50 Brené Brown Quotes for Powerful Motivation
Updated: Feb. 01, 2024
Let these wise words from speaker and best-selling author Brené Brown guide you through life's toughest moments.
If you’ve never heard of Brené Brown, you’re missing out on some powerful motivation. She’s not only a five-time New York Times best-selling author, but she’s also an amazing public speaker whose TED Talk has garnered over 50 million views online. As if that isn’t impressive enough, she’s also a research professor who has spent the past few decades studying empathy, vulnerability, shame, and courage. During her career, she’s become known for her powerful and uplifting way with words, which is why we’ve rounded up 50 of our favorite Brené Brown quotes, which cover everything from leadership quotes and Monday motivation quotes to confidence quotes and quotes about change. No matter what sort of inspiration you need, these Brené Brown quotes are just the ticket.
The following quotes aren’t just good for self-motivation; they’re also great for sharing with others. And during such trying and unexpected times as these past few years, we could all benefit from some uplifting quotes and life-changing quotes. While sharing a quote may not seem like much, it might be just what the people in your life need to hear in order to start their day off on the right foot.
Ready to be inspired? Check out dozens of amazing Brené Brown quotes below.
Brené Brown quotes that inspire
1. “We are born makers. We move what we’re learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands.”
2. “Want to be happy? Stop trying to be perfect.”
3. “In a society that says, ‘Put yourself last,’ self-love and self-acceptance are revolutionary.”
4. “Dig deep—get deliberate, inspired, and going.”
5. “But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others.… It’s a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts.”
6. “To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes.”
7. “The opposite of belonging is fitting in.”
8. “When we are willing to risk venturing into the wilderness, and even becoming our own wilderness, we feel the deepest connection to our true self and to what matters the most.”
9. “True belonging never asks us to change who we are. True belonging requires us to be who we are.”
10. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
11. “What we know matters, but who we are matters more.”
12. “Worthiness doesn’t have prerequisites.”
13. “Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be; embrace who you are.”
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Brené Brown quotes that motivate
14. “You may not have signed up for a hero’s journey, but the second you fell down, got your butt kicked, suffered a disappointment, screwed up, or felt your heart break, it started. It doesn’t matter whether we are ready for an emotional adventure—hurt happens. And it happens to every single one of us. Without exception. The only decision we get to make is what role we’ll play in our own lives: Do we want to write the story, or do we want to hand that power over to someone else? Choosing to write our own story means getting uncomfortable; it’s choosing courage over comfort.”
15. “The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows.”
16. “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness—it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.”
17. “If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall. These are the physics of vulnerability.”
18. “A crisis highlights all of our fault lines. We can pretend that we have nothing to learn, or we can take this opportunity to own the truth and make a better future for ourselves and others.”
19. “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”
20. “There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.”
21. “The middle is messy, but it is also where the magic happens.”
22. “Connecting the dots of our lives, especially the ones we would rather erase or skip over, requires equal parts self-love and curiosity.”
23. “Grace means that all of your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of serving shame.”
24. “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.”
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Brené Brown courage quotes
25. “Talk about your failures without apologizing.”
26. “The truth is that falling hurts. The dare is to keep being brave and feel your way back up.”
27. “There will be times when standing alone feels too hard, too scary, and we’ll doubt our ability to make our way through the uncertainty. Someone, somewhere, will say, ‘Don’t do it. You don’t have what it takes to survive the wilderness.’ This is when you reach deep into your wild heart and remind yourself, ‘I am the wilderness.'”
28. “We can choose courage, or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.”
29. “I now see that owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
30. “Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”
31. “When we combine the courage to make clear what works for us and what doesn’t with the compassion to assume people are doing their best, our lives change.”
32. “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.”
33. “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.”
34. “Courage is contagious. A critical mass of brave leaders is the foundation of an intentionally courageous culture. Every time we are brave with our lives, we make the people around us a little braver and our organizations bolder and stronger.”
35. “Brave leaders are never silent around hard things.”
36. “We desperately need more leaders who are committed to courageous, wholehearted leadership and who are self-aware enough to lead from their hearts, rather than unevolved leaders who lead from hurt and fear.”
37. “Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.”
Don’t forget to browse through these strength quotes and teamwork quotes to motivate and empower your entire team.
Brené Brown vulnerability quotes
38. “Everyone has a story or a struggle that will break your heart. And if we’re really paying attention, most people have a story that will bring us to our knees.”
39. “Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly, or unknowingly, attach judgment to giving help.”
40. “I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”
41. “Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.”
42. “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.”
43. “Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous.”
44. “Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection.”
45. “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”
46. “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.”
47. “To see and to be seen. That is the truest nature of love.”
48. “Here’s what is truly at the heart of wholeheartedness: worthy now. Not if. Not when. We’re worthy of love and belonging now. Right this minute. As is.”
49. “True belonging is not passive.… It’s a practice that requires us to be vulnerable, get uncomfortable, and learn how to be present with people without sacrificing who we are.”
50. “You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”
Remember: Love should come from within. Here are some self-love quotes that will make you feel like a million bucks.
Originally Published: April 12, 2022
