Brene Brown: The courage to be imperfect

Day 2 of LITTOF Inspiration Week is all about the power of vulnerability as masterfully distinguished by research professor and author Brene Brown.

Do you watch TED talks? My mom was the first person to introduce me to TED at least five years ago. There have been so many TED talks that have inspired me over the years. But, this one by Brene Brown is especially inspiring, important and powerful.

Who is Brene Brown?

From her profile from the TED website:

Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. She spent the first five years of her decade-long study focusing on shame and empathy, and is now using that work to explore a concept that she calls Wholeheartedness.

She poses the questions:

How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness? How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to recognize that we are enough – that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy?

I recently became a subscriber to her wonderful blog, Ordinary Courage, and began following Brene on Twitter because I am a total nerd for vulnerability. I'm a big believer in loving and living full-out with no guarantees. In feeling things (good and bad) deeply. And embracing the rough edges in ourselves and in life. These are the goods Brene traffics in. And she has got the goods.

What the hell am I talking about? Well, just watch her talk from June 2010 at TEDx Houston and you'll see exactly what I mean. In this TED talk, Brene gets to the heart of what it means to feel fully loved and worthy. To be fully alive and vulnerable in our lives. I can't recommend her talk enough. Enjoy!