What If the Thing You Can’t Stop Thinking About Is Yours to Build

There’s this moment—quiet but persistent—where a thought keeps tapping at you.

Maybe it starts as a whisper:“Why hasn’t anyone done this yet?”Then it morphs into frustration:“Someone needs to do something about this.”Eventually… if you’re lucky or brave or stubborn enough, it becomes:“Maybe that someone is me.”

That’s how a lot of powerful movements start. Not with a five-year business plan. Not with a $100k grant. But with a feeling you just can’t shake. A pull. A spark. A story you can’t let go of.

It’s how Kate Milligan started 1 Girl Revolution, a nonprofit multimedia platform now over 250 episodes strong, two documentaries deep, and amplifying stories of women that the mainstream media misses. It didn’t begin with strategy decks and team meetings. It started because she saw something missing… and decided she might be the one to fill the gap.

No greenlight. No permission slip. Just a decision.

The Problem With Waiting for Perfect

Most of us overthink ourselves into inaction. We wait until we have the resources, the clarity, the confidence, or the connections. But here’s the truth: clarity doesn’t usually come first—action does.

Kate didn’t know how to start a podcast when she launched. I didn’t have a blueprint when I left behind corporate media to help people tell their stories on their own terms. And neither of us had a perfect timeline. What we had was a deep knowing that what we were creating mattered. And that was enough to get started.

The post-production, the structure, the batching, the brand voice—all of that came later.

First, you just have to say yes.

Starting Small Doesn’t Mean Staying Small

You don’t need a media company or a viral moment to start building the thing that won’t leave you alone. Start by going live on Instagram. Start by writing one post. Start by texting three people and saying, “I’m doing this.”

If it’s meant for you, it won’t go away. That idea is yours for a reason. So build in the dark. Create in the quiet. Don’t chase validation—chase alignment. As Kate said, “Nobody cares… until they do.” But when they do, they’ll show up like they were there the whole time.

Spoiler alert: they weren’t. But that’s okay. Because the right people find you when you keep showing up.

The ROI Is Bigger Than Views

So many podcasts, platforms, and businesses die at the eight-episode mark. Not because they weren’t good—but because it got hard. Because the return wasn’t instant. Because they were building with no proof anyone was watching.

But what if the ROI is someone hearing your story and thinking, “If she can do it, maybe I can too”?

What if it’s the chance to prove to yourself that you’re the kind of person who follows through?

What if the most important audience right now… is just you?

You Don’t Need Permission—You Need Momentum

That story you want to tell, that community you want to build, that platform you keep imagining? It doesn’t need a gatekeeper. It needs a first step.

And that idea that keeps pulling at you? The one you think someone else might be more qualified to bring to life?

What if it’s been waiting for you all along?

What if…it’s yours to build?