Brené Brown — beloved for her iconic TED Talks, books, and podcasts — has filled the world with bold insights on vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy.
A research professor at the University of Houston, she has spent decades studying these complex emotions and the profound impact they have on our lives.
Through her work, Brown has offered both solace and empowerment — urging us to embrace our imperfections and recognize the strength inherent in vulnerability.
Whether you’re a longtime admirer of her work or someone just discovering her profound insights — this curated collection of Brené Brown quotes will inspire introspection, resilience, and a deeper understanding of oneself and others.
These words illuminate the beauty of embracing our true selves and the freedom that comes from living authentically.
Dive into this collection and let Brené Brown’s wisdom guide you toward a life of greater authenticity, courage, and connection:
The Best Brené Brown Quotes
Famous Quotes
“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
“Love is the greatest thing we do. It’s the reason we’re here. We’re here to love.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey
“Being vulnerable is the ultimate act of courage.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Empathy is not just something that happens to us. Empathy is an action that we take.”
— Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“Leadership is about courage. It’s about finding the courage to show up and have difficult conversations, to take risks and embrace change.”
— Brené Brown, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts
“We can’t practice compassion with other people if we can’t treat ourselves kindly.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Learning to love and be kind to ourselves is a lifelong journey.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
“Perfectionism is not self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval and acceptance.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Vulnerability is the key to connection and the path to the feeling of worthiness.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The heart of leadership is connection, and connection is about empathy, curiosity, and emotional courage.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“We need to stop with these false separations with tough and tender. Tough and tender can coexist and to me that’s kind of the equation for badassery.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Tim Ferris
“The willingness to show up changes us. It makes us a little braver each time.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think, or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
On Courage
“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
“Courage, the original definition of courage, when it first came into the English language — it's from the Latin word ‘cor’ meaning ‘heart’. And the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Living a life of daring greatly means cultivating the courage to be vulnerable, to set boundaries, and to let ourselves be seen.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“When we dare to drop the armor that protects us from feeling vulnerable, we open ourselves to the possibility of love, belonging, and joy.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“I define vulnerability as emotional risk, exposure, uncertainty. It fuels our daily lives. And I've come to the belief — this is my 12th year doing this research — that vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage — to be vulnerable, to let ourselves be seen, to be honest.”
— Brené Brown, Listening to shame TED talk
“We cannot practice courage without the vulnerability of knowing what’s at stake.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
→ Read more quotes about courage
→ Read more quotes about resilience
On Love
“Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Love is not a noun, it’s a verb. Love — the feeling — is the fruit of love the verb or our actions.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Love is never absent. When we’re in the midst of struggle and pain, it’s hard to remember that, but it’s always there. The real work is to learn how to access it.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“Love and trust, in the absence of empathy, are transactional — You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“I define love as an action that you take, a commitment that you make, and a promise that you keep to treat someone in a loving way.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey
“The practice of love is the practice of letting people in.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Love is not painless. It involves vulnerability and the possibility of being hurt.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Real love involves truth, accountability, and transformation. Without these elements, it’s not real love.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Love and belonging are irreducible needs of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
On Vulnerability
“The most important thing is to remember that vulnerability is not weakness, it’s courage.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The simplest definition for vulnerability is really uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. Vulnerability is about the willingness to show up and be seen when you have cero control over the outcome.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Tim Ferris
“You cannot selectively numb emotion. You can’t say, here’s the bad stuff. Here’s vulnerability, here’s grief, here’s shame, here’s fear, here’s disappointment. I don’t want to feel these… So when we numb those, we numb joy, we numb gratitude, we numb happiness. And then, we are miserable, and we are looking for purpose and meaning, and then we feel vulnerable, so then we have a couple of beers and a banana nut muffin. And it becomes this dangerous cycle.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“I’m doing work with Pete Carroll in the Seattle Seahawks; we’re talking about vulnerability [and] I asked the same question to that group of players, ‘Give me an example of courage on the field or off that doesn’t require vulnerability.’ And it was so funny to me ‘cause they had to huddle for a minute and then they kinda came back and said, ‘There is no courage without vulnerability, not on or off the field. If you’re not all in, if you’re not putting yourself out there, you just can’t be brave.’ And so I think the job is dispelling the mythology about ‘vulnerability is weakness.’”
— Brené Brown, on a podcast
“Vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it’s also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Vulnerability is a risk, but it’s the only path to deeper connections and meaningful experiences.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“They [people from her research] believed that what made them vulnerable made them beautiful. They didn’t talk about vulnerability being comfortable, nor did they really talk about it being excruciating — as I had heard earlier in the shame interviewing. They just talked about it being necessary. They talked about the willingness to say, ‘I love you’ first, the willingness to do something where there are no guarantees, the willingness to breathe through waiting for the doctor to call after your mammogram. They’re willing to invest in a relationship that may or may not work out. They thought this was fundamental.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Vulnerability is the cornerstone of all emotions and feelings.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
On Leadership
“Who we are is how we lead. Self-awareness, kindness, vision, accountability, trust, just basic skills of being a good human being to other human beings.”
— Brené Brown, in a podcast
“Leadership is about creating a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Leadership is not about being the boss. It’s about creating safety for everyone to show up, do their best work, and develop their full potential.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“The leader who doesn’t lead from the heart is only managing.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Leadership is a choice and it’s not about being in charge, it’s about taking care of those in our charge.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“So to me, leadership, it may start with what we understand and know, but they are skills. They’re skills that are observable, measurable, teachable. We can practice them and it takes a tremendous amount of courage to put yourself out there and practice things. So you do have to build really some trust with the groups that you’re trying on new ways of showing up with.”
— Brené Brown, in a podcast
“Leadership is a practice, not a position.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The most transformational leaders that I work with have very clear boundaries and respect people when they set them and encourage them, applaud them, and appreciate them.”
— Brené Brown, in a podcast
“Leadership is tough. It requires the willingness to fail in a pretty public way. And if you are in a culture where there are great power differentials based on who you are, gender, race, ability, I'm gonna have a hard time accepting your results. That leadership only works for the best folks because who's defining those folks?”
— Brené Brown, in a podcast
“If you want to make a difference, the next time you see someone being cruel to another human being, take it personally. Take it personally because it is personal!”
— Brené Brown
“Leadership is about cultivating the ability to hold uncertainty and the willingness to learn, grow, and adapt.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The most effective leaders are the ones who are aware of their own emotions, and are able to manage them.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“True leadership is about taking risks and embracing change.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
→ Read more quotes about making a difference
On Connection
“Empathy is the birthplace of love and compassion, and it’s the path to connection.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Love and belonging, those are irreducible needs of all people. We’re hardwired for connection.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Connection is the energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Connection is why we’re here; it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Connection is the ability to recognize our shared humanity and to invite others into a sense of belonging and worthiness.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Connection is the key to empathy. When we can connect with others, we can understand their perspectives and experiences.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Connection requires vulnerability and the courage to be authentic and genuine.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
On Work
“We can’t do meaningful work without embracing vulnerability.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“At work, I think we armor up more because there’s less trust, there’s less confidence. And I think we slip into kind of who we think we’re supposed to be at work. And we armor up using things like cynicism, perfectionism — needing to be the knower and be right versus the learner and get it right.”
— Brené Brown, in a podcast
“When we dare to show up and be seen, we can change the world with our work.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The things we do for love and belonging, the things we do for work, are the things that define us.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
On Self-Love
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Loving ourselves means accepting our imperfections.”
— Brené Brown
“When we work from a place that says, ‘I’m enough’ then we stop screaming and start listening, we’re kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we're kinder and gentler to ourselves.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Self-love is never arrogance. It’s the birthplace of human connection and respect.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Self-compassion leads to resilience.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“The process of shame resilience is about accepting and owning our stories.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Choosing to practice gratitude and joy can be an act of resistance to negativity and despair.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The power of self-compassion is the power to heal and transform.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
→ Read more quotes about self-love
On Change
“The only way to change people’s behavior is to connect with them where they are.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The ability to hold space for other people and to stay present to the uncomfortable and emotional parts of our own lives is what gives us the capacity to change.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Change requires action, and action requires courage.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
→ Read more quotes about change
On Gratitude
“Gratitude is a practice that shifts your focus from what your life lacks to the abundance that is already present.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Gratitude is not a single event or an emotion; it’s a practice.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Gratitude is the recognition of goodness in our lives and a thankful response.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for joy, resilience, and healing.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Gratitude does not change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can clearly see the colors.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Gratitude doesn’t change the tough stuff. It makes it feel manageable.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Gratitude is the memory of the heart.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
→ Read more quotes about gratitude
On Shame
“And shame is really easily understood as the fear of disconnection: Is there something about me that, if other people know it or see it, that I won’t be worthy of connection?”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Shame hates to have words wrapped around it. If we talk about it, it loses its grip on us.”
— Brené Brown
“Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“The thing about shame that makes it so difficult is it needs three things to thrive in our lives… with secrecy, silence and judgment it grows exponentially.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Tim Ferris
“Shame is highly, highly correlated with addiction, depression, violence, aggression, bullying, suicide, eating disorders.”
— Brené Brown, Listening to Shame TED Talk
“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Shame is an epidemic in our culture, and it’s hampering our ability to live wholehearted lives.”
— Brené Brown, Listening to Shame TED Talk
“Shame cannot survive being spoken.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Vulnerability and shame go hand in hand. You simply cannot experience vulnerability without risking shame.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Shame is a universal experience. No one is immune to it.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Shame is the most powerful master emotion. It’s the fear that we’re not good enough.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“We all have a story of shame. I think the difference between those who suffer and those who don’t is that the people who don’t suffer have learned to tell a different story.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Shame is a soul-eating emotion.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Shame is like a virus that is highly contagious. If one person is feeling shame, it’s almost impossible for them not to transfer that shame to others.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Tim Ferris
“Shame is toxic. When toxic shame is at the core of our self-worth, it creates a sense of profound disconnection.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
On Belonging
“Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us.”
— Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
“Belonging is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.”
— Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness
“Belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary.”
— Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness
“Belonging is the answer to the existential longing we all feel for a sense of connection and purpose.”
— Brené Brown, The Call to Courage
“Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Belonging is the experience of feeling seen, heard, and valued for who we are and the experience of being a part of something greater than ourselves.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“When we belong to ourselves and are connected to others, we’re equipped to reach new levels of creativity and self-expression.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“The story of belonging is the story of being seen, and the story of being seen is intimately connected to the story of being loved.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“Belonging to ourselves means being called to stand alone, authentically, in the wilderness.”
— Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness
“Belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are, it requires us to be who we are.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
On Perfectionism
“Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving for excellence. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth; it’s a shield.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Perfectionism is the belief that if we do things perfectly, look perfect, and live perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect, live perfectly, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Perfectionism is not the key to success. In fact, research shows that perfectionism hampers achievement. Perfectionism is correlated with depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis or missed opportunities.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from being seen.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
”Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving for excellence. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth; it’s a shield.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from being seen and taking flight.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Perfectionism is not a pursuit of the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
On Empathy
“Empathy fuels connection. Sympathy drives disconnection.”
— Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
“Empathy is not sympathy. Empathy is feeling with people.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Empathy is the capacity to understand or share the feelings of another.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
“Empathy begins with recognizing our own story and enduring struggles in one another.”
— Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness
“Empathy is not just about listening to people’s stories and feeling with them, it’s also about recognizing the emotions they’re feeling and using that recognition to create meaningful change.”
— Brené Brown, Dare to Lead
“Empathy is the cornerstone of connection and requires a willingness to lean in, see the world as others see it, and acknowledge their feelings.”
— Brené Brown, Dare to Lead
“Empathy is a choice, and it’s a vulnerable choice because in order to connect with you, I have to connect with something in myself that knows that feeling.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Empathy is a learnable skill, and we’re all capable of developing it. It’s like a muscle, the more we use it, the stronger it becomes.”
— Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
→ Read more quotes about empathy
Quotes from Articles, Podcast, and Social-Media
“You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.”
— Brené Brown, in her podcast Unlocking Us
“You can’t get to courage without rumbling with vulnerability.”
— Brené Brown, in her podcast Unlocking Us
“Courage is like — it’s a habitus, a habit, a virtue: You get it by courageous acts. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview
“The more you practice empathy, the more empathetic you become.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview
“Compassion is not a virtue; it is a commitment.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview
“When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write a brave new ending.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Hope is a function of struggle.”
— Brené Brown, Listening to Shame TED Talk
“The most powerful thing you can do when you’re in a shame spiral is to reach out and tell someone you trust.”
— Brené Brown, in her podcast Unlocking Us
“You can’t claim to care about the welfare of children and not support women’s autonomy, safety, and health.”
— Brené Brown, in a tweet
Short Quotes
“We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering.”
— Brené Brown, in a tweet
“The opposite of play is not work — the opposite of play is depression.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“The only way to make meaning is to let certain things go.”
— Brené Brown, Rising Strong
“Change is not easy, but it’s worth it.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Tim Ferris
“You cannot get to courage without vulnerability.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
“Love is a choice you make every day.”
— Brené Brown, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey
“Good leaders ask questions instead of giving orders.”
— Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability TED Talk
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