Hi there! I’m Melissa. I’m so glad you’re here, because that means we can be internet friends.
I’m the author of Permission Granted: Be Who You Were Made to Be and Let Go of the Rest, and I help people who are tired of being who they’re supposed to be to become who they really are so they can move through the world with confidence and a sense of purpose.
This is where you’ll find inspiration to design a life that fits you, tools to build your confidence, and encouragement to write your own damn permission slip.
Life does not need to be an endless treadmill of trying harder to be better. You’re already good. You were made good. GOOD was your starting place, and letting go of other people’s opinions is freedom.
What you with that freedom—that’s up to you.
This is where you own your truth. This is where you reclaim your power. Permission Granted.
Psst… What’s your Permission Personality? Take the quiz and find out!
Have We Met?
I’ve been featured on fun podcasts and radio shows like The Purpose Show and the Jen Fulwiler Show on Sirius XM, on popular websites like Today Parents, Simple Homeschool, Becoming Minimalist, and Scary Mommy, and in national print media like the Wall Street Journal and Red Magazine in the UK.
Because the truth is, we—especially women, but all of us, really—are swimming in a sea of expectations. And when you decide to let go of those expectations and give yourself permission to be who you really are, that is where freedom begins.
I used to be the kind of person who could SEE everything that was expected of me—I just couldn’t DO it all.
I couldn’t make myself small and quiet and put-together and AGREEABLE all the time. I couldn’t keep saying yes when I meant no. I couldn’t keep ignoring my own inner voice to listen to everyone else’s.
Because when you’re meeting Other People’s Expectations instead of your own, you start to believe you need to be a little bit better before you’re good enough.
When I quit trying to IMPROVE myself and started learning to BE myself, everything changed.
I stopped second-guessing all my decisions. I learned to trust myself and the people around me with the truth. Things that used to feel complicated—relationships, commitments, setting boundaries—became so much simpler.
That’s what I want for you, too: to make your life simpler by letting go of who you think you’re supposed to be and becoming who you really are.
Start Here
I know, I know, you’re thinking: Okay cool, but where do I START?
That’s an excellent question! These are some of my favorite posts and podcast interviews to help you get started.
 3 Ways to STOP Feeling Overwhelmed |
 How to Find YOUR Next Right Thing |
Learn To Write Your Own Permission Slip
Let me show you how I went from people-pleasing, perfectionism, pretending, and performing, to being my whole self in the world.
Permission Granted is my story. It’s a story about making life simpler by letting go of who you think you’re supposed to be and becoming who you really are. I think you’re going to love it.
Here’s what other readers are saying:
Let’s Be Internet Friends
I should probably mention right up front that I’m That Friend. The one who’s always in her head, the one who Feels All the Things, the one who cries a little more often than is strictly “necessary.” (I’m a 4 on the Enneagram, and an INFJ. What can I say?)
But I’m also the friend that reminds you to be who you were made to be, and to ditch the cranky voices in your head—the ones that sound like fear and shame and judgment.
I could mostly survive on tea and dark chocolate, and I’d much rather work late into the night than get up before the sun rises. (Mornings? Not a fan.)
My husband, Dane, and I live in a beach town in Southern California with our six kids: Abigail, Owen, Audrey, Sadie, Eli, and Evelyn.
You can hang out with us (or at least with me!) on Facebook and Instagram and YouTube, too. xo!
