How to be Brave Enough - a podcast by Tami North

Show Notes for Genuine Driven Women Episode #11

This is Episode #11 and today, we are going to talk about being Brave Enough to accomplish your goals.

TAMI:  Before we get started, a few of our listeners have reached out to us and let us know they love what we are doing.   Some people have asked us how they can help us grow and succeed in our mission. The absolute best thing you can do if you think this show has meaning and if it has inspired you, is to go to iTunes and take a minute to write a review.  I have put a link in the show notes if you want to type a review. (Link to GDW in iTunes) Or simply share our podcasts via your social media accounts.

ADALIDA: We’d like to thank Cowonahill for a 5 STAR review we received via iTunes.  ????? 5 out of 5 stars.

Even if you don’t feel like you need advice/guidance in your life right now, it’s really positive and motivating to listen to these ladies! :) It really builds a sense of community with fellow listeners. They got your back!  

And, with that - we will jump into today’s main topic:

MAIN TOPIC

The definition of brave from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty: having or showing courage”

The definition of courage is “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty”

I hope you noticed that neither of these definitions say WITHOUT fear, they say “face fear or withstand fear.”  Fear, at some level, will never go away. There will always be some new difficulty that you initially believe is insurmountable.  This is what we will talk about today – how to move forward in spite of your fears.

The good news is that you only have to be brave enough to take the very next step.

What is it that you want out of your life? I’m not talking about what you want and also think other people expect from you.  I am talking about what YOU want, what you REALLY want.

When you dream of who you would be if there were no limits or no roadblocks, if you could be anything you wanted in the whole world.  What would you do?

Are you on the path to that dream now?  Are you taking the steps to make THAT dream come true?  Or, are you planning on something that is safer, something that is a compromise in your eyes.  

Something that is easy to accomplish, something that you already have the skills and ability to do today.  

If you believe your passion is in the dream job and you feel like you are missing out on your life’s purpose, you have to ask yourself what is keeping you from pursuing the career that is calling to you.  Could it be fear?

Let’s think of an example dream job….  Maybe a national news journalist on a major TV network.

What are some common fears? 

(Talk about one by one with some ad-lib)

o   Fear of failure

o   Fear of making mistakes

o   Fear of how long the path is to get to your goal

o   Fear people will not understand

o   Fear we’ll do all the work to get there and we will find we didn’t really want it

o   Fear we really aren’t good enough to get there

o   Fear that we aren’t worth it

o   Fear that dreams only come true for other people    

As we mentioned, the fear will probably not ever go away completely.

The good news is that we can use a dash of bravery and we can use our courage to push through the fear.  

What is the first thing you should do when you have a dream that you want to bring into reality?  

The very first thing you should do is WRITE IT DOWN!  I know, this sounds simple, but so many people won’t take the time to do that.  Write it down – get a journal or a planner.

After you write down your dream the next thing you should do is:

1.  Write down the goal using SMART techniques, this only takes a few minutes for each goal.

(Talk about one by one with some ad-lib)

o   Specific

o   Measureable

o   Achievable

o   Relevant

o   Time-bound

 

o   Evaluate

o   Review

Then, you should  (2.) Break down the goal into action steps that can happen in the near term.  Transfer these steps onto your current to-do list, as appropriate, and start working on them!

Now here is the way we conquer our fear:  Just focus on the very next step.  That’s it.  

You do not have to be brave enough to go from high school graduation to running a multi-million-dollar company, or to commanding an United States Warship, prepared to defend this great nation, or to the most well-respected movie directors of all time.  

All you have to do is focus on the next thing you have to do on the path from where you are to where you want to be.

Here are some steps you can take to become more courageous:

(Talk about one by one with some ad-lib)

o   Focus on the very next small step

o   Remember your fear will never go away, and do the next step anyway

o   Be Persistent – stay on your path. 

o   Ignore those who do not believe you can do this – yes, seriously – IGNORE THEM!

o   Embrace the feeling of the fear and how exhilarating it feels to stretch yourself!

Here are some things you can focus on to increase your bravery:

(Talk about one by one with some ad-lib)

o   Focus on previous times when you have succeeded, how did that feel?  Remember the path you took to that success.

o   Use the feeling of the success to motivate you?

o   Did you have challenges? What did you do to overcome them?  How did that feel?

o   Do you have a memory of a time when you were felt brave?  A time when you really stretched out of your comfort zone?  How did that feel?

What happens if you do reach a brick wall and it seems too hard to get over? We recommend focusing on these thoughts – write them down in your goal journal as you think through the issue:

(Talk about one by one with some ad-lib)

o   How will I get past this?

o   What is the very next step along my path?

o   Do any opportunities exist in my world that I am overlooking?

o   Is there anyone I know who has already accomplished this goal or at least this next step?  Would they talk to me about what they learned?

So, you can see - those giant elephants are not really anything to be afraid of, as long as you focus on one piece at a time and just keep going in the same direction!  

I know you are afraid sometimes, so am I!

And so am I.

This only means you are human and that you have an active primal survival instinct.  Fear is normal, but remember you do not have to be brave enough to take on the entire world on your own.  You only have to stop, focus, break the task in to smaller pieces and then muster the courage to take that very next step - then take the next one after that.  

We are rooting for you!  

Let us know how it is going!

Time Machine:  

In this segment each week we will give a few points about women that have accomplished a lot! We also will discuss a bit about what was happening to women during the time periods. Someone we think you would like to know more about is:

Oprah Winfrey

1. Born in 1954, Oprah is well known for her television show that she hosted from 1986-2011 and in that same year of 2011 she launched her own television network OWN.
2. She was raised in a small town in Mississippi, where she was sexually abused by multiple men that were both related and friends of her mom. After this she was able to get away from the horrible situation by moving in with her dad. By doing this she was able to gain more opportunities.
3. She entered Tennessee State university in 1971 and in 1976 she hosted the TV chat show People are Talking. She ended up staying with the it for eight years because it ended up being such a hit.
4. From there in 1986 she launched the Oprah Winfrey Show, where they had an audience of 10 million people and soon after she gained control of the program from ABC.
5. She also has launched “Oprah’s Book Club” and the O: The Oprah Magazine
6. Even through a rough childhood she was able to take her life and make it into something amazing that will be remembered for many, many generations.

Inspirational Quote of the Week:

“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.”

? Oprah Winfrey

• Everything you do is important, make sure to believe in yourself and others will do the same!

 Book Review:

Genuine driven women read lots of books!  We’ll make sure to recommend a book each week that will inspire you or help you on your journey to success!

 This week’s book is:

Grit!

 By Angela Duckworth

If you’d like to buy this book in any format, including the audiobooks, click this link:  http://amzn.to/2G6SzEe

The author, Angela Duckworth, shows anyone who desires to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls grit.

Her hypothesis is that what really drives success is not genius but a unique combination of passion and long term perseverance.

She has two formulas I know will speak to you:  

talent x effort = skill

Skill x effort = achievement

Based on these formulas, you will see that talent (or intelligence) alone is not enough to predict success.  

I love this book, because it is the way of the Genuine Driven Woman to persist, to put in the hard work, and to succeed, even when it seems out of reach or too hard for so many.  You will love this book!

Click the link to buy the book (available in several formats):    http://amzn.to/2G6SzEe

We genuinely Want to know! (Listener questions and feedback) 

This is the section where you ask questions, let us know what’s on your mind or just say hello!  

Are you driven to succeed? Email us at genuinedrivenwomen@gmail.com or call us at (724) DRIVEN-2 or  (724) 374-8362 and leave a voice message. We’ll use your voicemails on a future podcast!

Outro:

The Genuine Driven Women podcast is produced every week for your inspiration, education and enjoyment.  The show notes, and so much more, can be found at genuinedrivenwomen.com.

Please subscribe to this show via iTunes and Stitcher to receive ongoing weekly motivation to turn those dreams into goals and to reach YOUR version of success!  

We’d love for you to take a couple minutes to write a review on iTunes, which will help us to reach our goal to connect with girls, young ladies, and women who need just this kind of inspiration each week.  You can also follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/genuinedrivenwomen/ to join the conversation, get to know us better, and to find about all the new things we will be announcing in the months to come.

Ok, ladies - its time to get out there and be the best YOU that YOU can be!

Further episodes of The Introverted Executive

Further podcasts by Tami North

Website of Tami North