Brave

50 Everyday Acts of Courage to Thrive in Work, Love and Life

Margie Warrell

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9780730319184
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780730319191
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Piccole imprese
• Index: Business

Live every day with greater clarity, confidence and courage.

Brave is a handbook for being more courageous. Written for busy people on the go, its short, focused chapters provide practical tools and empowering perspectives to help you build your 'courage muscles' in your work, relationships and life.

Drawing on her background in business, psychology and coaching, author Margie Warrell will guide you in moving past the fears, doubts and beliefs that keep you from making the changes, and taking the chances, you need to enjoy the fulfillment and success you desire.

Courage is a habit. Practicing it daily, even in quiet small ways, unlocks new possibilities, creates new opportunities, grows your influence and enables you to meet your challenges with more resilience and self-assurance. So whether you're stuck in a rut, struggling in a relationship, overwhelmed by your daily juggling act or uninspired about your future, Brave will provide you with a regular dose of positive and practical inspiration to:

• Clarify what 'success' truly means to you, and be more purposeful in your daily efforts to achieve it
• Speak up with greater confidence, and be more assertive in dealing with difficult people, getting what you want and changing what you don't
• Define the person and leader you aspire to be, become more resilient under pressure, decisive in uncertainty and adaptable to change
• Scrap the excuses (your age, education, gender, busyness or children) that sabotage your future actions
• Dare more boldly, passionately pursuing the goals that inspire you most, no matter how daunting

Courage begets courage. You build it every time you choose to leave the safety of your comfort zone for the sake of something more important. Day by day, brave action by brave action, you can Brave within you to create a life rich in all that you seek. If you want to live your life more powerfully and purposefully, this book will become your trusted companion.

—Part I—

—Chapter 1—

I was at university at the time of the massacre that took place in China's Tiananmen Square in 1989 — I was the same age as many of those who stood up to the tanks, soldiers and mighty military apparatus of the Chinese government. I remember being in awe of their bravery, particularly that of the young man standing his ground in front of an enormous armoured tank, an image that became iconic when it was broadcast around the globe.

‘How could he do that?' I remember asking myself at the time, completely unable to imagine myself being so courageous. And I think it's fair to say, I never have been.

But there are many ways you can be brave. Few make the headlines. Few earn medals. Fewer still make the cover of Time magazine. However, every act of bravery stems from a decision to make a stand for something that's bigger than yourself and more important than your emotional safety, comfort or pride.

If you've grown up in a democracy that respects civil liberties and freedom of speech then you've likely never felt compelled to risk your life for the greater good. Consider yourself fortunate. But regardless of your good fortune in life — or lack thereof — we're all called to make a stand for something: for the values we care about, for the difference we want to make, for the causes we believe in and for the injustice we don't. Those of us born with rights and freedoms millions only dream of have an even greater obligation to do so.

WHEN YOU'RE unclear ABOUT WHAT YOU STAND FOR, YOU CAN FALL EASILY ONTO THE PATH OF CAUTIOUS, COMFORTABLE MEDIOCRITY.

Of course, it's so easy to unintentionally find yourself living on autopilot. We think we're in charge of our thoughts and behaviours, but so often we're operating from habit, reacting unconsciously to perceived threats to our security and station. Fear steers us away from risk and towards safety — or at least the illusion of it. Which is why, unless you're clear about what you want your life to stand for, it's all too easy to fall mindlessly into the path of least resistance, maximum self-interest and minimal contribution. Unfortunately, that path rarely leads anywhere worth travelling. It almost certainly contributes little to the welfare of others, which is always the richest source of satisfaction in our own lives.

Deciding to make a stand for something bigger than yourself is indispensable for living bravely. While you may never be called to lay your life on the line, start a movement or end an unjust regime, every day there are opportunities for you to lay your pride on the line for a more important cause. Sometimes your courage will be rewarded — your risk will pay off, you'll get the job, land the date, win the client, resolve the issue, close the sale, earn the rise. Other times it won't. But who you become by the courage you've shown will always leave you better off. Stronger. Smarter. Braver. Bolder.

KNOWING WHAT YOU STAND FOR IS THE FOUNDATION STONE UPON WHICH bravery IS BUILT.

Each time you make a stand for something you believe in, you make an unspoken, but profoundly important, declaration to those around you — and, most importantly, to yourself:

I'm the author of my life, and not a passive spectator watching life play out before me. My life matters, my voice matters and my choices matter. I will not cower to conformity. I will not surrender to self-doubt. I have a role to play, a difference to make and I'm committed to living my truth, standing for what is right and against what isn't.

In her book My Story, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard wrote that it was her strong sense of purpose that fuelled her determination to enter politics and then sustained her throughout her three turbulent years leading Australia. Upon asking her to share her thoughts for my Forbes column to honour International Women's Day the following year, she replied, ‘Changing the world, like living your own life well, requires a sense of purpose, the courage to pursue it and the preparedness to risk the most public of failures'. Indeed, Julia ultimately experienced just that. But by having the courage to make a stand for something, she made a far more meaningful impact on her country and the world than she would ever have done otherwise.

Sure, we may not all feel called to enter politics, but there are things that you, and only you, can do; things that will never be done if you don't do them. Making a stand for what's most important to you in this one and only precious life of yours requires letting go excuses and owning your power. It means giving up stories that suggest you aren't good enough and daring to believe that you have everything it takes to live a life that truly matters, and to leave a legacy that lasts.

Your life, like my own, is ultimately very short. Knowing what you stand for is your testimony to the world and the only thing that will compel you to step beyond your comfort zone as many times as you need to honour all that you are, all that you can be and the difference that you alone can make.

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Knowing what you stand for in your work, in your family and in the world is crucial for living a truly meaningful life. So take a moment to get clear about (or simply to reconnect with) what you want your life to stand for. Write it down (it makes a difference!). Include the impact you want to make on those you live with, work with and encounter throughout the course of your life. Mahatma Ghandi said, ‘My life is my message'. What message do you want your life to say between now and the day you die?

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—Chapter 2—

A squadron of soldiers was marching through the local town. All the parents and families had come out to wave and cheer them on. One particular soldier was marching completely out of step and as he passed his mother she turned to her neighbour and said, ‘Look, my son is the only one marching in step!'

While no-one likes to think they're being as one-eyed as the woman in this parable, all of us can become a victim of our own biases, blinkered thinking, and misperceptions. Left unchallenged, they can shield us from confronting truths we'd prefer not to face and prevent us from taking the very actions needed to forge more meaningful and rewarding lives.

THE STORIES YOU TELL YOURSELF EITHER EXPAND OR SHRINK WHAT'S possible FOR YOU. REWRITE THOSE THAT CONFINE YOUR FUTURE.

‘Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?' This question by comedian George Carlin observes the bias we all have in assuming that our perception of reality is the right one and that everyone else has got it wrong. The truth is that you don't see the world as it is; you see it as you are. The reality you live in is shaped not by the circumstances of your life, but by the lens through which you view them and the story you create. In turn, what you tell yourself is the ‘truth' impacts the emotions you feel, the actions you take and the outcomes you produce … for better or worse. Every story you have either expands what's possible for you, or it shrinks it. So while the stories you tell yourself are often far from reality, they ultimately shape it.

WHATEVER YOU TELL YOURSELF IS true, YOUR BRAIN AUTOMATICALLY GOES TO WORK TO PROVE YOURSELF right.

For most of my life I had labeled myself an ‘unathletic non-runner' and created a convincing story (convincing to me at least) about how my legs just weren't made for running. Then a few years ago I joined a boot camp and found myself running. Slowly. Heavily. But running nonetheless. Week by week, as my fitness improved, it chipped away at my well entrenched ‘I can't run' story. Then I signed up for a 5k run. Then a 10k. Then a 15k. Then a half-marathon. After I finished the half-marathon my mum said to me, ‘When you were fourteen you would have said running 21 kilometres (13 miles) was a physical impossibility.' Indeed, I would have! Which just goes to show how profoundly the stories we tell ourselves can shap...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Epigraph
• Titlepage
• Copyright
• About the Author
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I: Live Purposefully
• Part II: Speak Bravely
• Part III: Work Passionately
• Part IV: Dig Deep
• Part V: Dare Boldly
• Epilogue
• Advert
• End User License Agreement