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- Nurturing Social-Emotional Learning for a Brighter Future with Cara Zelas (EP159)
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- Episode #97: Build Hope and Spread Kindness to Impact Globally with Roman Nowak
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- Join the Random Acts of Kindness Movement
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Tags
21st Century Skills
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artificial intelligence
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Why
Taking the First Step
You know what to do. You just don’t do it. It is so easy to find excuses to not do something that is really important because it is hard to do. It is easy to find excuses why you need to do the little unimportant things and put off the difficult stuff that really matters. So I say “stop making lists, delegate the little stuff, and take the first step to be a success.” I read Seth Godin’s post Sure but what’s the hard part and got me thinking about this and how it home for me.
I’ve heard this from others telling me over and over again that someone else can do this or that for me, but it was easier for me to make excuses or to presume that I was the only one in the whole wide world that could do something. I remember hearing and believing “if you want something done right, do it yourself.” The problem with that is that there is only one of you. You cannot do it all. It’s that indispensable thing we tend to do to ourselves. Today is the day to let go.
About the author
Barbara Bray is a Story Weaver, empowerment coach, award-winning author, international keynote speaker and podcast host helping people turn life’s hardest chapters into their most meaningful work. As the creator of the Grow Your Why movement, she guides women, educators, and leaders to transform adversity into purpose, clarity, and momentum.
Her message isn’t theoretical; it’s lived. Barbara learned later in life that she survived childhood polio, a truth her parents kept secret so she would never see herself as a victim. That foundation of resilience carried her through multiple reinventions, including a career-ending injury and a lung cancer diagnosis that reshaped how she thinks about time, truth, and legacy.
For more than three decades, Barbara has worked at the intersection of storytelling and transformation, helping people reclaim their voice and direction. Through her books, podcast, and coaching, she challenges a common belief: resilience isn’t about bouncing back—it’s about growing forward, on purpose.