–
Discovering the Power of Vulnerability
A few years ago, when I discovered Brené Brown through her books and her podcasts, something shifted in me. I had been asking myself a lot of questions on staying true to my nature and finding alignment in how I acted in the presence of others and when I was alone. To me, that became the truest measure of authenticity.
As I consumed her words, understanding the qualities of vulnerability, shame, courage, and leadership was a deeply radical experience for me. Her biggest teaching for me was that vulnerability isn’t weakness, it’s actually the birthplace of courage, connection, and authentic leadership.
Allow me to explain a few of her ideas so you can strive to live honestly and in alignment with your true nature. I use these lessons of hers every day while leading as a parent and in my professional life as a people manager.
What Vulnerability Really Is
- By definition, vulnerability is uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.
- It’s not oversharing or confessing everything, but the willingness to show up and be seen when there are no guarantees.
- In action, vulnerability can look like any of these. Asking for help, admitting mistakes, saying “I love you” first, giving feedback, or making bold decisions at work.
CONCLUSION: Vulnerability is not weakness. It’s our greatest measure of courage.
How to Leverage Vulnerability
- Build trust: People don’t trust perfection, they trust our imperfect humanity. Leaders who admit mistakes and invite collaboration build stronger teams.
- Foster innovation: Vulnerability creates the safety to take risks, fail, and try again. Without it, creativity dies.
- Deepen connection: Being real invites others to do the same, whether in friendships, family, or at work.
CONCLUSION: Her phrase “clear is kind” also shows up here — leveraging vulnerability means communicating openly instead of hiding behind avoidance or niceness.
What She Says About Leadership
- In her book Dare to Lead, she says: “A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and has the courage to develop that potential.”
- Vulnerable leadership means moving away from command-and-control toward empathy, curiosity, and courage.
- Leaders who armor up with perfectionism, cynicism, or emotional distance might feel safe in the short term, but they end up eroding trust and engagement.
CONCLUSION: Strong leadership is not about having all the answers; it’s about creating conditions where people feel safe enough to contribute their best ideas and selves.
What She Says About How We Live
- Vulnerability touches everything: love, parenting, friendship, work, art.
- Living armored, avoiding vulnerability, leads to numbness, disconnection, and regret.
- Living vulnerably means embracing imperfection, setting boundaries, and choosing courage over comfort.
- She frames it as “wholehearted living” – cultivating worthiness from the inside out rather than hustling for it from others.
CONCLUSION: Vulnerability is not just a soft skill, it’s the hard skill of being fully alive. In leadership, it builds trust and unlocks creativity. In life, it’s the path to love, belonging, and meaning.
–
You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness. ~ Brené Brown
–
Featured Image: ChatGPT rendered image of the GOAT Brené Brown
– 0 –
What Will You Do?
If you’ve got one chance to make a dent in the universe.
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. ~ Anais Nin
The Integrity Exit: Why Mrinank Sharma’s Departure Matters
Two days ago, Mrinank Sharma resigned from his role as an AI safety engineer at Anthropic. He had been with the company for two years. “The world is in peril. And not just from AI, or bioweapons, but from a whole series of interconnected crises unfolding in this very...
Filters, Fraud, and Fame: Why I’m “Hiring” Kim K as My Life Coach
The Open Letter to Kim K Yeah, once in a while I write posts like these, the kind that disappoint my parents and my kids alike. But, who else will stick it up to Kim and her klan? Uggh, so I will do the needful. This one is going to be special. I’ll tell you...
The Nihilist Penguin: Why Werner Herzog’s Lone Penguin Speaks to Our Need to Reject the Herd
The "Nihilist Penguin" and the Man Who Found It Like many of you, I was captivated by Herzog's lone penguin. The one that breaks from the herd and heads in the opposite direction. This singular image of defiance seems to be the hallmark of its observer who...
Carl Sagan Didn’t Just Explain the Universe — He Explained What It Means to Be Human
Every time I come across Carl Sagan’s quotes on my social media feeds, I pause. I take time to reflect on what he was trying to say. When I moved to the US 24 years ago, I spent a lot of time in libraries, reading books and articles that might give me insight into the...
14 Mind-Blowing Quotes That Reveal How Social Media Is Hijacking Your Life
Thoughts on Social Media, Technology, and Our Attention Our lives are increasingly lived online, where every scroll, click, and share shapes not just our behavior but our reality. Leading thinkers warn us that while technology can amplify our voices and connect...
Building Trust and Safety: How Accountability Strengthens Law Enforcement and Communities
I have lived in the United States for nearly twenty-four years. This is my home. I am a person of color, and so are my children. In my city of Johns Creek, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, I often see police officers on the roads. I respect the work they do. They show...
Kagemni Slayed Me With a Reed Pen: A Love Affair With Ancient Egyptian Scribes and Tombs
Falling Into A Saqqara Tomb Silly me, when I visited the Djoser Step Pyramid complex of the Saqqara necropolis (ancient Egyptian burial ground city), I was worried I would fall into a catacomb, one of those recesses between the ancient Egyptian tombs. Little...
When Parenting Influencers Go Too Far: The Shocking Truth About Child Exploitation
I remember that summer of 2023 like it was yesterday. I kept replaying this three-minute Ring camera video over and over that I had seen on news. It showed an emaciated, slow moving 12-year-old boy walking up to a neighbor's door around 10 am in the scorching Utah...
Iranian Female Protest Rap That Defies a Regime — Real Rebel Music That Hits Hard ✊
The below is a story about the taste of freedom, and about the strength of standing against intolerable darkness. It's difficult to forget what happened in Iran in 2022. 22 year old Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran with her family when she was stopped by Iran’s...
Unlock Lifelong Learning: Top Movie & Documentary Recommendations That Inspire Growth
- “You’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket, and you’re too much of a p*ssy to cash it in. You don’t owe it to yourself, you owe it to me. In twenty years, if you’re still living here working construction, I’ll f*cking kill ya. Hanging around here is a...
Living Deliberately Without the Woods: How to Build a Meaningful Life in a Noisy World
Excuse my language. There's a meme I once saw while helping one of my clients with his decluttering project. "Working jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we don't need." Doesn't it sum up the way we are living our lives? This continues to bring me back to Henry David...
When Death Isn’t the Fear: A Soul-Shaking Review of “A Battle with My Blood”
Tatiana Schlossberg was a mother, an environmental journalist, and a cancer patient - in that order. She passed away at the age of 35 a few days ago. And she had written an essay about her last days. The scope of my essay on hers is to highlight her love for...
Empowerment or Desperation? Why Are Aging Pop Stars Still Chasing Clout Like Teen Influencers?
Hey, look, I’m by no means a prude. I’ve made two babies, for crying out loud. But day after day, seeing talented artists, musicians, and celebrities parading their half ass bodies on the internet is driving me up the wall. I’ve jammed to Jennifer Lopez’s songs in...
Finding Peace on a Walk Across America: What a Dog, the Deep South, and a Buddhist Monk Teach Us
How Do We Find Peace? “By practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness is the medicine we all need.” This was the answer given by a Buddhist monk at the Walk for Peace event yesterday in deep south Georgia. And what a moment it was. A Pilgrimage of Peace in...
A Year in Writing 2025: Art, Emotion, and the Ideas That Shaped My Inner World
- On Motherhood As a Writer-At-Large and primarily as a mother, I wrote about Kanu dappika, the longing of a mother to see her children in A Mother’s Words for the Ache of Missing Her Children. I beamed in joy when they literally and metaphorically were touching grass...
Let’s Reimagine the Übermensch: Creative Freedom in Service to Something Greater
Every culture has its superheroes. There is Hercules, the legendary Greek hero and son of Zeus, who achieved god-like status through his extraordinary actions. Then there is Arjuna, the epic warrior prince from the Hindu Mahabharata, renowned for his unmatched courage...
Inside The Moth Atlanta: A Night of Stories About Belonging, Bravery, and Being Human
At the Moth spoken word storytelling event yesterday, the stage was literally set. But, I was never meant to be there. Who pays $80 and drives to downtown Atlanta on a weeknight to listen to five ten-minute stories? I had told myself. But then came a last-minute nudge...
The Invisible Brandons Hiding in Plain Sight – Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/m64m4MyMcIM - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - A Night To Remember I came home and couldn’t go back to bed without cleaning my kitchen countertop with my hands. As I cleaned, I thought of Brandon and how he was a...
Questions, just ask!
Text or Call: 678.310.5025 | Contact: Fill Form
Bringing a Group? Email us for a special price!