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Permission to be Powerful Podcast

Permission to be Powerful Podcast

By: Anton
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About this listen

 “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
  • They Nuked My Substack

    They Nuked My Substack
    Oct 14 2025

    Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,

    I felt like a God…

    23,520 Subscribers…

    FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.

    What an incredible milestone.

    One click…

    Twenty thousand emails sent.

    And within minutes—boom.

    They NUKED 90% of my subscribers.

    Gone.

    Substack? 15,000 Nuked.MailChimp? 23,000 Gone too.

    Go to Jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

    Twice in one week.

    You ever build something for a year, spend every dollar you’ve got, finally reach the promise land…

    And then watch it go up in smoke instantly?

    On the first f*****g send?

    That’s where I was.

    👉 Wiped out almost everyone…

    👉 Without warning…

    👉 OVERNIGHT.

    [Figure 1: Crossing 14,000 Subscribers on Substack]

    [Figure 2: Big Brother Deletes 13,000 Subscribers without warning overnight]

    Forget about the thousands of dollars I invested in my list.Forget about hours I can’t get back.

    Turns out, sending an email to 20,000 people isn’t like sending one from Gmail.

    If Gmail = paddling a rowboat...

    20,000 subs = a nuclear submarine

    Imagine being that fisherman who bumps into the sub and climbs into it.

    You start pushing buttons because the lights are pretty, and before you know it—you just started World War III.

    Lights are flashing red…

    Russia and China are “responding”

    No take-backs.

    You done fucked up.

    That’s what happened to me.

    I’d never sent that many emails all at once.

    I honestly didn’t know what to expect.

    I felt like I’d gotten the death penalty for J-walking.

    Even though I’ve written for titans like Tony Robbins and Neil Patel…

    And my words have been seen and read by millions…

    I didn’t have the first clue about email deliverability.

    I tripped every spam filter, every compliance alarm, every internal red flag. Substack saw the smoke, panicked, and hit the kill switch.

    At the time, I was furious…

    Like “Big Brother” was all up in my business—poking their nose where it shouldn’t be.

    But now, I see it differently.

    If I’m being frank with you…

    My first thought after losing the list was…

    “I’m finished.”

    This was an extinction-level event.

    I was wrong.

    Just a speed bump.

    They didn’t destroy me…

    They exposed a weak link in my business.

    And, this could have been way worse if it had happened later on.

    Say, when my list hit 100,000.

    Yikes.

    I’d built a machine on shaky ground.

    But the good news is…

    I got a crash course on list hygiene.

    But man — what a kick in the nuts.

    I learned the hard way that your empire can vanish overnight.

    So I’m rebuilding.

    From scratch.

    I’ve got a new lead generation system.

    It consistently grows thousands of real subscribers every month.

    Almost nobody knows this Substack growth trick, and it’s working exceptionally well.

    You can delete my subscribers.But you can’t delete Permission to be Powerful.

    I can’t be broken.(LOL — 2025: The Year I Joined a Cult to Save on Rent?)

    I’ve cut all my expenses down to the bone to keep this going…

    Because that’s how much I believe in it.

    There aren’t too many people with this kind of vision and commitment.

    I’m all-in.

    I keep telling people: starting a business is like skydiving with a sewing kit. You jump out of the plane, fabric flapping everywhere, and try to stitch your parachute together before you go splat.

    That’s been my entire year—needle between my teeth, wind in my face, praying the thread holds.

    Pimpin’ ain’t easy.

    Until next time,

    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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    4 mins
  • Blackballed

    Blackballed
    Sep 17 2025
    Editor’s Note: We Did It.Permission to be Powerful has officially crossed 10,000 subscribers. Wild. I promised myself that when we got here, I’d republish my favorite article, Blackballed. To mark the occasion, here’s my Big Fat Mega Dump of every place you can find me online...* Facebook * Twitter/X * YouTube (Mr Congress) * YouTube (Permission to Be Powerful) * TikTok * BlueSky * Mastodon * Telegram * Amazon * Kick * Twitch Follow all of these at your own risk—your timeline will never be the same.Now, on to Blackballed…Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,A few years back, a survey asked 300 copywriters one question:"What’s the worst thing that can happen in this business?"🤔Some said writing a promo that flops.👉 "Zero conversions. Client pulls the plug."Others said pouring your soul into a campaign, only for the client to shelve it.👉 "We love it—but we decided to go in another direction..."Some said it was writing a promo that makes millions… but someone else gets all the credit.👉 "Congrats to our Copy Chief for this record-breaking launch!"But that’s not what I answered…The worst thing that can happen in this business?👉 Getting fired. 👉 Blackballed.👉Your life’s work gone overnight.This is a true story.But except for my own, I’ve obscured all the names and identities for reasons that’ll become clear.I’m Anton Volney, and I thought I’d never write again...I grew up in a tiny third-world country in the Caribbean—3,000+ miles from the U.S.I clawed my way into the world of New York Times Bestsellers like Ramit Sethi…Forbes 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs like Neil Patel…And eventually, for the biggest self-help icon of them all… Tony Robbins.My words printed millions.And then—One moment, I was on top…The next—I was erased.Because of a weak man with a laughably fragile ego...(Seriously, bro, I know some good therapists who will help.) I spent 15 years chasing this dream.And I had learned my craft from the best in the world.Yet, it collapsed in the blink of an eye.This journey wasn’t quick.It was slow. Painful.Then…When I was 36, after 15 years grinding in the dark, my career detonated overnightAnd suddenly, my words are in front of MILLIONS.In print on Times Square.Then, out of nowhere—I was locked out.Kicked off Slack. Colleagues—silent.I had “Rapid-Onset Blackballing.”I wasn’t just fired.I was radioactive."You’re undeserving."Whatever that means.I went from being the MVP to being persona non grata.I’ve got one last promo for the next biggest client I’ve ever landed.It’s a small consolation prize compared to Tony Robbins… but this could make me a killing.This was my Alzheimer’s Promo for Behind The Markets.The stakes? Six figures in royalties—IF I beat the control.Fifteen years boiled down to one moment.No second chances.The deadline is in 48 hours.I’ve spent years preparing for this moment.One launch.One sales letter.One chance to prove I belong at the highest level.I’m watching my competition.One guy played it too safe—his promo was dead on arrival.Another tried to be clever — subscribers didn’t take the bait. They’re talking about the biggest names in the room—guys with resumes stacked a mile high.But they missed the mark.I can make my name right now.“Go get it…”And if I have a perfect launch…The BEST work of my life…I can beat the control and cement my name in the industry forever.Then? Ball out so hard I have to invent new ways to waste money.Ice cream for breakfast... Hire a butler to stand in the corner and clap every time I send an email. I even thought about getting my anus bleached because it was the biggest waste of money I could think of.My Copy Chief is telepathically telling me to check my hook…"Check your hook."I check my hook.Strong lead. Killer Offer. Perfect funnel. Set up for the close… and… Watch sales start flooding in.Now, two things you need to know before this offer goes live:The first is that when the offer isn’t clear, you take big swings.You make bold, risky claims to break through the noise.The second is that your copy’s selling power largely depends on what’s called The Big Idea… If you’re a beginner, this is what triggers the “lizard” part of your brain to activate wild, irrational desire.If you’re an experienced freelancer, you’ve got a handful of winners under your belt.Mine?A killer control. One that prints money.It’s locked in. Right. So, how does this happen?Flatline.Zero conversions. No sales. It happened because of one bad clinical trial.And the results came out the night before — it shattered my Big Idea.Right at that moment, I didn’t have time to calculate the odds of that happening—because I was about to watch my hopes and dreams go up in smoke. "Back up! Back up!""Kill the launch!""We’re pulling the offer!"None of this has anything to do with Tony Robbins…I’m only mentioning it because I wanted to say to whoever ...
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    5 mins
  • They Laughed... While He Died 🔪

    They Laughed... While He Died 🔪
    Sep 13 2025

    Editor’s Note: Follow me on Facebook, Twitter/X, and YouTube

    Now, let’s get into it…

    Dear Permission to be Powerful Reader,

    August 18, 2025, a French man named Jean Pormanove (JP) died live on Kick.

    Viewers tuned in from around the world, while they…

    “murdered someone slowly on camera.”

    A few hours before his death, co-streamer “Naruto” (Owen Cenazandotti) coldly adds:

    “Let him say on camera right now, if he dies tomorrow in the middle of a live show, it’s due to his shitty state of health and not to us.”

    After Jean passed, Naruto posted on social media:

    “Unfortunately, JP has left us. I love you, my brother, and we will miss you terribly.”

    Regulators are considering penalties up to $49 million against Kick for failing to protect users.

    Why did he stay?

    JP didn’t stay because he enjoyed being a punching bag.

    He knew better.

    In a chilling pre-stream message, JP writes to his mother:

    “Hi mom... I feel like I’m kidnapped with their shitty concept. I’m fed up. I want to get out of here...”

    👉 He stayed for the same reason so many of us have stayed in toxic friendships, situationships, and relationships:

    The hunger for acceptance was louder than self-respect.

    I understand him.

    I’ve stayed in places where I was treated like dirt.

    I’ve laughed off insults.

    I’ve swallowed disrespect.

    I’ve clung to scraps of approval that never came.

    Why would anyone stay with someone who treats them like chopped liver?

    ✅ Because guilt is stronger than anger.✅ Because the need to belong is stronger than the need for safety.✅ Because walking away feels like failure.

    And that’s the trap Jean Pormanove lived in until it killed him.

    What finally broke the spell for me was realizing this:

    The only way those people felt “big” was by keeping me small.

    Without me beneath them, their status collapsed.

    Their “confidence” was fake—propped up by my submission.

    That was the proof.

    If their approval required my humiliation, their approval was worthless.

    If they withheld acceptance to keep me chasing, then acceptance was never really on the table.

    👉 Never go to a party where you’re not invited.

    You’re not going to win over the crowd.

    You’re only setting yourself up for rejection.

    👉 And — I need you to listen closely on this one — NEVER dine at a restaurant where you’re on the menu.

    Because the only people who want you there…

    Are the ones who think you taste delicious.

    Until next time,

    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.

    Follow Me on Social Media:

    * Facebook

    * Twitter/X

    * YouTube (Mr Congress)

    * YouTube (Permission to Be Powerful)



    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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