Daring Greatly vs. the Cliffs of Insanity

My daughter Hannah Smith was recently challenged by a friend/mentor to read a particular book before she started her internship at Norton Healthcare in Louisville. So, as we made the 830.6 mile trek across the U.S. a few weekends ago, Hannah and I caught up on her reading/listening requirement via Audible, while sharing the road with Brené Brown and her inspirational work: ?"Daring Greatly."?

>>>> Troy Geesaman, isn't this the book you recently recommended to me??? I now understand why a million (literally) other people have read or listened in.<<<<

The title alone should be enough to convince most of us to flip the first page:

Daring Greatly:

How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.

I mean, aren't most men scrambling to pick up a book with the word "vulnerable" in the title? 

I had the pleasure of attending Brené's keynote at the LinkedIn Talent Connect Conference a few years back. As Brené wrapped up with a standing ovation, I never expected it would take me this long to work through one of her books. But then again, it's not often that I get the pleasure of an 830.6 mile road trip. So, for a healthy portion of the trip, Hannah and I were able to redeem the time with a strong challenge to #BeVulnerable.

Early in the book, in describing her struggle with vulnerability, Brené encourages the reader to ask this question:

"What is worth doing, even if I fail?"

It takes courage (sometimes buckets of courage) to do something that pushes us out to the place where failure is a possibility. That place where, Brené says,

"Your heart rate speeds up, your palms grow sweaty, and you think, Why in the world did I ever think I could do this?"

That shaky feeling - the uncertainty - the racing heart - that's what she calls vulnerability. And more often than not, "it makes you want to turn around and go home, where you can escape the potential judgment of others and your own fear of the unfamiliar."

As I write, I'm counting 3 days until I begin the next chapter of my career at @T-Mobile. It wasn't an easy decision because it's difficult to make a change from a position of comfort. I love my job. I love leading a team; challenging them to do great things. They were great recruiters before I joined the ranks, and they spent the last seven years making me look good. In reality, they are the GREAT that made me good.

I am grateful for the time that I've had with this team because I have learned from them - laughed and cried with them, and had the opportunity to be vulnerable with them. No doubt, they've made me better. And, they've helped me prepare for what is next.

On Monday I'll be editing my job title and putting myself in a position to be challenged in new ways. Anticipating the change, it honestly makes my heart race a bit - my palms sweaty - and facing feelings of uncertainty. All of those feelings are just a result of the fact that I am over-the-top excited about exploring uncharted-career-territory (at least for me). I'm confident that the many starts & stops in my recruiting career has brought me to this next step, and I am convinced that "it's worth doing, even if I fail."

I'm proud of my daughter for getting out of her comfort zone and taking that "vulnerable" step to pack up her Hyundai and move across the U.S. in an effort to learn new things - meet new people - and serve in a great organization. I hope that she too will never shy away from doing those things that are "worth doing." Those "things" cause us to grow and mature in ways that are impossible if we always gravitate to "what-we-know."

So, here's to my daughter (Hannah), and the greatest team of recruiters on the planet ~ may we always have hearts willing to climb out on the shaky limbs of vulnerability and dare to do great things.

Even when those limbs tend to resemble the "cliffs of insanity."