In one word, what would you want more out of life?
If you were to survey 1,000 people, the most common response you would receive is happiness. You would also get back answers that are variations of happiness. Words like fulfillment, peace, freedom, joy and passion.
It’s what we want more than anything else.
Now, I am not about to write another article on happiness! Do I really think that is what’s been missing in this conversation: my article? Do I really believe that I have a secret that no one else knows and I’m going to blow your mind wide open and deliver the little-known secret to happiness?
Of course not!
Reams of pages have been written on how to get more out of life – to find fulfillment, joy, passion and happiness.
For our purposes, I want to focus on the work of the one-and-only Brene Brown.
Her Ted Talk “The Power of Vulnerability” has been seen close to 10 million times and she has 4 New York Times bestsellers. She has a message that resonates loudly and clearly for the reason mentioned above, that happiness is important to most people.
Brene Brown delivers the science and research behind “wholehearted” living – a lifestyle that promises more joy, happiness and peace.
In her first best seller, The Gifts of Imperfection, Brown defines courage, an essential component of ‘Wholehearted Living’, as the decision “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart”. Funnily enough, Brown arrives at the conversation on ‘courage’ by talking about ‘shame’, as her career began as a shame researcher.
“Shame hates it when we reach out and tell our story. It hates having words wrapped around it – it can’t survive being shared. Shame loves secrecy.”
To combat shame, we need courage, Brown says. The type of courage that she is referring to is the courage to be authentic.
“Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable.”
The rewards are significant, she all but guarantees. It is by “mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles” that “we invite grace, joy and gratitude into our lives”.
All these words that sound synonymous with happiness.
OK, so you’ve read the book and you are feeling inspired. Or you’ve watched her Ted Talk and you want to practice vulnerability and authenticity in your own life.
You are ready to put her teachings into practice.
But you don’t know where to start.
This is the secret that I want to speak with you about. If you get to know the MicDrop process, as I do, it feels like we’ve read all of Brene Brown’s books and asked this question: how do we put this into practice?
Because that’s kind of exactly what we did.
We sit at the intersection of public speaking and storytelling and have a special appreciation for those who have an intense fear of public speaking. We feel like our method can help almost anyone overcome even the most intense stage fright.
Developed by a former Broadway star and a TV News Reporter, Rosh Lowe, MicDrop takes participants on a journey of self-discovery to identify their story, their passion and their message to the world.
Even if you aren’t afraid of public speaking, sharing from a stage about your personal story will demand courage, authenticity and compassion for our own imperfections – very integral ingredients for Wholehearted Living.
Of course, this isn’t everything you’ll need for it as “authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day” but if you are looking for a place to start, standing up on stage and sharing your personal story, MicDrop will give you a really strong head start.
Look into us. You’ll be glad you did.
As Brene Brown says “you learn to swim by swimming, and you learn courage by couraging”.
Grab the Mic and Get Couraging!
