What would you be glad you did – even if you failed?

Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am brave and worthy of love and belonging.

We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to.

Talk about your failures without apologizing.

“Cruelty is easy, cheap and rampant.”

“Hope is a function of struggle.”

“You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.”

“You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.”

“Courage is like—it’s a habitus, a habit, a virtue: You get it by courageous acts. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.”

“Those who have a strong sense of love and belonging have the courage to be imperfect.”

“What we know matters but who we are matters more.”

“When we stop caring about what people think, we lose our capacity for connection. When we become defined by what people think, we lose our willingness to be vulnerable.”

“Courage is telling our story, not being immune to criticism.”

“Courage is telling our story, not being immune to criticism.”

“We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time.”

“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.”

“Just because someone isn’t willing or able to love us, it doesn’t mean that we are unlovable.”

“Here’s what is truly at the heart of wholeheartedness: Worthy now, not if, not when, we’re worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is.”

“Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage.”

“Midlife: when the Universe grabs your shoulders and tells you ‘I’m not f-ing around, use the gifts you were given.’”

“Compassion is not a virtue — it is a commitment. It’s not something we have or don’t have — it’s something we choose to practice.”

“Maybe stories are just data with a soul.”

“Wholeheartedness. There are many tenets of Wholeheartedness, but at its very core is vulnerability and worthiness; facing uncertainty, exposure, and emotional risks, and knowing that I am enough.”

“I’ve found what makes children happy doesn’t always prepare them to be courageous, engaged adults.”

“It’s in our biology to trust what we see with our eyes. This makes living in a carefully edited, overproduced and photoshopped world very dangerous.”

“You cannot shame or belittle people into changing their behaviors.”

“Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting.”

“Until we can receive with an open heart, we’re never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attach judgment to giving help.”

“If you own this story you get to write the ending.”

“Even to me the issue of “stay small, sweet, quiet, and modest” sounds like an outdated problem, but the truth is that women still run into those demands whenever we find and use our voices.”

“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

“Shame derives its power from being unspeakable.”

“The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button.”

“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.”

“Shame works like the zoom lens on a camera. When we are feeling shame, the camera is zoomed in tight and all we see is our flawed selves, alone and struggling.”

“I only share when I have no unmet needs that I’m trying to fill. I firmly believe that being vulnerable with a larger audience is only a good idea if the healing is tied to the sharing, not to the expectations I might have for the response I get.”

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”

“What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think – or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?”

“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others.”

“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we make the choice to dare greatly, we sign up to get our as*es kicked. We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.”

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”

“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.”

“Vulnerability is about showing up and being seen. It’s tough to do that when we’re terrified about what people might see or think.”

“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.”

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”

“I carry a small sheet of paper in my wallet that has written on it the names of people whose opinions of me matter. To be on that list, you have to love me for my strengths and struggles.”

“Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in.”

“If you trade your authenticity for safety, you may experience the following: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, rage, blame, resentment, and inexplicable grief.”