Courage is Learned: Embracing Discomfort and Authenticity for Reinvention

Key Quotes

"When Zarna Garg was growing up in Mumbai, her ability to make people laugh didn't register as a valuable skill but today she is one of the most in-demand comedians in America. She's opened for people like Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and has starred in two solo comedy specials. Zarna first stepped foot on a comedy stage when she was 44 years old and she's quickly become known for her irreverent style."

This quote highlights Zarna Garg's unexpected path to success in comedy, emphasizing that she began her career at an age when many might consider their professional lives established. The author, Maya Shankar, points out Garg's significant achievements, such as opening for renowned comedians and starring in specials, underscoring that age was not a barrier to her impact.

"What my father was offering me was security like we will place you in a situation where you will be secure and your baseline will be determined like the floor is set but what I saw was that along with the floor the ceiling is set because this family is now going to decide what I can and cannot do and I remember thinking I'm gonna bet that I can do better than whatever this is like why do I need somebody to set the ceiling for me why can't I determine my own ceiling."

Zarna Garg explains her rejection of an arranged marriage by articulating her desire for self-determination. Garg contrasts the security offered by her father with the inherent limitation on her potential, demonstrating her proactive stance in seeking to define her own life's trajectory. This illustrates her core belief in personal agency over externally imposed limitations.

"I get that and as a parent and a spouse and with a lot of household responsibility I 100 get it but I would say to them that courage is a learned behavior a lot of people say I just don't have it in me as if other people just got it and they didn't it's not like that you you can you can learn courage the way you learn to walk like baby steps will get you somewhere it may not take you all the way it may take you beyond where you want to go but stop saying to yourself I'm too scared stop the negative self talk and reframe it and be like what is the smallest lightest lift I can make in the direction that I want to go."

Zarna Garg reframes courage not as an innate trait but as a skill that can be developed, drawing an analogy to learning to walk. Garg advises listeners to overcome fear by taking small, manageable steps toward their goals, emphasizing the importance of positive self-talk and reframing challenges. This offers an actionable strategy for building confidence and pursuing new endeavors.

"I'll tell you and it's gonna sound very arrogant but I'm gonna say it I'm a pretty freaking phenomenal businesswoman and I didn't see that coming. I've been obsessed with entrepreneurship my whole life I've been reading entrepreneurship books my whole childhood was Fortune magazine Forbes magazine where what color is your parachute you name it I've done the self help the business this how he started this company how that company went bankrupt I've read it all but until I became my own entrepreneurial owner boss I didn't realize how good I would be at it."

Zarna Garg expresses surprise at her own business acumen, a skill she discovered through her entrepreneurial ventures. Garg notes that despite a lifelong interest in business literature, it was the practical experience of running her own ventures that revealed her innate talent. This highlights a theme of self-discovery through action and embracing unexpected strengths.

"The more chances you take, the more you increase your surface area and probability of succeeding. The failures will not matter in the end. In the end, all the failures are like the tasting spoons of life. You know, when you're making a soup, you taste it 20 times. Absolutely. You, it, you just have to get it perfect by the end, and it will happen if you keep tasting enough."

Zarna Garg uses the metaphor of tasting spoons in soup-making to illustrate the value of repeated attempts and learning from failure. Garg explains that taking more chances expands the possibilities for success, and that failures are merely iterative steps toward achieving a desired outcome. This perspective encourages persistence and a less fearful approach to experimentation.