Brave, Not Perfect

Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder

By: Reshma Saujani

Narrated by: Reshma Saujani

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Inspired by her popular TED Talk, the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code urges women to embrace imperfection and live a bolder, more authentic life.

“A timely message for women of all ages: Perfection isn’t just impossible but, worse, insidious.”—Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit

Imagine if you lived without the fear of not being good enough. If you didn’t care how your life looked on Instagram. If you could let go of the guilt and stop beating yourself up for making human mistakes. Imagine if, in every decision you faced, you took the bolder path?

As women, too many of us feel crushed under the weight of our own expectations. We run ourselves ragged trying to please everyone, pass up opportunities that scare us, and avoid rejection at all costs.

There’s a reason we act this way, Saujani says. As girls, we were taught to play it safe. Well-meaning parents and teachers praised us for being quiet and polite, urged us to be careful so we didn’t get hurt, and steered us to activities at which we could shine. As a result, we grew up to be women who are afraid to fail.

It’s time to stop letting our fears drown out our dreams and narrow our world, along with our chance at happiness.

By choosing bravery over perfection, we can find the power to claim our voice, to leave behind what makes us unhappy, and to go for the things we genuinely, passionately want. Perfection may set us on a path that feels safe, but bravery leads us to the one we’re authentically meant to follow. In Brave, Not Perfect, Saujani shares powerful insights and practices to help us let go of our need for perfection and make bravery a lifelong habit. By being brave, not perfect, we can all become the authors of our best and most joyful life.

Critic reviews

“I love this book! A timely message for girls and women of all ages: perfection isn’t just impossible but, worse, insidious. The prose is so clear, so honest — you feel like you’re sitting across from Reshma sharing stories.” -Angela Duckworth, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania and New York Times Bestselling author of Grit

“The perfect is not just the enemy of the good; the pressure to be perfect is the enemy of girls around the world. In this courageous, convincing book, Reshma Saujani shares a bold vision to free girls—and women—from the shackles of social expectations.” -Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of ORIGINALS, GIVE AND TAKE, and OPTION B with Sheryl Sandberg

"For any woman who has ever thought to herself "I just can't...” or "I'm just not...," this eye-opening book will help you showing up every day as brave, not perfect changes how the world sees you, but more importantly, how you see yourself - and what you are capable of. This book is great reminder that having the courage to stare your mistakes and your imperfections in the face is one of the most overlooked sources of power." – Amy Cuddy, Harvard lecturer and Bestselling author of Presence

really good message

there were some things that I didn't resonate with. but overall would recommend it :).

inspirational

inspiring and helpful. so often with books like this there are no concrete tips on how to put these ideas into practice. but she gave really direct, simple ideas that give hope for growth. I listened to parts with my 5&7 year olds, hoping some of it sank in - YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!

Love, love, love!

A great listen. I highly recommend to anyone struggling with taking risks and bouncing back from setbacks. This book motivated me to take action and make brave decisions in the pursuit of my dreams.

Inspiring

Enjoyed her book - helped me get out of my comfort zone and realize that I need to fight for it.

My take on this journey of a book

I wished for more actionable steps. I waited until chapter 10 - the last chapter to hear a few steps that can help you reevaluate your actions. It’s important to recognize men too have many of these flaws. Many men can’t take criticism well - how do you make someone hear you without getting offended.. idk i guess thats tough to answer. I wish this book also spoke on the perspective of how to stop beating around the bush when we communicate… along with the perspective of the receiving end of that. The book chapters felt repetitive on the information. Overall still a good start but I was hoping for more. I would recommend to someone I felt needed a push yes.