When Brene Brown was interviewed by Jonathan Fields on his Good Life Project, she shared not only her research on vulnerability but her life commitment to it. In her new book, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead she urges us to step into the arena to live the lives we want rather than spend our lives shrinking in the bleachers, unfulfilled and critical of others.

One of the many  important messages that emerged from the interview is that “We can’t give people what we don’t have.” This struck home with me because as a parent I was too often caught promoting a double standard.

Another powerful message is Brene’s decision to not be influenced by people who criticize her from afar, but have not stepped into the arena themselves.

She drew this from the following quote from Theodore Roosevelt:

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 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 short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in 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. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

During the interview you’ll learn how to go about making change in your life.

Do yourself a favor and watch the entire interview below. You’ll be encouraged to embrace risk, uncertainly and emotional exposure. It’s the courageous path to success.

Once you’ve watched the video, share in the comments what it brought up for you about your life.