Think about this for a moment: we all want to be greater. We all want to be happier.
As Mahatma Gandhi, one of the fiercest, yet most compassionate, humans to have ever lived and a master of reinvention said, “We need to be the change that we want to see in the world.”
The truth is that we can only do this by redefining fierce, being brave and compassionate, and challenging everything.
Until the 16th century, fierce was synonymous with bravery. Yet in the 21st century we’ve become less brave, we’ve become more and more accepting of things the way they are.
And so today we are bringing fierce back, but tempering it with compassion.
The fact of the matter is that the word ‘fierce’ can be polarizing in the process of reinvention and so I want to be crystal clear what I mean by it.
Dictionary synonyms include “unbridled,” “uncurbed,” “untamed.” The word fierce evokes a duality of feelings: being somewhat unnerved and yet exhilarated.
And yet the good news is that this fiercely invoked fear can drive us to really know who we are and where we belong; it can help us discover our passion; it can help is connect this passion to our profession and it can help us to use this passion to increase our impact in the world.
A word of caution though: being fierce doesn’t mean being furious and releasing destructive emotions. Fierce is firm and tough on the outside while maintaining love, compassion, forgiveness, and deep insight on the inside.
The point? When we set out to reinvent our lives, fierce is the driving force to being greater, to being happier, and above all to not accepting the status quo.
In a nutshell, we live in a world that has much wrong with it.
Now is the time to be fierce, to challenge, and change everything. Go do it!
My new book, Fierce Reinvention: A Guide to Harnessing Your Superpowers for Entrepreneurial and Leadership Success ($11.99 digital, $15.99 print (USD), 2nd October 2017) is now available from Amazon.