Brene Brown's inspiring quotes: Why everyone's talking about her Netflix special.

Brene Brown’s Netflix special, The Call to Courage, isn’t like anything you’ve seen before.

It sits in no existing genre – an unusual hybrid of stand up comedy and a motivational speech.

What Brown does is talk about the stuff we’re not really meant to. Vulnerability, fear, shame and failure. And she talks about them with tens of millions of people.

Her first TED Talk, titled ‘The Power of Vulnerability’, has been viewed more than 40 million times, making it the most popular Ted Talk ever created.

Watch the trailer for The Call to Courage streaming on Netflix. Post continues.

While it still deals with vulnerability, The Call to Courage is about stepping out into the metaphorical ‘arena’ and backing yourself. It explores the toxic stories we tell ourselves, and what it really means to fail.

Her work has transformed lives all over the world – and here are 12 quotes that sum up her philosophy.

The Call to Courage

“I’m going to live in the arena. I’m going to be brave with my life. I’m going to show up. I’m going to take chances, and if you’re brave with your life, if you choose to live in the arena, you’re going to get your ass kicked. You’re going to fall, you’re going to fail, you’re going to know heartbreak. Today, I choose courage over comfort.

“If you are not in the arena getting your ass kicked too, I am not interested in, or open to, your feedback about my work. You can’t take criticism and feedback from people who aren’t being brave with their lives. It will crush you.”

The Gifts of Imperfection

“We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.”

The Call to Courage

“Vulnerability is not about winning or losing. It’s having the courage to show up even when you can’t control the outcome.”

The Call to Courage

“It is so much easier to cause pain than feel pain. Stop working your shit out on other people. Don’t offload your hard stuff on other people.”

The Power of Vulnerability

“Through my research, I found that vulnerability is the glue that holds relationships together. It’s the magic sauce.”

Daring Greatly

“Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.”

The Gifts of Imperfection

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

The Gifts of Imperfection

“Shame hates it when we reach out and tell our story. It hates having words wrapped around it – it can’t survive being shared. Shame loves secrecy. When we bury our story, the shame metastasises.”

Daring Greatly

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”

Daring Greatly

“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.”

The Power of Vulnerability 

“To create is to make something that has never existed before. There’s nothing more vulnerable than that.”

Listening to Shame

“Shame is a focus on self, guilt is a focus on behaviour. Shame is, ‘I am bad.’ Guilt is, ‘I did something bad.'”

What are your thoughts on Brene Brown? Let us know in the comments.

You can watch Brene Brown’s viral TED talk right here.