A seed has been planted in each of us that’s completely unique for a reason, and that reason certainly isn’t to hide its uniqueness. It’s to share it, and in doing so, to help other people see things they otherwise wouldn’t see, understand things they otherwise wouldn’t understand, experience things they otherwise wouldn’t experience, be comforted in ways they otherwise wouldn’t be comforted.

Braving It, a book about finding ways to literally give ourselves permission to be ourselves, and then to enjoy our lives from this vantage point — that would be inside out. To savor our uniqueness and enjoy our lives far from the reach of judgment of other people (which is nothing compared to the harsh ways in which we tend to judge ourselves).

The promise of Braving It
Imagine the happy/healthy/sane that comes from creating a life that’s true to our unique goals, talents, and passions.

Picture…

Not having to apologize for who we are or what makes us different.

Not having to pretend — anything — so we can fit in or impress someone.

Taking genuine pride in what we’re good at and being confident enough to talk about our talents without worrying that we’re making anyone uncomfortable.

Not feeling guilty about what we’re not good at.

Knowing we’re enough as we are.

Being relaxed and comfortable in our bodies, behind our eyes.

Saying yes without fear and no without guilt.

Being completely in a moment, experience, conversation, new opportunity…unfettered by the stuff we tend to lug around with us (feelings of inadequacy, guilt, unworthiness, thoughts like, “I really should be doing something else,” “I wonder if I remembered to sign my tax return,” or “OMG, I just remembered the epic fail when I tried this five years ago…”).

Having honest, personal pride and confidence, with no need for the approval of other people.

Trying something new unencumbered by all the discouraging voices in our heads…

• The voice of past pain and mistakes.
• The subsonic voice of our own insecurities that we hear more clearly than anybody.
• The business voice about what a “true professional” should do.

Believing that we deserve good things to happen sometimes by chance and sometimes because of how hard we work but most important, knowing that there is no cosmic force out there ensuring that we don’t succeed at what we try.

Believing that we deserve to be loved just for who we are not because of anything we did for someone or could potentially do for them.

Taking comfort in the fact that no matter how things turned out, we had good intentions.

This is the promise of Braving It, beautiful someone. Together, we’ll build the strength to tune out the negative voices and genuinely appreciate who we are as unique individuals. We’ll build the confidence to be true to the love in our hearts for people we consciously choose to surround ourselves with. We will learn to love our unique talents and never put these gifts down in any way, especially to make someone else feel comfortable. We’ll cultivate the self-love and self-respect that enable us to know our choices are not wrong simply because they may be different from the crowd’s or what we read or see online. We’ll discover how to find or create work we truly love and show up for every day with energy and excitement.