How To Be More Brave In Your Business And In Life

At the start of 2019, I had an experience that totally shifted my mindset and how I work within my Squarespace Web Design Business. The big ‘aha’ was all about being more Brave in everything that I do.

Scared about doing something for the first time? Be Brave!

Want to apply for a Masters in Psychotherapy at Oxford even though you don’t have a degree? Be Brave! (This would be one of my badass clients and she was accepted!)

Want to go travelling even though you feel you’re too old to do it anymore? Be Brave!

Nervous about leaving your job. Be Brave!

I legit did that last one and cannot thank myself enough for taking that leap. I mean look at Adele, she’s scared every time she takes to the stage but she does it anyway!

Now let me rewind a little bit as all of those big declarations about being Brave didn’t come naturally to me. Like I said, it was an ‘aha’ experience that got me thinking about this amazing skill set and I wanted to take you on the story of how I realised how it important it is.

At the start of the year I made a commitment to myself, to attend more workshops that interested me and helped with my personal growth. I want to grow my business exponentially and I believe this is done through positive mindset and strong belief systems (as well as hard work). Anyone on the entrepreneurial journey will know there are ups and downs but it’s how you deal with those lows and get yourself back on track that really matters!

The workshop that really shifted something within me was X-Fit For The Mind taught by Charlotte Wiseman for her company Step-Inside. It literally blew my mind in terms of shifting something within me and I’m hoping I can impart my favourite takeaway with you guys and perhaps it’ll have some sort of impact too.

So the idea is to think of a couple of skills that you use on a regular basis, that feels totally natural to you, your zone of genius. Here are a few examples;

• Teamwork

• Leadership

• Trust

• Gratitude

• Humor

• Spirituality

• Creativity

• Love of learning

• Bravery

• Perseverance

• Love

• Kindness

• Social Intelligence

If you’re wondering, mine were Leadership and Humour.

Now this is where it got interesting for me and I’d really love for you to read the next bit first and take the time to close your eyes and do the exercise, take the time to really think about it….  

You were told to close your eyes and imagine the one skill that you didn’t use very often and that you’d like to use more. (Mine was Bravery) Think of an instance where you’d used it to great success.

Now imagine you could never use that skill ever again. How does that make you feel?

And that’s when a great big tear fell down my cheek, with this gut wrenching feeling that I’d never get to be Brave again. That’s when I realised how important it was and why the hell wasn’t I using it more?!?!

When I was in the process of thinking of leaving my job of ten years I remember feeling so scared. It was my first real job after graduating university, the people I worked with weren’t just my work colleagues, they were my friends, pretty much my family, how could I take this leap of faith in starting my own business full time?

It was through my being Brave that I created this new, freedom based life as an entrepreneur that I love so much. Now I’m not saying it was easy, I was scared shitless but without Bravery I would never have done it.

It was only after being awoken to this realisation that I saw that I’d stopped being brave. I had been over a year ago and had this massive payoff to show that even though it’s scary, it’s worth it. Now there were opportunities that I was letting fly by me because I didn’t feel ready, I was too nervous, I felt imposter syndrome. Well, no bloody more!

I gave my first talk last month about Personal Branding in front of a small audience. I have my first workshop scheduled at The British Library next month.

There was a recent study by Cornell psychologists where they asked people to name their single biggest regret in life and 76% said the same thing; they didn’t fulfil their ideal self.

I don’t want to wake up and realise that I wasn’t brave enough to make those scary decisions and hopes I have for myself. Life happens when we step outside of our comfort zone.

I’m really interested to hear what skill set you don’t use often and would be upset about never being able to use again?