What Bravery Looks Like - When I Grow Up

What Bravery Looks Like - When I Grow Up If you clicked on this article expecting to see someone in a superhero costume, let me manage your expectations â€" this is not that kind of post.   Real bravery is rarely accompanied by a cape. Real bravery rarely gets acknowledged by the public. Real bravery does not include bells, whistles, or parades of adoring fans congratulating you on your accomplishments.   Instead, real bravery is often soft and quiet, breathing in the glow of a single kitchen lamp as a woman works on her elevator pitch while her kids are sleeping upstairs.   Real bravery takes place in the bathroom of a cubical office when a long-term full-time employee prepares to tell her boss she is quitting.     Real bravery is the voice in your heart that tells you that despite whatever “reason” might argue, there is something bigger for you out there and you should go get it.   Real bravery is taking a chance on your dream business, putting your passion, interests, and skills first, and accepting nothing less than making a living doing what you love… And I get to see it all the time.   The women I work with as The When I Grow Up Coach flex bravery in undeniable, non-traditional, and wildly impressive ways. This ranges from showing up fully present and prepared to tackle challenges they’ve been putting off â€" or haven’t seen the opportunity to jump on! â€" to asking for help when they know they need it most.   It’s putting themselves first. It’s changing their identity from however they’re labeled now to becoming someone with a glowing beautiful SLASH in their title. (From mother to mother/florist. From partner to partner/graphic design artist. From [insert your current day job] to [current day job]/wellness coach. You get the idea!) It’s settling for nothing less than pursuing their true dreams, even when there’s “nothing wrong” with their current realities.   It’s making themselves and their dream businesses visible to their communities, friends, and families, even when knowing they’re now susceptible to that “Are you crazy?”-look from others. Le sigh.     It’s taking a step forward even when they feel like everything (besides their gut + heart!) is holding them back.   It’s doing what they thought they couldn’t it’s doing what they dreamed they might… it’s doing.   This is the important thing to remember, Reader: Bravery is in the doing, and my clients are doing so much.   Right now, 13 incredible women have committed to my 2020 Dream To Done program and today marks Day 8 of their new work. Over the next 11 months, they will become crystal clear on the nitty-gritty of their budding businesses, identifying their ideal clientele, solidifying their offers, and yes â€" becoming the business owners they still aren’t sure they will become yet, but are beginning anyway.   As with all things, the state of feeling courageous is not permanent, and it will take work to keep bravery at the front of these amazeballs women’s decision-making moments. But, I know they can do it because they’ve already done it just by making this commitment. And, Reader? Investing in a new future, committing to secret passions, letting go of constructed ideals of stability, and launching and building a new business? Hey, that’s pretty damn brave.