How often do you put off the very thing you most need to do because it will feel awkward?
You hold back from asking, saying, or doing what matters, not because it's wrong, but because it feels uncomfortable.

In this episode, I explore why awkwardness is not a sign you're failing. It is often evidence that you're choosing your values over comfort. Confidence does not come before action. It follows it. Courage is not about eliminating discomfort or waiting until you feel ready. It is about acting in alignment with who you want to be, even when your nervous system would prefer you play it safe.

Avoiding awkwardness does not make life safer. It makes it smaller and quietly sells you short. Every time you decide to brave an uncomfortable moment, you cast a vote for the person you are becoming and strengthen your capacity to lead with integrity, clarity, and influence.

Episode Takeaways

• Avoiding awkward situations limits personal growth and leadership potential.
  Putting off uncomfortable conversations, requests, or actions keeps you stuck in patterns that feel safe but prevent progress.

• Awkwardness is a signal of values-aligned action, not failure.
  Feeling uncomfortable often means you are choosing integrity and long-term impact over short-term comfort.

• Confidence is built through action, not before it.
  Waiting to feel ready or confident delays growth. Taking small courageous actions rewires the brain and builds self-trust over time.

• The brain is wired to favor comfort and certainty.
  Understanding this helps explain why hesitation shows up even when you know what the right next step is.

• Leadership requires choosing values over emotional discomfort.
  Effective leaders act based on who they want to be, not how they feel at the moment.

• Repeated courageous behavior strengthens confidence and credibility. Neuroscience shows that practicing bravery makes future courageous actions easier and more natural.
  
  

Resources

Courage is Calling: Reset Your Bravest Path

Transform discomfort into bold, confident action: The LinkedIn Course

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▶️ Watch the Live Brave Podcast on YouTube @margiewarrell

Fear shapes our lives in ways we often don't recognize. It colors our decisions, narrows our vision, and quietly convinces us to play smaller than we're meant to. Yet fear can also become the catalyst that strengthens our character and deepens our courage — if we're willing to meet it with honesty and self-leadership.

In this conversation, bestselling author and CEO Mick Hunt shares how early adversity shaped the leader he became, and how emotional intelligence, integrity, and self-leadership helped him transform fear into purpose. He opens up about the promise he made at ten years old, the hard decisions that tested his character, and the mindset that anchors him in moments of uncertainty.

We explore what it truly means to lead yourself first — from regulating your emotions and making values-aligned decisions to navigating tough conversations and staying grounded in a world that feels increasingly polarized. If you're working through self-doubt, stepping into bigger responsibilities, or wanting to strengthen your confidence from the inside out, this episode offers a steady, practical toolkit for building courage that lasts.

Books mentioned

• The Courage Gap — Available on Amazon + independent bookstores

• Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

•LinkedIn Learning Course: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/activating-courage-transform-discomfort-into-bold-confident-action

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▶️ Watch the Live Brave Podcast on YouTube
@margiewarrell https://www.youtube.com/@margiewarrell

Learn more about Mick Hunt

He is a multiple-time Forbes Business and Coaches Council Member, a trusted advisor to executives and entrepreneurs, and the host of the Mick Unplugged Podcast a global platform where he sits down with influential leaders to unpack the principles behind success, resilience

Follow Mick: https://www.instagram.com/mickunplugged/

Listen to Mick Unplugged Podcast https://mickhuntofficial.com/podcast/

Small daily actions shape our lives far more than big resolutions. Every courageous change I've ever made began with one simple choice — a choice to show up a little braver than I felt like being at the moment. In a world that constantly pushes us to "Go Big," I've learned that our greatest growth doesn't come from big, lofty actions but from the small, intentional acts we repeat every day.

In this episode, I talk about how identity drives behavior, why momentum matters more than motivation, and how small daily wins slowly rewire our brains and expand our capacity to do bigger things over time. I share the moments when I doubted my path, the choices that helped me reclaim agency in difficult seasons, and the practical tools I rely on — including my favorite "One Brave Minute" practice — to stay grounded when life feels shaky or overwhelming.

If you're navigating uncertainty, needing a 'reset' or just trying to become the person you know you're capable of being, this episode will help you begin right where you are… one choice, one action, at a time. Each small step, no matter how tiny, casts a vote for the person you're on the way to becoming.

Episode Takeaways:

• Small daily actions create lasting change more reliably than big resolutions or dramatic resets.

• Courage is built through repeated micro-choices, not bold leaps or perfect timing.

• Identity drives behavior; choosing who you want to be clarifies what action to take next.

• Momentum matters more than motivation, especially during seasons of doubt or overwhelm.

• Small wins release dopamine that reinforces confidence and expands capacity over time.

• Agency is reclaimed by focusing on what you can control, even in difficult circumstances.

• The "One Brave Minute" practice lowers resistance and makes hard things feel doable.

• Each small action casts a vote for the person you are becoming.

Read: The Courage Gap
Join me in February for the Courage Is Calling Reset Retreat

▶️ Watch the Live Brave Podcast on YouTube
@margiewarrell

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