Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

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Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

by Brené Brown (Goodreads Author)

4.31 of 5 stars 4.31 · rating details · 2,409 ratings · 466 reviews

Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credi...more

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published September 13th 2012 by Gotham (first published 2012)

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Sep 19, 2012 Tima rated it 2 of 5 stars

Every single day we face the decision to be vulnerable or dare greatly. Brown uses the book as a medium to explain how we can take shame and vulnerability and exchange them for meaning and purpose in our lives. There aren't really any step-by-step instructions so much as a thought process that needs to be changed in the way we think and approach circumstances.

The book is going to really fly off the shelves for those who have a need for change in their lives or enjoy reading self-help books. It i...more

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May 04, 2013 Timm DiStefano rated it 4 of 5 stars

"For me, and for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is "I didn't get enough sleep." The next one is "I don't have enough time." Whether true or not, that thought of not enough occurs to us automatically before we even think to question or examine it. We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives hearing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don't have enough of... Before we even sit up in bed, before our feet touch the floor, we're already inadequate, already be...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Sarah Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Daring Greatly is dense with information on how to combat shame and become vulnerable, authentic, and courageous - not just in romantic relationships, but at work and with your children as well. I have always struggled with vulnerability, but Brown makes a very convincing case as to why it is so important - we can't live fully and wholeheartedly without it. I look forward to implementing some of her strategies, and I am sure that I will be revisiting often. Really a must read for anyone who feel...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Sharon Shuler rated it 5 of 5 stars

One if the most insightful books I've read in a long time! The research Brene Brown did before write this book implores us to consider the destructive impact of hidden shame. Daring Greatly will open the readers eyes to the impact shame has on everyone, the importance of developing shame resilience, risking vulnerability with a few safe friends that is necessary to experience whole hearted living and the connection with others that we were all created for.

As a teacher finishing my MEd in seconda...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Theresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Brene Brown is fabulous, and I’m so happy I finally got to read this book. I started reading one of her other books, one that was more specifically about her research around shame, and it wasn’t what I needed to be reading then. This, though, was what I needed. She still talks a lot about shame and about fear, and it’s in ways that are relevant for me in my day-to-day life and my work.
One of my favorite parts is her discussion of how over-sharing is not the same as vulnerability. That’s so impo...more Brene Brown is fabulous, and I’m so happy I finally got to read this book. I started reading one of her other books, one that was more specifically about her research around shame, and it wasn’t what I needed to be reading then. This, though, was what I needed. She still talks a lot about shame and about fear, and it’s in ways that are relevant for me in my day-to-day life and my work.
One of my favorite parts is her discussion of how over-sharing is not the same as vulnerability. That’s so important for me to recognize. I see it in my clients, and I see it in myself, this tendency to over-share, to spew stories, often the traumatic kind. I share these stores well when I share them with trusted people, in a setting that is appropriate. I share these stories less well when I’m at a social gathering and someone asks what I do for a living and then I spew all the awful that happened this past week. Brene says that people need to deserve our trust- we don’t gain a trusting relationship by telling someone we just met all the intimate details of our life right off the bat- that’s not how we form true and real relationships. She acknowledges the paradox too- that we can’t be vulnerable in a healthy way unless we trust someone, and we can’t trust someone unless we can also be vulnerable with them. It’s a tricky place to muddle through, and it’s so important to do it. There’s a difference between using vulnerability to try to gain something, and actually being vulnerable.
She also says that when we feel vulnerable, what that often looks like to other people is bravery and courage. When we are risking sharing something about ourselves, whether it’s an unpopular opinion, or a life experience, or trying difficult things, we feel naked and open to attack. What others often see though, is someone being brave enough to “dare greatly.” She says that the prevailing internal opinion is that “vulnerability is courage in you and inadequacy in me.” I’ve been trying to keep that in mind too, and move forward with it.
One small thing I’ve done recently is to take the work “but” out of much of my everyday vocabulary. I’m trying to recognize that I often have opinions and beliefs that contradict each other, and that’s okay. I don’t want to negate myself as much as I have been. It turns out that in a lot of my sentences, the word “and” can easily replace the word “but,” and it feels so much nicer to say things that sound more like a continuation than a negation.
She talks too about how shame hits the brain in the same place that physical pain does, so that when someone talks about how shame hurts, it’s even neurologically true. She talks a lot about shame and how we attach to it and carry it with us, how it impacts both men and women deeply, and what shame looks like in big and small instances.
I wish I could keep this book- there are a lot of things I’d like to remember more concretely, about parenting judgment, and having conversations with co-workers to talk about transformation, and about how we attach self-worth to our creative endeavors, and it turns out that I need to Dare Greatly in a small way by bringing this back (a week late) to the library.
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Mar 19, 2013 travelgirlut marked it as unfinished

I wanted so badly for this book to be life changing. I know I need to learn to be more vulnerable, and this book is supposed to be the one to teach me how. Unfortunately, I think Brene Brown and I speak different languages. Completely different languages.

My first attempt at Brown was watching her very popular TED speech. Multiple blogs I read raved about how amazing this speech was and how life changing. So I watched the video. At the end all I could say was, "Huh?" I had no clue what it was sh...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Cecily rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Cecily by: Everyone

Shelves: favorite, non-fiction, self-help

This book came highly recommended by seemingly the entire internet, and the concept was one I'm VERY familiar with. I'd watched a couple of Brene Brown's TED talks and I was impressed with the topic of her research and with how long and how thoroughly she's been researching.

Oh yeah, and I also remembered that I am the most sewn up and invulnerable control freak that I know. It's been something I'm aware of, and I wasn't always this way. But I know it's keeping me from joy and love in a lot of a...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Robyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was recommended on a blog that I follow by a person whose thinking somewhat mirrors mine. She recommended it in a big way, so I was anxious to read it. And I'm feeling odd about not giving it a higher rating, because I think it probably deserves one. I'm giving it three stars not because I have issues with the content (exactly) or with the writing, but because the subject matter is old hat to me.

Ms. Brown is fairly well known as a speaker and writer on the subject of 'shame' and how it...more This book was recommended on a blog that I follow by a person whose thinking somewhat mirrors mine. She recommended it in a big way, so I was anxious to read it. And I'm feeling odd about not giving it a higher rating, because I think it probably deserves one. I'm giving it three stars not because I have issues with the content (exactly) or with the writing, but because the subject matter is old hat to me.

Ms. Brown is fairly well known as a speaker and writer on the subject of 'shame' and how it debilitates us and keeps us from being the persons we want to be. She is right, of course. The weight that we give to shame is disproportionate to the weight it should have in keeping us to our personal code of ethics and values. She also addresses shame in this book as a chapter explaining why not being good at vulnerability often means that we are good at shame and how learning to be shame resilient is necessary to being able to achieve comfort with being vulnerable.

In particular, she focuses on how being willing to be vulnerable and to acknowledge that vulnerability - embrace it - creates opportunities for growth and increased closeness to those we love.

In my youth I was very vulnerable (ha!) to shame. Terrified of being judged not good enough, I spent a lot of time trying to make myself invisible. The summer after 10th grade, I spent some time thinking about the enjoyment of life I was not having. It was at that point that I decided that I would work to be me, whoever that was, and if that wasn't okay with the rest of the world, then they could kiss my skinny brown butt. I have spent the majority of my life since then trying to be only who I am in all social situations - 'what you see is what you get', 'keeping it real' and so on.

So I found nothing really new or life-changing in Ms Brown's book. But that doesn't mean you won't.

It's a good book. And if shame and lack of vulnerability are keeping you from being who you would like to be to your family, your friends, and your Self, then you should read this book. You should definitely read this book.(less)

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Oct 28, 2012 Julie Ekkers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Daring Greatly presents a strong case for making one's self more vulnerable, which the author would define as showing up and letting one's self be seen--being the man in the arena from the Teddy Roosevelt speech from which the book takes its name. Brown's writing style is knowledgeable, but straightforward, just like her TED talks. Just like those talks, this book gave me a lot of terrific things to think about: the relationship between vulnerability and trust, the importance of boundaries and h...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Alice rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mental-health, non-fiction, selfhelp, wellness, fam-marriage-parent

Do you want to change the world?
Do you want to have more powerful interpersonal relationships?
Do you want to explore into your own soul
to make sense of your life?
Do you want to live whole-hearted?
Do you want to rid yourself from shame?
Do you want to understand men and women better?
Do you want to give your heart a hug?

I thought I would do something different this time and give you a list of questions for this book review. This book is so jam-packed with the "hard stuff" that I don't even want to...more Do you want to change the world?
Do you want to have more powerful interpersonal relationships?
Do you want to explore into your own soul
to make sense of your life?
Do you want to live whole-hearted?
Do you want to rid yourself from shame?
Do you want to understand men and women better?
Do you want to give your heart a hug?

I thought I would do something different this time and give you a list of questions for this book review. This book is so jam-packed with the "hard stuff" that I don't even want to dare pretend that I get it all. I will be reading it repeatedly until I have absorbed and memorized every nugget of wisdom. I wish every other person on the planet would do the same. It would seriously bring world peace and most certainly would give everyone inner peace. I'm not kidding, It's that powerful.

I was proud to be a part of this book campaign. I was thrilled. I mean I jumped up and down when I got the e-mail confirmation and cooked a fancy dinner for my family when it arrived in the mail. I have been pouring over its pages and sharing parts with my hubby every chance I get. I have compromised my facebook relationships with the overabundance of quotes from this book. I just can't stop. It's too totally amazing not to share. YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. If you don't want to buy your own copy, borrow mine. I can't share it though for at least another month until I have it memorized.

I had a powerful experience at work last night, using the principles learned in this book. I was substitute teaching a class at the therapeutic boarding school where I work. I gave the kids a reward for every half an hour of hard work. We listened to a song of their choice (with my approval). One boy chose a powerfully emotional song about a girl who wanted to be with her dying boyfriend forever. I loved it. Another boy in the class didn't. He started to shame the song choice kid. I stopped him and talked with the whole class about "shaming" and talked with them about giving people space to be who they are, even if they are wrong or different. I then turned to the shamer, and told him how much I loved him and admired him and that I would hope other people would give him space to love what he loved. He got teary-eyed. He turned to the other kid and said, "Dude, I am so sorry, I don't like that song, but it's cool if you do."

World peace, people. World peace.

A huge thanks to marriage counselor friend John Morgan who turned me on to Brene Brown just months ago. He shared with me her talks from Ted. I was hooked. Brene is a researcher and has a PHD and LMSW. Her life's work is shame and vulnerability. Here are her videos. Watch them both. Come back if you have to. They will make you understand why you need to read this book. Even if you aren't into that psychological mumbo-jumbo, you need to be.
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Sep 22, 2012 Marlene rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally published at Reading Reality

This is a difficult book to review, because it doesn't tell a narrative. Instead it deals with tough concepts like shame and vulnerability, and the need that all humans have to be connected to each other. About how easy it seems to disconnect, and how much it hurts us when we do.

Of course, reviewing could be said to count as "criticism" in that famous "Man in the Arena" speech from Theodore Roosevelt that Dr. Brown quotes from above and throughout the book....more Originally published at Reading Reality

This is a difficult book to review, because it doesn't tell a narrative. Instead it deals with tough concepts like shame and vulnerability, and the need that all humans have to be connected to each other. About how easy it seems to disconnect, and how much it hurts us when we do.

Of course, reviewing could be said to count as "criticism" in that famous "Man in the Arena" speech from Theodore Roosevelt that Dr. Brown quotes from above and throughout the book. Except that by putting my name on my reviews, by being "out there" and owning the writing of them, it counts as being "in the arena". I set myself for being criticized in turn. Reading the passages in the book about the self-talk that can weigh you down before starting any new venture sounded pretty darn familiar.

I was amazed that Brown managed to link that "Man in the Arena" speech to the even more famous (to me, at least) quote from Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit about "What is REAL?" (here's the full quote, it's worth a read) and make it work, because that negative self-talk isn't real, and learning to get past it and get out there and "Dare Greatly" is part of Brown's premise.

Another point that Brown was making was that our pursuit of perfection and overabundance is just another way of keeping us from connecting with the people around us, because we're too busy comparing ourselves to others (and always falling short) to connect with them. Instead of feeling shame at what we don't have or haven't achieved, we should be seeking wholeness, or wholeheartedness to use her term. It reminded me of a little story on the net, "I wish you enough."

Reality Rating B+: Daring Greatly will make you think. For a book of this type, that may be the most important thing. Many of the points the author made are still rattling around in my head, and all too many of the stories had resonance. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

If you're interested in the social consequences of disconnectedness, you might want to take a look at Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community. It may be a little dated, but it still has some important things to say in its conclusions. Brown deals more with the individual and Putnam with society, but I think the two complement each other.(less)

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Oct 19, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow, what a book! The title comes from an amazing quote by Theodore Roosevelt encouraging us all to give things our best shot("...the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena..who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again...who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly...")

The basic thesis is that in order to live our best lives, we need to be vulnerable: to go all out in...more

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May 17, 2013 Douglas Larson rated it 5 of 5 stars

A deeply profound and insightful book. In fact there is so much here, that I have tasked myself to reread it to be able to absorb all that Brown presents.

While a single sentence couldn't capture all that Brown discusses, I think that "Show up and dare to be real, authentic and vulnerable" is a significant piece of it.

Of the many concepts that Brene Brown discusses, her discussion of our culture of scarcity is among the most profound. I personally have been trying to combat the culture of scarc...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Dominic rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teaching, parenting, buddhism

I feel like it was beautiful serendipity that I stumbled upon Daring Greatly. After reading an interview with Brené Brown someone had posted on Facebook and then finally watching her TED talks on vulnerability and shame (another colleague had recommended TED.com to me a couple years ago, and I'm just now getting on that beautiful train), I knew I had to get my hands on this book.

Three days later I carried the book in my hand. Three days after that I had devoured it. It turns out that these had...more I feel like it was beautiful serendipity that I stumbled upon Daring Greatly. After reading an interview with Brené Brown someone had posted on Facebook and then finally watching her TED talks on vulnerability and shame (another colleague had recommended TED.com to me a couple years ago, and I'm just now getting on that beautiful train), I knew I had to get my hands on this book.

Three days later I carried the book in my hand. Three days after that I had devoured it. It turns out that these had been some of the best spent "working" hours in a really long time. Not since reading the work of Pema Chödrön have I been so inspired to start immediately cleaning up my life. (Cue John Lennon and Yoko Ono: "Clean-up time!") What has already proved incredibly transformative for me is the language that I now have to describe how I get silenced and shamed in the workplace. Working as an English teacher at the school where I teach has been both a love and an incredible burden. But I realize now that I am made of the kind of stuff that yearns to "dare greatly." I expect a lot from myself and my school. I keep expecting us to break new ground--yet we are forever grounded. I used to say that you can't be a Buddhist at UCHS; but now I think it UCHS is the BEST place to work on mindfulness and compassion. It's just REALLY HARD WORK!

Brené Brown encourages me to stick to my guns, though--to not give up and to SHOW UP each day and to each meeting, emotions and hard questions and all of it. If I am going to be a part of true innovation, a true educational revolution (which some days--the jaded days--feels like a oxymoron), like I say I do, I'm going to have to honor my willingness to take risks, stay vulnerable and be uncomfortable. It also means I'm going to have to maneuver through a lot of what my wife has now called "shame soup."

I'm so grateful for this book, for Brené Brown, and for the opportunity to impact my world, my family, my son, and myself. She doesn't provide all the easy answers, but she gives me the tools to not simply "get through the year" but to make it one of the best damn school years of my life. And then, simply one great life.(less)

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Oct 03, 2012 Alina rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a time and world where the opposite of vulnerability is valued, this book provides valuable insight into the importance and need for all to embrace vulnerability without making it sound like "weakness". Dr. Brown provides excellent insight, personal antidotes, and research information to support the fact that as humans unless we embrace our vulnerability and the vulnerability in others, unless we are aware of our own shame and how that dictates our decision-making and reactions, we truly can'...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Derek Meier rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a great book. I think the beginning is wonderful, the chapters on business don't interest me so much so I can't really comment on those sections. It's really amazing how eloquently Dr. Brown summarizes her years of qualitative research to drive home such recognizable patterns of human behavior. The information in this book is the key to understanding what is holding you back from living the life you truly want. If you apply this information in your life, through action, I am confident al...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Bradley Ferguson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was exposed to Brene Brown last year when an old friend of mine posted her famous TED talk on vulnerability on his blog. I liked it but didn't quite get what all the excitement was about (I guess it is one of the most watched TED talks of all time). I agreed with what she said but basically understood 'vulnerability' to mean courage. Over time though, the more I thought about vulnerability, the more it made sense why it could be an empowering quality to have. For this reason I decided to read...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned, american, essays, audio

If you're already familiar with Brené Brown's popular TED talk, Daring Greatly follows much in the same vein.

I wasn't familiar with her work, and expected this book to contain practical insights into creativity, innovation, and risk-taking. But instead it remained wholly in the territory of Brown's academic research on shame and vulnerability.

Brown's work is interesting, but not at all what I'd intended to read. With a giant pile of TBR books waiting on my nightstand, my time spent on this book...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Melinda rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: partially-read

I really love Brene Brown. I mean I'm a serious fan and I was before reading this book. Her work is very approachable because it's not therapy speak and she's promotes herself as someone who isn't (wasn't?) into talking about touchy-feely things. I don't know where to start. I like that she shows how the impact of shaming moments in life makes it harder for us to be vulnerable. And it is vulnerability explained as taking the risks that lead to being engaged and connected, but the inability to ta...more I really love Brene Brown. I mean I'm a serious fan and I was before reading this book. Her work is very approachable because it's not therapy speak and she's promotes herself as someone who isn't (wasn't?) into talking about touchy-feely things. I don't know where to start. I like that she shows how the impact of shaming moments in life makes it harder for us to be vulnerable. And it is vulnerability explained as taking the risks that lead to being engaged and connected, but the inability to take the risks leads to disengagement and disconnection. This is part of the source of the problem. How we exist in the world is founded in shaming but her research shows that we can learn to be resilient (not resistant) to shame.

One of the concepts that really made an impact on me is the idea that our personal value or self worth is not in the work, art, or creative product produced. If someone dislikes all or part of something you’ve done or created it is not a value judgment of the creator but of the item created. Shame resilience helps us to engage with the feedback as space for product improvement while not getting defeated. Failure is a part of innovation and acknowledging failure is a vulnerable place to be.

Another concept that I liked is the idea of feedback from a strengths perspective. In a nutshell, you would use your strengths to address the things that challenge you. I really like this idea because the idea of having weakness starts you off from a hard place. As if the challenge is an inherent flaw in your work personality. Another part of the section on feedback is the idea that the process of giving feedback is a space of vulnerability for all involved and if we could both sit on the same side of the table and give feedback as a team effort that vulnerability is easier to risk sharing.

All in all, Daring Greatly is full of information on why we need to be vulnerable to truly connect and engage in the world. And it is not easy but it’s worth the risk.

(There is a section on wholehearted parenting that I didn't read since I don't have children and I'm not planning on having any. The section is about 30-35 pages long. Other than that section I read the whole book.)(less)

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Apr 23, 2013 Lon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Most will know Brené Brown from her gone-viral TED talk about vulnerability. To that video, add her radio interview with Krista Tippett, host of On Being, and you'd be more than well acquainted with Brown's most salient insights. The book probably isn't a value-added experience, but I enjoyed seeing many of my favorite video and interview ideas in print, too. She uses the phrase Wholehearted to describe those who for whom joy and human connection remains possible because they have refused to shi...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Cara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: inspiration, life

Brene' Brown's talk was my favorite part of WDS 2012, so I knew I had to read her book. The talk must have been boiled down from the book, because this is basically the 260-page, deeper, juicier version of that fantastic talk. Love it! I read The Gifts of Imperfection and was disappointed to find that it didn't really do much for me. She's obviously blossomed as a writer in the time since then--this one rocks!

This book is about vulnerability. We all hate being vulnerable because it means risking...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Gloriavirtutisumbra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: goofy-self-help-more

I can't recommend Brene Brown's books enough. I read her first book when i was taking classes in Minnesota two years ago, the impact it made on my life was huge then. And this book is even better. The first book ("I thought it was just me" 2007) shines a light on all those things you really wish would either just go away in your life, or that you wished didn't actually exist... very uncomfortable on many levels but at the same time a pure wave of relief that you weren't alone in your experience....more

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Nov 29, 2012 Katy Resop rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had seen Brene Brown's two TED talks on her research at the University of Houston, but I really enjoyed digging deeper on the topic of vulnerability. She offers personal stories and stories from her research to really present her point. Most importantly, however, she offers up useful strategies for living everyday with courage and vulnerability. Having just finished the book, I've found myself already utilizing the wisdom she presents in combatting the "ninja gremlins" she refers to. I've reco...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Joyce Morin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Brene is able to talk about things many of us are too ashamed to talk about. Her willingness to take the elixir of talking out loud about things no one else will talk about is healing and empowering.

In my work I help people get healthy and it often involves weight loss. I am a nurse and a Wellcoach. I find people like to keep their diet "secret" which I find amazing because their obesity is public knowledge.

Brene explains how shame is intricately linked to survival and fear of being shunned by t...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Walk rated it 1 of 5 stars

Written by a woman that has done a lot of research on women vulnerability and talks a lot about it.

I really like the TED talks this author does and so it prompted me to read this book.

I believe the writing style of the book comes across better in the talks, it struck a false note in the book.

Lord knows I have read enough dry academic textbooks not to want to have to wade through turgid text but I feel the middle ground was missed here.

A lot of the time I was simply confused as to the exact messa...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Chelsea Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Ages 13 and up

Shelves: important-life-issues, local-library, non-fiction, reading-challenge, reference, reread

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I saw the title of this book, I wanted to read it because I wanted to "strengthen" myself internally for my future move. I am moving back to the town where I used to live, where I have some very good friends but where I will also see people I rather not see or interact with again. I wanted the book to give me ideas on how to "take it" when I am teased again or given a hard time or whatever, for moving and coming back (which I have done more than once), mistakes made (or not) and so on.

The b...more When I saw the title of this book, I wanted to read it because I wanted to "strengthen" myself internally for my future move. I am moving back to the town where I used to live, where I have some very good friends but where I will also see people I rather not see or interact with again. I wanted the book to give me ideas on how to "take it" when I am teased again or given a hard time or whatever, for moving and coming back (which I have done more than once), mistakes made (or not) and so on.

The book has nothing to do with that at all and am I glad!

The book is based on the following saying by Theodore Roosevelt, part of a speech he gave at the Suorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910. The following passage made his speech famous and I typed it directly from the book (p. 1):

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again,

because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause;

who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly….” (emphasis added)

The book reminded me that there is nothing wrong with taking chances, making mistakes, and learning, re-learning, and trying again and again and again. There is nothing wrong with being vulnerable and that it takes a lot of courage to live life with imperfections and be opened to others’ criticisms.

As adults, we encourage children and young people in learning new things, making mistakes, taking chances and trying again. Why not as adults too? So I have decided to live my life by daring greatly, whatever may come, mistakes and all.

It is going to be a pretty great life.(less)

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Apr 28, 2013 Karen Waldrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable and important book for anyone who strives to create deeper, more authentic relationships and more joy in their lives. Dr. Brown's deep understanding of shame and vulnerability combined with her fun, expressive, and accessible writing style make this a quick and informative read. So quick that in fact I need to actually go back and reread it a little slower, because I got several important insights into my own behavior throughout the book-- but because the material is so easy to rela...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Holly Cordner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: self-help, psychology

Blown away by the awesomeness of this book--it definitely deserves a second and maybe third listening/reading.

For those of you who have seen Brené Brown's fantastic TED talks, Daring Greatly basically picks up where those leave off and goes deeper. Brown touches on everything from conforming to gender roles to the differences between guilt and shame.

I have too many favorite quotes to name, but here are a few:

On believing that you're enough:

Because true belonging only happens when we present ou

...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Jess rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book when I needed to read it. It is helping me realize the imperfection in my perfectionism - and to see the same in so many others that I'm drawn to, who live life like a high-wire of performance. I think, in the end, it made me realize being a good person is just hard. It's hard to be vulnerable, to feel like you're worthy and that you belong. So much of our lives are spent judging ourselves against others. And even if you don't, you've probably got other issues to wrestle. But, s...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Nicholas rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book presents some ideas about living "wholeheartedly," with the central thesis being that exposing vulnerability is the only way to live wholeheartedly. Shame is also a key concept, but one that is damaging to a wholehearted life. The problem is that exposing vulnerability also exposes us to shame, so most of us limit our vulnerability, to our detriments. The author explains several mechanisms that we generally use to avoid vulnerability (and limit shame), including perfectionism and numbi...more

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About Brené Brown

Dr. Brené Brown is a writer, researcher, and educator. She is a member of the research faculty at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work where she has spent the past ten years studying connection - specifically authenticity, belonging, and shame, and the affect these powerful emotions have on the way we live, love, parent, work and build relationships.

Dr. Brown teaches graduate...more

More about Brené Brown...

Books by Brené Brown

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame

Women & Shame: Reaching Out, Speaking Truths and Building Connection

The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings on Authenticity, Connection, & Courage

Connections: A 12 Session Psychoeducational Shame Resilience Curriculum

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Quotes from Daring Greatly: How th...

“Don't try to win over the haters; you are not a jackass whisperer.” — 102 people liked it

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness.” — 52 people liked it

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Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

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