Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

This is not the first book of Berne Brown that I have read- and like the others she does not disappoint. I bought this book during the pandemic but didn't get around to reading it until recently. I realize the book was written in 2015- but still believe it is an excellent read and worth the time. Brown has an easy way of writing that you can really relate to. I actually had one of her other books as an audio book that she herself narrated- and could hear her voice as I read this book. The book is well written and an easy read- but full of good information to get you thinking about your own relationship with vulnerability. For anyone that wants to grow as a person in moving past the shame and emotional pain that can be life binding- this book is honestly a must read. I love her ideas on how to become shame resilient and make peace with vulnerability (still a work in progress here.). My only wish was that she went into more detail of ways to practice vulnerability for people who are not married or in a family situation. Difficulty with shame and vulnerability can keep some from ever finding a partner or starting a family- and no matter the age- when someone is trying to learn to embrace vulnerability and grow shame resilience without the support of a husband or parent- it is a different journey. Her ideas can most surely be extrapolated to all situations- but I admire her work and wish she was more complete in this area. Overall a great read. Happy to recommend.

The media could not be loaded. “The phrase Daring Greatly is from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech “Citizenship in a Republic.” The speech, sometimes referred to as “The Man in the Arena,” was delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910. This is the passage that made the speech famous:“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly...”The first time I read this quote, I thought, This is vulnerability. Everything I’ve learned from over a decade of research on vulnerability has taught me this exact lesson. Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in.”~ Brené Brown from Daring GreatlyBrené Brown is phenomenal.Have you watched her TED talks yet? If not, get on that.Here’s her first one: Listening to shame. And the second: The Power of Vulnerability.Brené is one of the world’s leading researchers on shame and vulnerability and this book is a powerful manifesto on the importance of being willing to embrace our vulnerability and, as the title suggests, dare greatly.She’s a funny, down-to-earth and brilliant writer. It’s the kinda book that deliberately makes you feel (more than) a little uncomfortable (especially if you’re a recovering perfectionist like me! :0) as we don’t tend to shine a lot of light on the less than pleasant stuff in our lives and psyche. But that discomfort is worth it as we, to use her words, take off our masks, drop our armor and learn to be vulnerable while daring greatly more consistently.Let’s jump in with a quick look at a handful of my favorite Big Ideas:1. Daring Greatly - What is it?2. Wholehearted Living - Is where it’s at.3. Vulnerability Hangovers - Have any lately?4. Vulnerability Myths - Time for some debunking.5. #1 Myth - Vulnerability = weakness. (Not true!)... Well, that’s a *super* quick look at an amazing book. I hope you dug it and I hope you love the full thing and all of Brené’s work. May we each cultivate our hope, wholeheartedness, courage, compassion and connection as we step into the arena of our lives and dare greatly!

I love twitter, but I hate the abundance of tweets at times. This tweet I love: from @CoachKWisdom: All the advice in the world will never help you until you help yourself. Applying the advice in this book has transformed my way of thinking.In an era when the number of self help books can be daunting in itself and learning how to apply each piece of advice to your life can be overwhelming, Daring Greatly stands apart. It challenges the reader to be vulnerable, and in turn not conform to society, but to live a worth living by daring you to be truly who you are at your very core, which maybe the most difficult challenge in life. The messages in Daring Greatly might be the easy to understand, but difficult to apply.The book opens by using a segment of Theodore's Roosevelt's Speech, "Citizenship in a Republic" which at one point reads, "who at worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly...". Essentially, it is easy to criticize, make fun of, laugh at others and not risk because doing so is easy. Daring Greatly, inversely promotes vulnerability and taking emotional risks and exposure every day. It explores how shame creates a life that nourishes ordinary living and when exposed with resilience, living a great and fulfilled life can be achieved.Daring Greatly will show readers how to be better leaders, parents, workers, thinkers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and people. It will change your daily mentality and make you think twice about your behaviors and decisions. It will have you asking yourself, "It's easy NOT to say anything right now, but is that really what I want to happen," because in the moment the easiest thing to do will be to be quiet and the courageous action will be to ask the embarrassing question or offer an idea that might be construed as stupid. It will give you the bravery to engage in your relationships/friendships by talking openly about the difficult topics that used to be almost taboo. And it will certainly make you look at the way we use shame in our lives to feel better about ourselves by ridiculing others, gossiping, blaming and never accepting responsibility.It has made an immediate impact on how I interact with others, how I think about myself, how I parent, how I react, and much more and because of that I have felt and experienced life in a deeper sense. It is worth every minute of your time because it will allow to bring shame out of the shadows and into the light by truly living a life of daring greatly.