He or she who is willing to be the most uncomfortable is not only the bravest but rises the fastest.

Growth rarely happens in comfort, and the person who accepts that discomfort is part of the deal tends to move ahead of everyone else. Brown links courage with willingness to feel exposed, uncertain, or embarrassed, rather than with fearlessness. If bravery means acting while still feeling the sting of risk, then the one who tolerates the most unease will try the most things, and each attempt teaches something. Rising quickly is a side effect of that repeated practice.

The idea fits Brown's wider work as a researcher on vulnerability and shame, where she argues that vulnerability is the birthplace of courage, creativity, and connection, and that avoiding it costs us more than it protects. It also echoes older ideas, such as the Stoic habit of deliberately facing hardship so that it loses its grip. I'm not certain of the exact original source of the wording, though it is widely credited to her.

In practice, imagine someone who wants a career change but dreads looking like a beginner. They could ask a stranger in the field for a short conversation, then share an unfinished portfolio and invite honest criticism. Both moments feel awkward, yet they speed up learning more than months of private preparation would.