When you’re a high achiever, you’re used to being good at… pretty much anything you try.

Here’s the downside: you start avoid trying things where you could fail.

Because what does it mean about you if you can’t do it?!

This fear of failure manifests in delayed dreams.

I would know. I’ve spent collectively years delaying what I know I want to do out of fear:

• Writing on Twitter - 2 months
• Pivoting to startups - 3 months
• Launching a podcast - 6 months
• Starting my business - 3 months
• Evolving this business - 5 months

I fell into this trap until I got sick of my own shit and took action despite the fear.

Here's what I learned: Being brave is a muscle.

The more you flex it, the stronger you get.

My bravery muscle has grown over time as I’ve done things that scare me — even if it took months of deciding before fully going for it. Pivoting careers was brave. Creating on the internet was too. And building a business has been a crash course in courage.

The braver I get, the faster I move. Because I don’t get as trapped in the overthinking, self-doubt, and perfectionism that used to hold me back from taking action at all.

Taking courageous action repeatedly is how you learn that failure is simply feedback, you’re more capable than you realize, and falling short is actually required to learn the lessons you need to succeed.

You can build the bravery muscle too. Feel free to start with small actions — but know that the further you jump beyond your comfort zone, the faster it expands. You can skip a lot of steps by taking 1 bold action.

When’s the last time you did something brave?

Here are 5 ways to practice courage today:

1. Try out rejection therapy. Ask for something you expect to get a “no” for. For example, ask for a free refill on your burger. This was made famous by Jia Jiang’s TedX Talk where he gives a ton of ways to get rejected so you can desensitize yourself to it.
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2. Cold email 1 person you look up to. Let them know what you admire, why you’re reaching out, and what you’d love to learn more about from them. To be really bold? Send them a cold email with a Loom video introduction.
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3. Post your best career story on LinkedIn. It doesn’t need to be for a job search. You have awesome stories and experiences to share with people a few steps behind you! Don’t sit on your best stories!
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4. Have a difficult conversation. Are there any you’ve been avoiding? Reach out and set up time to have the talk. Setting and holding your boundaries is courageous. Admitting where you’ve been wrong is courageous too.
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5. Carve out 20 minutes to journal on the below questions. Then, make the courageous decision to take action on what you learn.
   1. What’s ONE thing you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t fully committed?
   2. The ONE thing you’d do if you absolutely could not fail?
   3. The ONE thing you’ll definitely do someday in the future? Could someday be this year?

I hope this gives you some encouragement to embrace courage — the rewards are sweet 🍑

If you’re ready to take a courageous step forward in your career in 2024 → Join my free workshop July 16-18th.

I’ll teach you how to break FREE of the unfulfilling career path draining your energy & infuse the LIFE back into your career so you can get excited about Mondays and paid for your purpose. It’ll be an interactive coaching experience, not just me presenting to you.

OMG I almost forgot to tell you — I had the pleasure of joining my friend Amanda Branson's Professional Life Crisis podcast. Watch or listen to our episode all about mindset, mentorship, and manifestation. I share more about my story & philosophy on career growth & personal development. If you're a newsletter reader, I know you'll get a ton of good nuggets from it! Don't forget to subscribe, it's an amazing podcast.

Reply back and let me know your key takeaways! What courageous action are you committing to?

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Talk soon,