EP:017 Scared but Doing it Anyway: Real Stories of Radical Courage

You know that pit in your stomach?
The one that shows up the second you stop shrinking to make everyone else comfortable?

That’s not anxiety.
That’s expansion.

In this episode of Wild Growth for Women, Bridget pulls back the curtain on what it actually feels like to build something that matters ,while filing paperwork for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with shaking hands and a very loud inner critic.

This is not a strategy episode.
This is the moment before the leap.

If you’re building something that feels bigger than you…
If your nervous system panics the second your vision expands…
If the voice in your head keeps whispering, “Who do you think you are?”

Stay.

Because what you’re feeling isn’t weakness. It’s the ripple.

In this episode, Bridget shares:

• Why fear spikes when your impact grows beyond your comfort zone
• The loneliness epidemic affecting high-achieving women (and what the U.S. Surgeon General revealed)
• How burnout became a badge of honor and wine became “self-care”
• Why confidence is a byproduct — not a prerequisite
• The truth about imposter syndrome at every new level
• How to move forward before you feel ready

This episode is for the woman secretly Googling how to start the thing at 11:47 PM.
The breadwinner who hasn’t exhaled in years.
The founder who looks powerful online but feels alone offline.

If the vision won’t leave you alone… it’s assigned to you.

🔗 Ready to Go Bigger (Even If You’re Scared)?

✨ Join the Wild Growth community:
https://www.wildgrowthforwomen.com/

🎤 Apply to speak or collaborate:
https://www.wildgrowthforwomen.com/beaspeaker

🌿 Explore upcoming events + experiences:
https://www.wildgrowthforwomen.com/event

🎧 Work with Bridget or learn more about scaling aligned:
https://www.wildgrowthforwomen.com/

Wild Growth for Women is where healing meets scale.
Where leadership meets nervous system regulation.
Where ambitious women stop shrinking and start building movements.

Share this episode with the woman who’s circling her calling but hasn’t said yes yet.

Do it scared.
Stay wild. Stay rooted.

Transcript

 You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach, the one that shows up the second you decide you're done shrinking yourself to make other feels comfortable? Yeah, that one, I'm sitting here right now knee deep in setting up a 5 0 1 C3, and I will tell you the truth that most people won't say out loud.

It is terrifying. There is a full blown narration going on in the back of my brain that's saying, who do you think you are? You have no business holding this. You're gonna mess this up. You're not qualified to lead something this big. And if you've got that same voice running commentary over your dreams right now, stay with me.

'cause today is not about strategy. It's not about paperwork, and it's not about the tax code. It's about what happens the moment you decide to stop playing small. And your nerves of system panics just like you jumped off a cliff. And before we go any deeper, if you're building something from fear and purpose at the same time, hit that subscribe button and share this.

Send it to the woman who's secretly Googling how to start a thing at 11:47 PM but hasn't told anyone yet. Let's talk.

You are listening to Wild Growth for Women, the podcast that helps high achieving women heal to scale. Each week, we bring you real stories, powerful conversations and strategies that blunt marketing mindset and movement, and. Meet your host, Bridget Brooks, founder of Wild Growth for Women. She scaled multiple businesses past seven figures, including three of her own brands.

She's a powerhouse strategist with over 20 years in advertising and media. Bridget's worked with global brands, coached hundreds of women entrepreneurs, and built a movement that proves you can scale without selling your soul. She's here to help you fully step into your power, grow with clarity, and expand wildly in business and in life.

This is wild growth for women.

Hello, my loves and welcome back to another episode of The New Era of Wild Growth for Women. I am your host, Bridget, and today we're talking about doing it scared. So let's get into it. Here's why it's so scary. It's not the paperwork, it's not the IRS, it's not the board meetings. It's the ripple. When I look at this nonprofit, I don't see documents.

I see impact. I see the women who feel like they don't belong anywhere. I see the entrepreneurs who look successful on Instagram, but are quietly drowning in pressure. I see the high achieving breadwinner who hasn't had a real exhale in five years and that that is the part that makes my hands shake.

Because once the vision gets bigger than you, you can't unsee it. Let's talk about that for a second. We are in the loneliest epidemic. Not dramatic, not fluffy. Real studies from the US surgeon generals have shown that chronic loneliness carries health risks comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Now stack that on top of entrepreneurship, you're the decision maker. The income generator, the one holding payroll, the strong one, and strength without support becomes isolation real quick. Then what happens? People numb addiction rates, climb high. In high pressure industries, burnout become personality traits, wine becomes self-care, and overworking becomes a badge of honor, and we call it ambition.

My vision for this 5 0 1 C3 isn't about status. It's about breaking that cycle. It's about building a space where the women were told that they were too much or too loud, or too ambitious or not qualified enough. Finally have somewhere to land. And when you feel the weight of that ripple. Of course you're scared and you should be.

When I was signing the paperwork, my hands were shaking, not a cue, shaking, not aesthetic, vulnerability, actual imposter syndrome, spiraling, and you guys, that voice was loud. You don't have the credentials. You're not the right person. Someone more polished than you should be doing this. And then I have this moment.

What if I fear is proof? What if the shaking hand is confirmation that this is big enough to matter? What if it didn't scare you? What if it didn't stretch you? Because if it doesn't scare you, it won't stretch you. And if it didn't stretch you, it won't change you. And if it doesn't change you, it definitely won't change anyone else.

Here's what I realized. I don't have business as usual. I have a mission, and that mission does not ask for comfort. It asks for courage. The women showing up struggling in addiction, in silence. They don't need perfectly polished me. The founders who are wildly successful on paper, but dying of loneliness inside, they don't need me more to credential more of the ceiling.

They need someone who's willing to go first. Someone who's willing to say, yeah, I'm scared, but I'm doing it anyway. That's not leadership. That's not the absence of fear. It's the movement with it. We've all been sold. This idea that confidence comes first, it doesn't. Clarity comes first, then the decision, then fear, then action anyways.

And confidence is the byproduct. If you're waiting for fear to leave before you start the nonprofit, launch the podcast, leave the job, raise the prices, or host a retreat. You're gonna be waiting forever. Fear doesn't pack its bags and wave goodbye. It gets quieter once you prove you are not backing down.

And every single level of expansion comes with a new version of who do they think they are? And the answer to that has to be the woman who said yes.

So here's what I'm doing.

I am building this nonprofit scared. I'm filing the paperwork with the shaking hands. I'm having the conversations that stretch me. I'm saying yes before I feel ready, and I want you to do the same. Stop asking for permission to hold the vision. Stop asking if you're allowed. Stop pulling the group chat.

If it's on your heart, it's assigned to you, not because you're the most qualified, but because you're the most willing. And the alternative is what? Staying quiet, staying small. Let the idea sit in your chest for another five years until it turns into regret. No, not this year. Not you. You don't need to feel fearless.

You need to feel called and then you move. Scared, shaky, but certain of one thing. Staying silent would hurt more.

Do what? Scared my friends, and I'll see you on the other side. As always, stay wild and stay rooted. Okay.