're feeding the kids, and there's no allergies or anything like that, and the other kids are eating it, having a good time, they're they're looking healthy, not hungry, and then you have that one child that just don't want nothing that you cook. At that moment, you have to understand that it's not a cook problem, it's not a parent problem, it's something with the child, and that is the same thing with adults. Because so many times in life, guys, people are looking for someone to blame. You don't believe me? Look on social media. We're looking. People are looking. Oh, we're gonna blame it on the Democrats, we're gonna blame it on the Republicans, we're gonna blame it on Donald Trump. And the truth of the matter is a lot of things that's been going on has been going on for decades. Four decades. But not only that, we love to hold other people accountable, but we'll let ourselves off on the cheapskate end. And this is why today we're talking about starting where you are. But when I was talking about the lady that, you know, she about in her family, how she was the only child that didn't really do too much with her life. You know, she's not just bad off, but I'm just saying it's not about comparison, it's about knowing as a black sheep, a lot of times we don't have any support. And when you are around another family and you see all of these different benefits and things, it's like, wow, if I could just tap into 1% of that, I would take off. But see, a lot of times what happens is when you run into these folks that have that's had all the support their whole life, they're looking for an easy way out. See, when you get these people that have had everybody clapping for them and cheering them on, they lose the motivation and the grit to make it happen. Okay, and as a black sheep, you're like, man, if I just had a little piece of that, I would launch off to the moon. You know why? Because we didn't have access to it. But on this on the flip side of that coin, that's what makes black sheep's that much more powerful. Because if we never had it, right, we don't have a basis to understand as far as wow, it would feel great. We can tell that it would definitely be an advantage, but if we never had it, we're not gonna sit back and let it hold us back, we're still gonna launch forward. And so I was having multiple conversations with this young lady, and every time we would make plans to do different things and talk about things and all of these different ideas, and it was all about leveling up, whether it be in health, wealth, or relationships. It was always about leveling up because it's my calling. I've been talking about it for over 20 years, and I've done it in my own life for about the same amount of time, and every time I'll never forget, every time I would talk to her, it was always about it's just not the perfect time. I have to wait. She has one child, she used to say, I have to wait till my child gets older, I'll have to wait to do this, I'll have to wait to do that, and you know what? When I really start to observe it, because listen to me, uh, ladies and gentlemen, when you really care about people and you know that they can produce more and do better, you know, you might even feel, man, this person more talented than me. Right, but the ambition, the hunger is not there. Here's another key to it. Sometimes it they just don't want to face the idea of it may not turn out the way they planned, and some people are so in love with their image that they don't do anything because their image is more important than real life, okay. So let's talk about why you need to start where you are, okay? Because at the end of the day, what I want you to understand is the C principle. Okay, the C principle is a C looks very insignificant, it's tiny, it's easy to overlook. See, this is one of the things that really, again, is the advantage of the black sheep because people count us out all the time, they don't think we're gonna do nothing, they don't think we're gonna make anything of ourselves, the whole time we're using it to our advantage to plot, plan, and execute our come up, and by the time they even realize we were doing big things, it'll be too late, you know why? Because they have already been exposed as a part of the people that never believed in us, okay. See, every empire starts small, every movement started unseen, every leader started unknown, and most people miss their future because they disrespect small beginnings. This is what I really loved about when I when I read about the Google company as well as YouTube. Specifically, I want to talk about YouTube today. When I saw those two guys, it was an Asian guy and a white guy, and they were talking about their journey with starting YouTube. Obviously, you know, YouTube is the number one search engine in the world, and they were talking about how when they first started, they were like getting 10 views per day, you know, they were so happy, and you know, they had people that came to help, but then they dropped off, right? They fell off. It wasn't that that wasn't their assignment. But fast forward 10 years later, YouTube was acquired by Google for, I believe, like one point something billion dollars. Okay, billion with a B. Okay, but it started as a small, tiny seed. People looked over them, probably told them they were fools for even getting involved, right? But now it's the number two search engine. Why? Because every empire starts small. So, as I was saying, the seed principle, it looks tiny, it's even to overlook, but hidden inside, hidden inside the seed that everyone carries is an entire future. Don't believe me? Think about a tree, a fruit, shade, a harvest, maybe even a whole orchard. It all started with a tiny seed, and your vision works the same way. The podcast, the business, the book, the content, the idea you want, you keep overthinking. That small thing could change your entire bloodline, but it cannot grow until you plant it. Okay, the next step is stop waiting for validation. See, most black sheep already know what they need to do. The real issue is fear of judgment. Fear of judgment. Listen, as a black sheep, you need to tap into your black sheep powers. Why? Because people always judge us, even if we're trying to do the best we can. People judge us the harshest. I mean, I remember I was in a work environment for one of the top tech companies, and there was this one manager. I mean, she just stayed on my head, stayed on my head, like I was so in uh like I was just unaffective. I had no problems with nobody else. It was just this one person. But guess what? I wasn't waiting on her validation. I said I'm gonna do my best, and when it's time for me to transition on, that's what I'm going to do. Because as a black sheep, unfortunately, sometimes you can get in scenarios where it's damn if you do and damned if you don't. But one thing about it, and two things for sure: doing nothing is worse than doing something and not getting the result that you specifically wanted. And I'm talking about in the context of leveling up. Okay, doing something, and that something could be as small as that seed. Judgment is because people judge what they don't understand. Here's another thing: a lot of people judge because they're not doing nothing, and they don't have nothing else better to do. It's easier to judge when you're not doing nothing. This is the reason why I always tell my students listen, if you're gonna start any type of social media, don't be worried about what people saying in the comments. People are always going to have something to say. If you make your message or your mission number one, you don't even give a crap. Why? Because the people that's meant to catch the message, they're gonna catch it. This is the same philosophy that I use for this podcast. There are so many episodes where I can go back and edit and do all of these fancy things to it because I have the software. But you know what I said? I told myself, I said the message is most important, so we're not gonna delay anything just to make it perfect. We want to cultivate a company of consistency. We want to be the people that say we're going to do something, and we do it, and with that energy, with that power, that's what I started to do with everything, whether it be the podcast, all of the books that I write, the programs, everything. Because judgment is going to be there, right? But when you know you gave it your all, you don't care what the naysayers say. Next up, the fear of failure. Listen to me very carefully. It's not failure unless you give up. And sometimes giving up means you pivot it, and that's not giving up. Pivot means you simply switch lanes strategically, right? So, for an example, let's say, for instance, if you said I'm gonna write books, and you started writing the books, and then you realize it's just not something that's naturally good for you. You got the first one out, but it was so painful, it was just not something that you enjoy doing, so you pivoted to doing blogs because you didn't hate writing itself, but it was the long process. So you said I'm gonna tap into doing blogs, which are simply like one-page reports about something, right? Maybe you said instead of me writing in general, maybe I'll do podcasting because speaking is better. That's what a pivot looks like. So you're not just saying forget it altogether, you are pivoting to a different avenue to get the same goal, okay? So you have to change your perspective on failure. Because if you think that just because someone looks like they never failed that they're doing it, that's an absolute false document. Because nobody gets away that has achieved something big without having a few flops in there, nobody gets away without having something they wish they did better or quote unquote failures. Nobody gets away without these things, but like I said, when you set your sights high on a particular mission andor goal, regardless, you might have to take a break from it and get back to it, but you still doing it. That is not failure. You must change your perspective on failure, the fear of looking stupid in the beginning. Listen, guys, everybody looks crazy in the beginning. Think about Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast did not start off with all of those followers that he has, he started off with zero just like everybody else. Zero. And if he didn't start off at zero, but in which he did, because everybody does, I can guarantee you it was probably people that he know that supported him. You know, I had helped a young lady start a nonprofit organization over seven years ago, and I saw that image was very important, and in which it is, but it's not to the point of where you're stepping on folks, right? But what I observed was when I was supporting some of her seminars and group meets and all of that, 95% of the of the people there, the guests, were family. Now imagine if I'm coming in being envious about it, and that's her family that's there. Okay, so I want you guys to understand in the beginning, everybody starts at zero. Don't think about you know, oh, I'll look stupid. No, because you have dedicated yourself to a mission. See, this is why I always talk to the black sheep about a purpose. When you get your life aligned with the purpose, you start to understand it's bigger than you, and when you can think beyond you, all of that fear of judgment and fear of looking stupid. Guess what? It melts away, it becomes irrelevant, even if it's in the back of your mind, you're like, you know what? This is my mission, and I'm on it, and nothing is going to stop me. Okay, so let's be honest about it. Every expert looked in experience in the beginning, every successful person has had awkward beginnings. You are comparing your chapter one to someone else's chapter 20. See, we all have these different chapters. If your life is like a story, we've all have our beginnings, our middles, and our ends. You can't compete and compare with. Someone else's story because they are not identical. Okay? That's self-sabotage. But movement, actually doing it, movement creates momentum, and one decision can change your life. One video, one application, one podcast episode, one business idea, one discipline reason. Okay, that is what you need. Movement that creates the momentum. Not thinking. Oh, I'm thinking about it. I'm still studying. Not wishing. That's the part of manifestation that people always leave out. Because if you're just manifesting, if you say you're manifesting and you're not actually taking the physical human things that need to be done, you're only wishing. You're only wishing. Okay. So scrolling is not gonna get it. The only thing that's going to get you there is movement. And once momentum starts, clarity starts catching up. It's almost like a freight train that's just moving in sync. Okay. The black sheep advantage is we're already used to being overlooked. This is why I tell you guys tap into your black sheep powers. We're used to being overlooked, doubted, and building without support. So stop waiting for applause. Most people never start because they need validation before action. Let me tell you something. If you do need validation, join a group of like-minded individuals. Okay. Obviously, if you have people in your friend group that you can identify, but for the most part, listen, start where you are. Because leaders move first, then the world will catch up later. Okay? Now, here's the real cost of waiting. And let's talk about the hidden danger. Waiting too long creates regret. Not failure, but regret. Because failure teaches. See, this is why I told you guys you must change your perspective on failure. When people got the nerve or the guts to laugh at your failures, it lets you know they've never tried anything that is suitable or even honorable enough to cause failure. Why do I say that? Well, you only know if you're growing if it hurts. Growth hurts. Growth is not some comfortable, rosy cheek thing that happens when everything is perfect. Growth hurts. Look at the plants. Plants don't even grow until nighttime. You don't even see them until you wake up. You'll be like, oh my goodness, my plant grew. Why? Because it started as a seed and it went down first in the dirt. Then it came up through the night after it was in the right environment and it had the right nutrients. You are the exact same way. Because it will lead to regret when you're waiting too long. Regret will haunt you. You start to wonder, what if I have started early? What if I would have believed in myself? What if I? What if I, you know, what if I would have stayed consistent? That pain hits differently because you know you had a choice, and you have to eat the fruit that you're bearing now, which was nothing more than hopes and dreams with no action. See, you already have enough to begin. You may not have the perfect equipment, the perfect plan or strategy, but you probably already have enough to begin. And beginning changes everything because action activates opportunities. People don't help movement, they help momentum. The momentum of the group. This is why you see people giving money and grants, they mainly give it to people that's already doing something. This is why I told you guys it's dangerous in a society that we have where number one, we always despise the rich, and number two, people are looking for freebies and handouts every time. They'll look on, they'll look and say, Oh, Sweden, that's a wonderful country. But I was doing some studies about Sweden and I believe Norwegian and places like that. They are awesome. But did you know a lot of innovation does not come out of those areas? You know why? Because there's no incentive to do anything, to be um innovative, to be an entrepreneur, because the state has already taken care of them, so they're just living to get by. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the system is right or wrong, but we're talking about innovation, innovative. We're talking about using our gifts and talents that were given to us. And if you don't have any type of incentive to actually get up, why would you? This is why people that are on government benefits, they stay, they stay, it's a lifestyle now because they know they have there's no incentive to get off. I'm talking about a real hardcore incentive. Like if someone said, Okay, we're gonna give you this until uh your child is seven years old, we're gonna come back and we're gonna re-evaluate their grades and everything. If a person knew that if their child does not produce a certain level of accolades, they will be cut off. That would be an incentive to actually take part in what the child has going on. Okay, so remember, even like on the Shark Tank, the first thing those people ask them, hey, what you're working on? How much money have you made so far? They're not people on Shark Tank, they don't have folks coming on and talking about I want to start it, I just haven't done it yet. You're not gonna even make it through the rounds before we see you on TV. Okay, so you must understand that clarity and answers come with momentum. So here's a three sheep, three black sheep action moves. Number one, start one thing immediately, just start, just start where you are, not tomorrow, today, even if it's imperfect. Number two, stop disrespecting small beginnings. Never despise your days of small beginnings. A lot of people that I've met, they love to bring up the past, you know. Because when I started my business, hey, I put everything in it. I got skin in the game, and I'm talking about skin in the game. People laugh and all of those things, but guess what? You don't disrespect the small beginnings because if you do, you won't have the large endings. Because what you do on a small scale is what you do on a large scale, and that small scale, and as you continue to progress on, it trains you for the large scale. Number three, build before you're validated. Listen, y'all, the black sheep, people always count us out, so you can use that as your advantage and not wait for validation. Matter of fact, not even give a crap about it. This is why I always say it's black sheets. We need to move in silent, make your master plan, plot your move, your level up, and if you can get around people that support your big ideas and dreams and change. But if you don't have that capability right now, and which we do if you have access to a phone or internet, but let's just say, for instance, if you don't, move in silence, know that you got enough in you right now to get it started, and when it's time to level up, those things will come to you, okay? Because if you're waiting on validation, I promise you, listen to me very carefully. If you want, if you're gonna wait for applause first, there's a chance that it might never come to you. Because in this life, in this world, people they don't want the black sheep to make it, and the way you surprise them, the make the way you make them pick their face up off the floor, is to start where you are. Okay? Because your future is not waiting on perfection, it's waiting on movement, and the life you want is probably hiding beside inside the thing you keep delaying. Start where you are, use what you have, build what you can, and trust that the clarity you need and the movement you need will meet you on the road. Now, don't forget, I've always told you guys information is everywhere, but execution is rare. Until next time, I'll speak to you soon. Take care.