Daring Greatly

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This is an InstaRead Summary of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown.

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What It Means to Dare Greatly

The author has always been inspired by Theodore Roosevelt's speech, "Citizenship in a Republic";. The speech spoke of vulnerability and of trying, even if success is not guaranteed. To the author, this speech is about the reward of trying, not about winning or losing. It is for this reason that the author chose the phrase "Daring Greatly"; for the title of this book.

Introduction: My Adventures in the Arena

The author is a social worker who specializes in research. She has previously done extensive research and writing on the topics of shame and living a Wholehearted life, a life filled with courage, engagement, and purpose. In doing this research, the author recognized problems in her own life that prevented her from following her own advice. One of these problems was a fear of being vulnerable. It reached a critical point in 2010 when the author was asked to speak at TEDxHouston, an independently organized event modeled after TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design), a nonprofit organization devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading."; The author gave a speech in which she opened up about her personal life and allowed the audience to interact freely with her. She was surprised by the response she received at the event, and later when her speech was placed on the main TED website. This led to the author making many speeches about vulnerability, and those speeches became this book.