Season 1 – MC06: Redefining Bravery with Berni Xiong

What this episode covers

In Episode 6 of the Mindful Creator, I chat with Berni Xiong on what it takes for artists and creators to develop that special breed of courage to show up each and every day. This episode is all about bravery redefined in an age of opportunity and hyper connectivity. I had the privilege of meeting Berni in person recently at Misfit Con 2014 in Fargo and witnessed first hand how much passion, compassion and electricity she brings to the table. Berni is the gracious host of The Shut Up Show, where she helps brave entrepreneurs shut up and make shit happen by interviewing some pretty amazing people to better understand the mechanism that drives their ability to do their best work every day. Link Love Berni’s upcoming book, The Year of the Brave Bear Redefining Bravery – Brett Henley This is Not Your Practice Life – AJ Leon Start Somewhere – Chris Brogan In this Episode * Berni talks about her early journey as an entrepreneur, the illness and hospitalization (sans insurance + 40k in debt) that changed everything and how overcoming initial guilt and shame over her leap into entrepreneurship helped shape her version of bravery. * Why Berni doesn’t necessarily recommend taking the drastic measure/extreme leap out on your own without having some foundation underneath (she left with $2000, no plan, no customers). * Why “Do the best you can today to just get through today” is the best advice Berni has ever gotten on entrepreneurship. * Part of bravery is permission to just be whoever you are right now – no matter where you are in the journey. * Show up because you can, because the work you are doing matters to you (first and foremost), because you want to help other people. * Why showing up can be (and needs to be) simple + detached from outcomes/accomplishments. * The ingrained responsibility of choice that we sometimes take for granted in this age of opportunity. * The “us vs. them” mentality that can permeate our relationships with our work and other creators, and why our judgment of other creators impacts how we serve. * Why bravery is not always about creating an iron facade of courage; it’s connecting small actions with big goals (i.e. it can be much simpler). * Embracing the serendipitous connections to the communities we “show up” and contribute to – Berni talks about contributing to Chris Brogan’s and AJ/Melissa Leon’s communities and how those small examples of showing up created positive, unexpected experiences. * Why success doesn’t remove the disconnect we often experience between our creative lives and the real world. * Cultivating bravery as a practice and the rituals that help keep you honest and make the whole showing up part a little easier over time. * Your voice, your passion is not hiding under a rock somewhere – stop following and start doing. We already have everything we need. * Why it’s important to dissect big goals/vision down to the day to day, repeatable steps that you can take to build inertia. * Why Brett has largely abandoned any tactical approach for a simpler vision-driven approach to the day to...

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