Why Your Critics Aren’t the Ones Who Count

You may not’ve heard, but I’m in Los Angeles doing secret super top secret stuff this week.

Yes, exactly. Secret, super, top secret… stuff.

At any rate, it has had me in a rather uncomfortable headspace, to the point where I’m kind of cowering in my bed, avoiding the knocks on the hotel room door.

That’s when I saw this appear in my inbox, and it gave me an epiphany to the point where I’m actually teary-eyed from its brilliance.

If you’ve ever taken my word for anything, then take this: check out Brene Brown’s amazing presentation on vulnerability, armor, courage, and being a sweaty creative.

I want to ensure that you have the Roosevelt quote in text, so that you can really drink it in and savor it. It is important.

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never tasted victory or defeat.”

Your journey – and mine – is all about vulnerability. Learning where you must change, feeling the sadness that comes with leaving behind the familiar and embracing something new [and likely less enjoyable at first], and accepting the discomfort for a while, those all demand vulnerability. That armor she talks about? That’s real. It’s heavy, it affects your ability to fight, and will only ensure that you survive, not that you’ll win.

Let your armor down. Be vulnerable. Be yourself.

Now, excuse me. I have to go down to set. Ahem.