It's easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission

Meaning: Acting boldly without approval often succeeds, while seeking permission invites rejection or delay.

Origin: Best known from Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, the computer pioneer whose work led to the COBOL programming language. She repeated it for decades, urging colleagues to act rather than wait for approval that might never come — but she called it a motto that had stuck with her, not her own invention, and versions of the saying are recorded from the 19th century.