Brené Brown – GRIT By Brit

Hey friends! Happy Sunday. I hope you had a fabulous weekend! My weekend was super busy, but I don’t mind (I like it like that). Last week, I hosted my best friends at my bachelorette pad for a LOOOONG overdue book club meeting/wine night. We start the book club over 3 years ago, but unfortunately have not met in the last 18 months. Needless to say, we very much appreciated the time together AND thoroughly enjoyed our book, Daring Greatly by Brené Brown (yay Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday crew).

Daring Greatly is all about the power of vulnerability. While putting ourselves in vulnerable situations often makes us feel weak, it’s actually one of the most empowering actions we can take to strengthen our relationships and our sense of self-worth.

The week I had a unique opportunity to “choose vulnerablity” by sharing a video that I think makes me look “weak.” Here’s a little back story…last summer I met an awesome producer, Clint Howard, via Thumbtack who developed the GRIT promo video that’s my studio’s website. A few days ago he sent me this “behind the scenes” video he created. I hesitated to share it because I want to put on a “strong/girlboss” image, but after thinking about it some more I decided it’s good for me to be totally transparent and let my clients and blog followers know exactly why GRIT exists and why the #GRITFAM means the world to me. You can watch the video below…

Grit Behind the Sceens from Clint Howard II on Vimeo.

While I run the risk of being made fun of, negative feedback, etc., I’m comfortable enough in my own skin to face whatever outcomes may be. Most importantly, I believe in the vision of GRIT Fitness so much that I want to make intentions crystal clear. Quite honestly, this is the first time in my life that I’ve felt this way and it’s so liberating! Having a truly unique personal passion/ life purpose is simply the best. And for it, I’m forever grateful.

Hey Friends! Last week my mom and I made road trip down to San Antonio, TX where I competed in the InnovateHER Women’s Business Pitch Competition sponsored by the SBA (Small Business Administration). It was a bittersweet experience as I practiced all week, picked out the perfect outfit and thought through all of the questions the judges may ask. Alas, I didn’t win 🙁

However, I felt really great about my pitch delivery. Unlike the competition I recently won at the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC), this was a true “pitch” competition meaning I only got 2 minutes to speak and could only have 1 slide on the screen. That said I had to prioritize the most critical aspects of my business plan and immediately excite the judges. This experience definitely pushed me past my comfort zone and elevated me to a new level of public speaking and handling high-pressure situations. Also, I got to the meet the founders of these 4 awesome, female-owned start up companies – I highly suggest you check them out and show them some love!

The 5 Finalists – Me and the fierce female entreprenuers who presented our businesses to the judges – I was so inspired by their awesome ideas, passion & energy!

In the spirit of “keeping it real” I was super bummed about the outcome (I even shed a few tears when I was alone in the lady’s room). Honestly after watching the video of my pitch, there wasn’t anything I thought I could have significantly improved. Fortunately, my competitive nature is getting the best of me and now I’m even more motivated to spread the positive vibes of GRIT Fitness and impact women all over the world! #CantStopWontStop

Before I went to bed that night, I came across this post that gave me so much peace, hope and purpose.

“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we make the choice to dare greatly, we sign up to get our asses kicked. We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time. Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”
― Brené Brown, Rising Strong

I remember being in my corporate career with my steady paycheck and awesome expense account and thinking to myself, “I want more than this. I want to take a risk with my life and pursue my dream.” Now I’m living boldly and there are several ups and downs, but boy is it exciting! I hope this quote positively impacts you as much as it did me.

Keep up the good work ladies and shout out to all of the #GIRLBOSS chicks out there! xoxo, Brit

The Power of Vulnerability

My 2nd Business Pitch Contest