Courage Is Built, Not Found

Sabine Kvenberg: Courage is built by saying yes to something that scares us a little. Courage is built in the moments when everything inside you scream stop and you do it anyways. That is gumption. And this is when we grow as a person because we said yes. And most of the time, every great story has a moment. The one where everything shifts. Welcome to the Become Empowered Podcast, where real leaders pull back the curtain and show you exactly how they did it. I'm Sabine Kwenberg, performance communication coach, keynote speaker, author, and your host. I have spent my career on stages, real ones and invisible ones, and I know this. The most powerful transformations don't happen in the spotlight. They happen in the quiet moments. Of decisions, resilience, and radical courage. Before we dive in, if this podcast moves you, challenges you, or gives you that one thing you needed to hear today, please follow, like, and share it with someone who needs it too. That's how we grow this community together. Some episodes I'm sitting down with entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, coaches, and bold leaders who have faced the hard stuff. And kept going. Other times, it's just you and me going deep into the mindset, strategies, and the gumpchant it takes to become who you were always meant to be. Either way, we talk confidence, leadership, resilience, and the real story behind the growth. This is Become Empowered. Let's get into it. If you ever thought, I don't have the courage for this, stay right here. Because today I am giving you three things that can change that. I know we all have feelings like I don't know if I have that courage to do this thing. I don't know how. I'm not ready. No one will care. Maybe you felt some of those things yourself. And by the end of today, you will have three nuggets that shift that. And something That you can take with you. Let's go and start out by me sharing three nuggets that will help you become more courageous and moving forward with that boldness that we all have, right? Because courage is built, not found. Courage. Is built through our experiences. Courage is built by saying yes to something that scares ⁓ scares us a little. Courage is built in the moments when everything inside you screams stop and you do it anyways. That is gumption. And this is when we grow as a person because we said yes. And most of the time once we do this thing that we were scared of, we feel good. And it wasn't so bad. And we are still alive. Sometimes we we treat situations like if I do this now, I'm gonna be dead. No, you're not. You just say yes to something that scares you. You just say yes to overriding those Those triggers that we have in our brain that says stop in any dangerous situations, which is something that our million-year-old brain still has there. Our fight, flight, or hide responses, so that we don't get hurt. So if like a wild animal charges our way or an enemy comes with stick or In nowadays, of course, even worse things like a gun or a knife and of course you should run. But these are the exceptions. In most cases it is an a situation where we are just what if I do this, I d I don't know how they respond if I say this or do this. I don't know if they might laugh at me. What if they judge me? What if, what if, what if? These are really the triggers that Make a stop. And when you are aware of those, and that's the first thing, we have to create this awareness. Why am I scared now? I have these thoughts popping into my mind. Maybe they judge me, maybe I mess up. So what? We all mess up. That makes us humans, right? And when you do it anyways, you will find out that in most of the cases you It wasn't bad at all. And you feel good afterwards. Actually it w it felt good. It was not bad. And sometimes it wasn't the right way. But I know now what not to do. So the next time I can do it better. These are the steps we have to take. And that's what I meant by courage is built. You you you don't sit back and all of a sudden you find courage to do something. No, you become more courageous every time you accomplish something, every time you step forward. And it doesn't have to be a a huge, amazing, you know, earth shattering step. Just some little step that gets you closer to your goal or gets you closer to the thing that you want to do. So that's in my book is how we build courage. You've been hearing the whisper. It's time to answer it. Hello my friend. I have a gift for you. My bold move kit. A free guide for you to download. It includes a 10-minute audio, 8 courage practices, and a chapter of my new book, Gamchen. Together, they move you from the quiet nudge inside to the bold step you take. today. The link is in my show notes or as always you can visit SabineKvenberg.com forward slash resources and get your free bold move kit today. The second nugget is the whisper versus the wish. And by that I mean so often I wish I could do this. I wish I have this. I wish I was taller. I wish I was shorter. I wish I was stronger. I wish I was whatever whatever it is. Now of course you cannot change anything about your height, but maybe if you work out a little bit more, you lift some weights, you become a little bit stronger. But oftentimes we wish I wish I had more money so I can buy this. Or I wish I had this, then I can do that. You know, those outside things that we just wish so we can do this. But we forget the whispers. And by that I mean When we take time to sit back and step back and be quiet, asking questions like okay, I wish I have that vision. Now stop for a moment and ask questions like I want to get to that goal. I I wish I would have that now, but what is it that can help me get there faster? What do I need? Show me and just ask the universe, God, whatever, whatever you believe in, to give you signs, to show you, and then hear those whispers. And you only can hear those whispers. Go this way, go this direction. Why don't you call this person? Hey, if you do that step. It will get you closer to where you want to go. And these whispers, what I'm referring to, are sometimes people that you meet, right? That just give you a sentence or two, like it was in my case when I ⁓ and I shared it before. But you may hear it for the first time, and sometimes even if you hear it again, it's a good reminder. ⁓ yeah. That's right. You see, I asked that question when I was in a job that I hated, what is mine to do? And then chance meetings happen. In my case, I I remember walking down, I was so down from from a work day, from a day I hated, and there I saw when I walked down my street going home, a familiar face and a smiling face. A face of one of my favorite teacher, Mr. Herbst. I liked his beard and his smile. I I still can see him in front of me right now. And his his laughter and so ⁓ Sabina, so good to see you. I was of course out of school, I was already working, but it still was just a couple years. And then he asked me, he wanted to know if I still was active. I had a a folk group. That we performed, that I performed with. I was in an acting group and he asked me, How does it go? And are you still doing it? And I stood there and I my my heart sank in that moment. And I felt that gut feelings like no, I I don't. And I answered, I don't do any of these things anymore. And he must have felt it in that moment because he responded. What a shame, Sabina, you are so talented. This is who you are. Yeah, he is right. And that was a whisper. In this case it was a chance meeting with my teacher who gave me that one sentence. And I listened, and then I took action. And that is also what I call a small bold move that beats a big perfect plan. And let me share that bold move with you. That was going home thinking, okay, how do I do this? Well that actually Acting schools. I think I need to go to an acting school. I had no idea how to start a career. But what I did is I picked up the phone and called a school. And I asked, can I audition? How do I do this? I scheduled an audition. Okay, what's next? I didn't have a plan. Nobody in my family was in the entertainment industry. acting, singing, or anything. I was like little black sheep there. I always did something a little different. I didn't have a perfect plan. So what I what did I do? I say, okay and I auditioned and they said, Yes. Okay, what's the next step? What what am I gonna do? Okay, I I have to I have to pay for school. Shoot. Well, luckily I was working And this was a private school that started in the afternoon the whole evening. So I still could work. So I saved money from my paycheck. So I really did a lot of cutting on that end so I can put it into my education. You see, that is another thing that I often get I don't have the money to invest in coaching right now. I don't have the money to do this right now. I don't have the money, whatever it is. And here's the thing, it's never about the money. It's never about the resources that you have. It's about the resourcefulness. And in my case, I said yes. And I had to pay, I think it was like 600 marks at that time. It's a while back. We still had the old currency. But it was a lot. But what I had to do is I had to cut out other things that I usually spend money in because my importance shifted. And this is what I invite you to do too. If you think I can do this right now, I I can't work with a coach. Well, find a way. If you feel that coach, that mentor is the right one for you. And if you feel that If you get this co ⁓ coach or mentor, or you invest into an education or a course, whatever it may be for you, feel in your gut. If I do this, I get where I want to go faster. Right? I could have waited to be discovered as an actress, and I can tell you right now, I would never become an actress. I would have never started a new career. Because what are the chances to be quote unquote discovered walking down the street? No. You have to put in the sweat and tears what it takes. In my case it was a three year education in acting school and singing and and everything else. And then even after I was done, I co I continued with continued education. I did a whole year musical theater education that then landed me all those musical theater roles that I wanted to play. And throughout my life, I kept going and working on growth, which by the way is the first letter in Gumchen. G. Growth. We need to grow. And when we grow as a person, when we grow our skills, when we grow how we communicate. The better we can communicate, the more impact we can have. That will help you to get to your destination, to your goal faster. So those are the three things I wanted to share with you today. Number one, courage is built, not found. Number two, listen to your whispers. Don't just stop just wishing. Take action. Bold move beats a perfect plan. So one of the things that I put together is called the Bold Move Kit, which is a companion guide to my book that's being released on August 4th. My new book Gumchen, Sacred Whispers, Bold Moves, and The Courage to Become. I have a link in the show notes in the description here. It's a free resource for you. And it also gives you the opportunity to pre-order my book. So if you watch this before August 4th, you can pre-order it and then let me know because I will send you the ebook version as well that you can download on your phone or read it on your computer or wherever. You can read an ebook version so you can take it with you. And in my board move kit is also a ⁓ Audio version that I read from my book as well. And there are several steps that will help you to become a little bit bolder, more empowered, and it will also give you four steps that you can take right now. The bold person that you are. So here we go, my friend. Remember that you are in charge. Thanks for tuning in, and I'll leave you with this. Master the moments no one sees. To lead the moments everyone remembers. Start with one bold step so you can get to your destination with giant leaps and always listen to this whisper. Because the whisper is That moment that gives you that, ⁓ yes, let me do it. Let me take that bold step. And when you do this, remember one thing. Fear is just a mechanism that prevents you from taking the bold step. But remember, fear is like stage lights. First, it's blinding. But when you step into it, it will reveal your greatness. And you are great. And I know that about you. Because if you're still listening right now, you have that greatness within you and you want to grow. And that is your superpower, my friend. All right. Always remember follow your heart, serve from the heart, and live the life you imagine. Thank you for spending this time with me on Become Empowered. If this message spoke to your heart, make sure you follow, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Until next time, let your voice rise, let your light shine and keep becoming empowered.