Be yourself, everyone else is taken

I have always been a massive fan of Brené Brown and just last week I was reminded of a short interview she did with Oprah Winfrey years ago about her research looking into how being a good leader was not about fostering a culture of fear, but instead showing love, compassion, courage and even our own vulnerabilities. The world is crying out for brave authentic leaders; leaders who are willing to step up and show up and lead with their hearts as well as their minds. We are all leaders – not necessarily of companies but for our teams and for our families.

I’ve come across a lot of Brené fans but there may well be some of you who haven’t heard about her or question the value of showing your vulnerability. I get it, for a lot of us, it is totally counter-intuitive. Therefore, I encourage you to grab a cuppa and listen to Brené’s session where you will hear her talk first-hand about how vulnerability is, about showing up and being seen. If you love a Ted Talk then I would highly recommend Brene’s. It is awesome.

Showing your vulnerability is tough to do – you are laying yourself bare, yet not over-sharing and that can be scary. But as I have progressed in my career and learnt how to build a business, grown as a woman, as a mother, as a wife and as a friend, the more I attract the people and opportunities into my life that give me oxygen and bolster my reserves. My growth has come from sharing my vulnerability and showing my authentic self and not just saving this for my nearest and dearest. The more empowering my conversations and connections are, the more business I win. It takes real courage. It’s not easy and it needs practise but its unbelievably liberating and rewarding when I trust myself to ‘be’ me.

The amazing thing about owning and sharing your vulnerability is that as soon as you have,  in that very  instant,  the feeling of feeling vulnerable magically disappears  and is replaced with a feeling of ease and empowerment.

So, I will leave with you a thought. We run around doing, doing, doing. Hoping to HAVE what we want to have and therefore BE who we want to be. If you instead start with BE who you want to BE, you will DO what you need to DO and you will therefore HAVE what you want to HAVE

So BE DO HAVE don’t have do be! Own your vulnerability and feel empowered.