The Chicken 🐔 Will Cross When It’s Ready

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There’s a lie that’s been told to every new creator.

That lie says:

“If you’re not successful overnight, it means you’re doing something wrong.”

And that lie has made too many people quit before they’ve even warmed up.

I’ve been building Branch Brand for four years.

I’ve seen the “overnight” come and go.

I’ve dropped books and didn’t sell 50 copies by morning.

But I never stopped.

Because I wasn’t chasing hype — I was building legacy.

And legacy doesn’t move on impulse.

It moves on instruction.

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And now that I’ve built something… I’m not gatekeeping it.

Because here’s the real truth:

It’s not easy.

But it’s not impossible either.

And too many people are stuck between those two realities because someone kept the game locked up like a vault.

I’m not here to be the vault.

I’m here to be the voice.

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You can’t save everyone — but you can leave breadcrumbs.

I’m not giving you a step-by-step blueprint.

I’m not handing you a seat at a table you didn’t build.

But I will show you where the road is.

I’ll say, “Hey — the lake is that way.”

What you do from there? That’s on you.

“The chicken will cross when it’s ready.”

That line stuck with me. Because that’s how growth really works.

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Gatekeeping is a sin of silence.

It’s watching people starve while your bowl is full.

It’s pretending you earned every answer when God handed most of them to you through pain, time, and grace.

I went through the trenches not so I could gloat —

but so I could guide.

That’s why I share what I know.

Even when my bowl’s only half full.

Because sharing is how we all get fed.

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No gatekeeping. Just growth.

That’s the new rule.

That’s the new rhythm.

And that’s the standard I live by.

If you’re ready to walk the road — I’ll show you where it starts.

Now the crossing part? That’s on you.

—Damien J. Branch

Built Different. No Gatekeeping. All Growth.