10 Quotes to Inspire Courage

10 Quotes to Inspire Courage

Need a boost of courage and confidence? Sometimes a good quote is just the ticket! Here are 10 to inspire courage and confidence.

1. It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings

2. Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” – Maya Angelou

3. Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin

4. A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” – John A. Shedd

5. Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.” – Emma Donoghue, Room

6. When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” – Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym

7. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

8. A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.” – Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

9. Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” – Brené Brown

10. “What good are wings without the courage to fly?” – Atticus

Let me know which one is your favourite by commenting or tagging me @lisaborinmiller!

A Boost of Brand Confidence

A Boost of Brand Confidence

You probably have an idea of what a brand is that is polished and tweaked into perfection. You might also think of a brand as something that is corporate or created to sell a product.

I want to get you to stop thinking about a brand as something your create and start thinking about it as something authentic, something natural, something that comes from who you already are.

Like all great life lessons, this one begins with the same old same old truth that all answers come from within. Nothing exists outside of YOU.

Sit with this truth and let it ease your fears, cease your striving and dissolve your insecurities.

Next time you see a drool worthy feel or a perfectly polished website that makes you feel inferior, celebrate it! Remember this truth: your brand will be completely you. Your feed will be completely YOU. There is no one, not one single person out there who can do what you do the way you do it.

You are a beacon of light, you are a miracle. Your gifts are an extension of divine love.

Take your envy and let it fuel you into refining the answer to this question:

1. What do I give that makes me come alive?

Take one offering that you already have and make it more inline with this answer. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel just yet, you just need to make a small adjustment towards your joy.

If you don’t have offerings yet, brainstorm how you can give what excites you in a way that will also pay you. Money is just an exchange for the value you offer.

Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t perfect it, just move towards joy and share that in your social media, your newsletter or with your clients.

Doing this on a regular basis will make your brand and business stand out because you will give more of you to it.

The foundation of a great ‘brand’ is your passion, your joy and your creativity shining through.

Blossom into a ‘Brand’

Blossom into a ‘Brand’

The word brand kind of bugs me. It has become a catch all for the essence of you, your voice, your aesthetic and your shared gifts. When I hear all of this summarized by the word brand it feels pretty blah.

So let’s throw the word away and focus on the much bigger concepts I just mentioned. Those concepts feel juicy, exciting and expansive!

When I sit down with clients to start our first brainstorming session this is where we start and there is one question that I always include:

What three words describe the impact you want to have?

These words should feel impactful, authentic and you.

Sometimes we start with a list of ten words and then whittle it down to what feel like the top three. You have to go with your gut and choose the words that evoke enthusiasm and excitement. If you’re struggling to choose, you should try describing them all out loud to a friend. When you hit on what’s true for you your voice will sound more certain.

A few examples of how this might sound are:

inspired, uplifted, joyful

energized, clear, confident

peaceful, certain, still

The three words that you distill your essence into can be your filter from now on. These words are like your northern star and will inform your aesthetic and your message. Make sure that from now on anything you put out in the world communicates the feel of these words and your ‘brand’ will start to blossom.