When I first started my business, my focus was squarely on bravery. Not the loud, performative kind. And not fearlessness either because fearlessness is a myth sold to us by people who either want our money or our silence. Fearlessness is for sociopaths and toddlers. The rest of us? We feel fear for a reason. Sometimes it keeps us safe. Sometimes it holds us back. And most of the time, it’s simply trying to tell us something important, if we’re willing to listen.

Real bravery isn’t about erasing fear. It’s about getting curious about it. Asking it questions. Understanding what it’s trying to protect, what it thinks might happen, and what would be possible if we acted anyway. Bravery is trusting yourself enough to try, even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed. Even when your voice shakes. Even when the decision might disappoint other people.

That kind of bravery has shaped my life again and again. Through divorce. Through identity shifts. Through rebuilding and starting over. Through parenting, especially the moments that don’t have clear answers (perhaps these are all the moments?!). Through being called selfish, too much, not enough, or simply “wrong.” Through starting a business when it would have been easier to play it safe. Through being some people’s villain and other’s saint. 

But bravery isn’t always big or dramatic. It’s not all grand gestures and fire-walking metaphors. Sometimes bravery is incredibly quiet. It’s saying no when you used to say yes. It’s asking for help. It’s resting when your mind screams at you to keep going. It’s admitting you don’t know. It’s letting yourself feel joy even when things around you feel uncertain.

That’s the piece that started to shift for me the deeper I got into my work. I noticed a pattern, again and again, with clients and in my own life: we were all chasing bravery because we thought it was the missing ingredient. But when I looked closer, what we were actually craving was something else entirely.

It was joy.

We were choosing bravery because we wanted more joy. More peace. More satisfaction. More space to breathe and laugh and feel like we belonged in our own lives. Bravery was the tool, but joy was the goal.

Here’s the tricky part though: people get bravery. It’s gritty. It’s admirable. It makes sense. You tell someone they need to be brave, and they nod their head. People understand the concept of bravery and most folks think they need more of it.

But joy? That’s a harder conversation.

Because joy is something we’re taught we have to earn. It’s framed as the prize at the end, not something we’re allowed to build our lives around from the beginning. Joy is treated like dessert. You can have it after you’ve worked hard enough, suffered long enough, and proven yourself thoroughly. Until then, head down. Hustle up.

When I started talking more about joy—centering it as the real outcome of this work—I knew it might confuse people. It might even repel a few. It felt risky, especially in a culture that still equates suffering with virtue. But I couldn’t ignore what I knew to be true.

Joy is not a luxury. It’s not selfish. It’s not frivolous. It’s foundational.

And more than that, joy is brave.

It’s brave to choose joy in a world that glorifies exhaustion and struggle. It’s brave to create space for joy when everything around you says “Head down. Stay Focused. Just keep going.” It is brave to allow yourself to be joyful even in hard times, because joy doesn’t erase reality—it coexists with it.

Which brings me back to The BRAVE Method (my own creative, strategic approach to problem solving, dreaming, designing, and actually having a life you’re madly in love with). It still stands. It still holds. But I see it now with deeper clarity. The method isn’t just about finding courage—it’s about what that courage allows you to experience. Joy isn’t on the other side of bravery. Joy is brave. And joy is the result of living with alignment and intention, even when it’s inconvenient or misunderstood.

So the point of bravery? It’s to reclaim joy. To let it take up space. To remember that a life you’re madly in love with is not only possible—it’s worth fighting for.

And maybe that starts today. Not with something big or momentous, but with a small, quiet act of courage. One that no one else sees, but you feel deeply.

The kind of bravery that leads you home to yourself.

Where will you begin?

Meanwhile, check this video below!

Exploring the Purpose of Courage

Bravery is taking action despite fear. Learn how small steps and support lead to growth, empowerment, and mindful transformation. Check this out, Bravery: Stepping Forward Through Fear

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