Episode 50 – Becoming 1% More Courageous (ft. Judith Martinez)

In this episode of the VulnerABILITY Podcast, Marisa Donnelly connects with Judith Martinez, Founder & CEO of In Her Shoes, and passionate thought leader committed to helping women recognize where they can grow by asking the question, “What would you do if you were just one percent more courageous?”

In this powerful back-and-forth, Marisa asks deep questions and Judith shares about her fears, her catalysts to change, and her ‘why’ behind building this platform, as well as where she plans to go next.

Highlights From The Episode:

[1:40] “Everything that we do and what we stand for is truly providing the modern woman a community for courage, to genuinely live and create a life that they love, one act of courage at a time.”

[2:00] “What would you do if you were just one percent more courageous?”

[3:50] “In Her Shoes takes on that second angle of yes, thinking about other people and what is it like to be in their shoes, but also, too, sometimes I think we forget what it’s like to be in our own shoes and our best future selves in this moment.”

[5:40] “I finally got the yes I had been chasing all my life only to realize that, when I was confronted with this yes, I just wanted to say no.”

[6:35] “If I wasn’t so afraid, what would I really want to do? And that’s really the beginnings of what really lead to In Her Shoes.”

[5:50] “Who are you when you’re not following that path anymore? …That’s a scary place to be and an even scarier thing to admit.”

[8:45] “Closing the door on law school and what I thought I needed to be in the world really opened up a whole new world of possibility of In Her Shoes and so many other things that I didn’t know about.”

[9:45] I think the scary part was bundled up into this big ‘yes’ I was chasing. What happens when you read that quote-on-quote ‘success’ and yet, you don’t feel the feelings that you’re told you should be feeling when you’re quote-on-quote ‘successful’… [There was] a lot of pivoting and redefining, What does success look like for me? But also how do you encourage and foster that courage for others to ask that question for themselves?”

[12:00] “I think a lot of the most valuable learning for us is unlearning. Unlearning these definitions or these certain paradigms we’re told to operate in.”

[12:15] “The catch-22 of the question of ‘What would you do if you were just one percent more courageous?’ is just as much as that answer could change, every time you practice and build those courage muscles, that thing that scares you grows, too. Because your courage grows bigger.”

[13:05] “Success, for me, looks like building a legacy of In Her Shoes. What does this provide for young girls and women fifty years down the line, even? What’s possible with this work? …A fear that couples that is, ‘Is this really attainable?'”

[13:10] I think that [it’s] a very human experience, to doubt your capacity for actually being able to enact change or to make a difference.”

[18:10] “We say our work happens in the in-between moments. In the split-second decisions is where In Her Shoes really lives.”

[23:00] “Courage doesn’t have to be a huge leap. Sometimes it can really just be taking that very first step, and moving forward, and trusting that the path will work out.”

Recommended Resources:

• Connect with and join the In Her Shoes “12 Days of Courage” (Dec 10-21) to redefine what giving means this year through courageous conversations and self-care activities. The goal is to give to yourself during this holiday season! [You can learn more here].
• Follow In Her Shoes website or connect on social media: Instagram, .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}