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Permission to be Powerful Podcast

Permission to be Powerful Podcast

Written by: Anton
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 “Permission to Be Powerful” is your battle cry for breaking free from self-doubt, reclaiming your voice, and living life unapologetically on your terms.

www.antonvolney.comTeam Healthy LLC Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • I'm Running Out of Time.

    I'm Running Out of Time.
    Feb 1 2026
    Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,Follow these instructions to the letter.Here’s my request:I want to know why you read this blog.Tell me in the comments.I can only speculate.But there isn’t much time.We were at 88,000 subscribers to my new mystery list.We’re now closing in on 100,000.But that may not be good enough.There’s basically no time left.There’s no manual for how to manage a list of this size.I’m figuring things out as I go.I’ve made big, dumb mistakes.I’m taking risks that may not pan out.But…As I was saying before…I retired from freelancing after Tony Robbins fired me.That was the last straw.Every single client is always the same.I’m done placing my faith in other people.I’m done waiting for people to do what’s right.What’s fair.What’s respectful.I’m not waiting for these hooligans to give me recognition for the hard work I’ve contributed to my field.It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.I’m not saying f**k freelancing for everybody.Just me.Freelancing is a GREAT starter business:You’re broke.You have no network.You have no experience.Freelancing will give you connections and experience very quickly.The problem is that it’s a shitty business model.There’s no leverage.Some freelancers seem to be eating well.But the weaknesses of the model are unjustifiable after a point.In other words:Pay your dues.Then get the f**k out and build a smarter business.If you can survive among crooks and thieves as long as I have…You’ll learn.I got very good with people.I learned how to wine and dine.How to get into a client’s head.How to make them feel important.Like my number one priority.Juggling Tony Robbins with other clientsfelt like multiple girlfriends competing for attention.My biggest mistake was letting it slip that I had other clients.Sounds weird.But every client wants to be your number one.Nobody likes sloppy seconds.These people put me through it.In short:I went through hell…Until I became the Devil.I became the mythic copywriter they whisper about.The one who could massage a headline just right.Spin a new angle out of thin air.Spot the hidden weaknesses in ads and sales pages that were quietly costing clients a fortune.It’s sick.I started on Elance in 2011.I was so hungry that year, I weighed 169 pounds.I’m 198 today.I rotated three food banks to keep myself fed.I rationed food.I worked around the clock out of my bedroom.In the afternoons, I went to a beat-to-s**t public library.Broken chairs.Fluorescent lights.Wi-Fi that dropped every ten minutes.One day, a woman at the public computer next to me couldn’t figure out how to log in.She had a full-on nervous breakdown.Crying. Shaking. Talking to herself.The librarians had to come over and calm her down.I’m sitting in the corner trying to write a sales page that might decide whether I eat that week…This is what my office looked like:I had five roommates.I slept in my closet and used my bedroom as my office.I furnished it with junk the local college kids left on the street.That’s the environment I learned to perform in.Three years in, when I finally landed Ramit Sethi,it was the first time in my adult life I could actually:Rent a decent apartment.Feed myself.Have enough left over to eat at a restaurant once a week.I still didn’t have a car.I was still taking the bus as a college graduate.When Ramit fired me, I blamed myself.I locked myself in a room for three days.Didn’t leave.I wanted to die.I thought it was over.I thought I’d never get another real client again.I thought I was going back to Elance hell for good.Back to the people who nickel-and-dimed me.I worked with so many lunatics during those years.Those were some dark times.I didn’t even realize how many of them were scammers.I was hungry.I was trying to keep the lights on.One food bank in particular sticks with me.Every other Wednesday.Noon.Grocery bags in my hands.Standing in line for an hour or two.Waiting for:Tuna.Six eggs.Cereal.Milk.Produce that was a day from being thrown out.That whole afternoon gone just to get food.Because I couldn’t yet figure out how to charge enough to live.That’s what it took just to stay in the game.But I’m also the most tenacious motherfucker on earth.I had a third-world disadvantage.It became my secret weapon.Most of these people wouldn’t last a day in St. Lucia.This is nothing compared to the poverty I grew up in.But I also crossed paths with remarkable people.New York Times bestsellers.Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneurs.Brilliant minds.Experts in their fields.Charlatans alike.My first big client was Ramit Sethi in 2015.I beat out 200 other copywriters for that gig.It was a big deal at the time.People was talking about me on forums.I couldn’t even legally work in the U.S. back then.Unbeatable will got me there.Here’s the part that only hit me recently:Ramit paid me five thousand dollars a month.Ten years ago.When I was still relatively new.Fast forward to Tony Robbins.After ...
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    21 mins
  • Race Against Time

    Race Against Time
    Feb 1 2026

    Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,

    I was going to write to you about why I changed my name.

    NO TIME FOR THAT…

    I’m almost out of time.

    Let’s review…

    Why is Tony Robbins’ ex copywriter broke…

    working as a janitor?

    Surely, he could get a job most anywhere he wanted after that gig. Right?

    Yes.

    That’s correct.

    I could have easily gone to a seminar somewhere and shmoozed up to the right person.

    But after Tony’s betrayal, I told myself I’d rather STARVE than take another client.

    I was DONE waiting for someone else to anoint me.

    Many people feel threatened by your excellence.

    Nobody ever tells you that.

    Your brilliance can make others uncomfortable.

    Some lash out.

    They can take your strength personally.

    Some people benefit from you being small.

    They benefit from you doubting yourself.

    They can keep exploiting you.

    You decide you have a backbone and state your price.

    They take it as a personal attack.

    Not another human being taking care of their basic needs.

    This is the thing.

    Tony wasn’t even my best-paying client.

    He wouldn’t even pay in royalties, which was common practice in my world.

    S**t.

    This motherfucker didn’t even pay me as much as I made as a rookie at Agora several years earlier.

    I worked twice as hard for half as much.

    Then I got hung, drawn, and quartered for asking for a routine raise.

    It was so violent.

    So cowardly.

    I was so shocked to my core.

    I’d been an elite copywriter for years before he found me.

    He wasn’t my first celebrity client.

    He didn’t make me.

    Although he wanted me to think so.

    To keep me grateful for crumbs without complaining.

    I was tired of giving all that power away.

    I can’t believe I used to think 3% royalties were a big deal.

    What about the other 97%?

    This is the very definition of a poor man’s mindset.

    I worked 7 days per week for more than a year.

    Ghosted my friends.

    Gained 20 pounds.

    Started taking Prozac.

    Survived on food banks.

    I moved into my place of worship.

    I became a janitor.

    I became a monk.

    I spent every F*****G dollar I have…

    Granted, I never had that much.

    Still…

    Most people don’t know what that’s like.

    Betting everything on black.

    I made so little last year that I qualified for Medicaid.

    And I maxed out my cards.

    Have I gone mad?

    No.

    This is my ticket to freedom:

    This list… is about half the population of St. Lucia, my home country.

    It’s about 4.5% the size of Tony’s email list.

    Loud enough for him to hear.

    TonyEditor in ChiefPermission to be Powerful

    P.S. If this work matters to you, paid members will see exactly how I built this email list of 88,402 subscribers—now on a clear path past 100k—in less than one year, from nothing, with no safety net.

    Permission to be Powerful is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.antonvolney.com/subscribe
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    3 mins
  • Moral Clarity

    Moral Clarity
    Feb 1 2026

    Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,

    I know what I am willing to fight for.

    Willing to die for.

    What I won’t let slide.

    No more being invisible.

    No pretending it didn’t happen.

    No living in denial.

    Enough is enough.

    Moral clarity makes life simple.

    No confusion.

    No debate.

    No exceptions.

    Truth doesn’t negotiate.

    Nobody can dictate your reality.

    And no one has the right to tell you what you’re worth.

    You know what you’re worth.

    What your dignity is worth.

    What your loyalty is worth.

    What your time is worth.

    Lies won’t fly.

    You deserve better.

    No man who lies shall live in my house.

    Bullies must go.

    No more hot and cold.

    No more one-sided dynamics.

    No more people who treat you like chopped liver…

    Like you sleep in a kennel.

    No more manipulators.

    No more gaslighters.

    No violence of any kind.

    I don’t care if they’re drop-dead gorgeous with a million in the bank.

    Betray me, and you’re gone.

    The games are finally OVER.

    But why?

    Why so harsh?

    Because I failed my way to the top.

    Because I finally learned my lesson.

    I know better.

    Because now I have something that many do not.

    Moral clarity.

    Most people live by consensus.

    They lick their finger and test the wind.

    If standing your ground makes them unpopular, they fold.

    Most people do not have the courage to be disliked.

    To disappoint.

    To make others uncomfortable.

    Above all:

    Don’t abandon yourself.

    Not ever.

    Even if it’s inconvenient.

    Especially when it’s inconvenient.

    Don’t confuse martyrdom…

    Or compromise…

    With virtue.

    People talk about values—Until those values cost them something.

    Then you find out what they really believe.

    Whether they have a spine or not.

    Moral clarity makes life simple…

    But it’s not easy.

    It means saying no to people you love.

    It means having the courage to walk away.

    When it would be easier to keep your mouth shut and stay small.

    Most people abandoned themselves a long time ago.

    Their lives don’t resemble their dreams.

    Or their values.

    Excuses are so much easier.

    So is blame.

    What cause would you give all your money to?

    What would make you quit your job and never look back, no matter the cost?

    What would you do if you had nothing left to lose?

    At the end of the day, what are you going to tolerate?

    Who will you be when nobody’s looking?

    Food for thought.

    Until next time,

    — Tony (Yes, it’s Tony now, live with it.)

    Dancer, Writer, Buddhist.

    Permission to be Powerful is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.antonvolney.com/subscribe
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    3 mins
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