Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder by Reshma Saujani

Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code and former Deputy Public Advocate of New York City, has written the book Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder. The book provides readers with a melding of practical advice and personal reflections in order to teach the importance of embracing failure, taking risks, and facing fears. Saujani encourages readers to un-learn the cultural and societal norms that lead to perfectionism in order for everyone to be their most fearless and fulfilled self.

Saujani provides vivid examples from her life, Girls Who Code, and other experiences to illustrate how failure and mistakes bring growth, connection, and bravery. In the beginning Saujani talks about her experiences running for Congress. Despite her long standing commitment to service, Saujani’s initial foray into politics was a failure and all she could think of was why it happened and who was responsible (namely her campaign team). Instead of leading her into self destruction and giving-up, Saujani instead committed herself to finding out what the failure meant and how to grow from it. She drew upon this experience to create the organization Girls Who Code and has since dedicated her life to empowering girls and women to embrace their failure and believe in themselves.

Saujani’s book is divided into three sections with the first section highlighting the importance of facing one’s fears and taking risks. Saujani states that in order to live a more meaningful and fulfilled life one must come to terms with their fears and hesitations, as well as the societal ideals of perfectionism, and learn to embrace the beauty of imperfection. This section also talks about how stepping out of one’s comfort zone may lead to connection, greater experiences and unexpected purpose.

The second section intones that failure brings experiences, growth, and connection and encourages readers to learn to be okay with it. Saujani gives advice on how to make failure a friend rather than an enemy and to use it as an opportunity for change. Drawing upon her experience as a campaign manager, Saujani encourages women and girls to look at failure objectively, learn from it, and then move on.

The final section of the book focuses on teaching readers how to fully live and embrace life. Saujani talks about the importance of changing our limiting beliefs, redefining success, and using the power of vulnerability in order to fully live. Furthermore, readers are encouraged to better understand their values, listen to their intuition, and find purpose in order to make a larger impact.

Throughout the book, Saujani tells readers that perfection is an illusion and that everyone’s version of success is different. Most importantly, Saujani draws upon her experiences as a professional and a feminist to illustrate how everyone needs to be brave if they are to stick their neck out and make an impact in the world.

Through a mix of personal details and practical advice, Saujani’s Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder is an inspiring and empowering book for anyone who wants to overcome their fears, take risks, and fully live a life they can be proud of.