Begin Anyway System

A JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY

A Depth about Begin Anyway

Begin Anyway is the most urgently titled book in Brigitte's catalogue and the title alone does significant work. It does not say begin when you are ready. It does not say begin when conditions improve. It does not say begin when you feel confident. It says begin anyway — which means begin in the presence of fear, in the presence of doubt, in the presence of every legitimate reason to wait.

That positioning makes this the most accessible entry point in the entire catalogue for a specific type of reader — the person who has not yet started. Not the person who started and stopped. Not the person who is unclear. Not the person who lacks structure. The person who is standing at the very beginning of something they want to build and cannot make themselves take the first step.

This is one of the most populated places in human experience. The space just before beginning. The space where the idea exists, the desire is real, the need is recognised — and yet nothing moves. Begin Anyway was written to speak into that specific space with enough truth, enough practical framework, and enough permission-giving force to break the paralysis.

The book is structured across a journey that begins internally and moves outward. It opens by confronting the mindsets that kill dreams before they start — the myth that you need to start big, the fear that takes you out before you begin, the reluctance that masquerades as wisdom. It then moves inward with the Mind Readiness framework before pivoting outward to project identification, passion discovery, ability mapping, values clarification, and idea development. From there it moves into strategy, execution architecture, and the people structures that make beginning sustainable rather than just momentary.

The book closes with a community call — Spread the Word — which is itself a statement about what beginning actually means. Beginning is not a private act. It becomes real when it is witnessed, named, and shared.

At 164 pages, this is a focused, dense, and practically complete guide for anyone standing at the threshold of something they have been putting off. It does not waste words. Every chapter is doing specific work in the reader's internal and external world — dismantling what stops them, building what will sustain them, and directing them toward the specific project that is theirs to do.

The reader this book is written for is someone with an idea they have been carrying — sometimes for years — that they have not yet acted on. They may have told themselves they are not ready. They may have been told they need more resources, more credentials, more experience. They may be afraid of what starting will reveal about them — either that they can or that they cannot. Begin Anyway addresses every one of those positions with compassion and with a framework that makes beginning feel not just possible but inevitable.

Feature Chapters

Featured Chapter 1 — Make the Mind Ready for Change

This chapter is the most psychologically sophisticated piece of writing in Begin Anyway and possibly one of the most honest chapters across Brigitte's entire catalogue. It does not tell the reader to simply think positively or push through fear. It diagnoses exactly what is happening in the mind at the moment before beginning — and it does so with a framework that is both original and immediately applicable.

The central insight of this chapter is the W=P and W>P model. Willingness equals Perception is the state where the desire to change and the fear that prevents it are evenly matched — a state of internal paralysis that feels like indecision but is actually a standoff between two equally powerful forces. Willingness greater than Perception is the state where the desire to begin has grown larger than the fear — where the negative perception is still present but no longer dominant.

What makes this framework genuinely useful is that it removes the pressure to eliminate fear before beginning. You do not have to eradicate your doubts. You do not have to reach a state of complete confidence. You simply have to tip the balance — make your willingness slightly larger than your perception — and the beginning becomes possible.

The chapter also provides a concrete set of practices for nurturing willingness — knowing what you want, closing the comparison loop, consuming content that builds willpower, associating with people who energise rather than diminish, managing physical state through breathing and sleep, rewarding progress, and seeking professional support when needed. Each of these is not motivational advice. Each is a specific mechanism for shifting the W=P balance in the direction of beginning.

The self-reflective questions at the end of this chapter are among the most penetrating in the book — Do I want to change this mindset? Are these thoughts holding me back from pursuing my dreams? What is the best way to think right now? These questions do not have comfortable answers and that is precisely what makes them valuable.

Featured Chapter 2 — Identify the Project

If the first featured chapter prepares the internal ground, this chapter breaks that ground for the first time. It takes the reader from a state of mental readiness into the first concrete act of beginning — naming the project, understanding its origin, and connecting it to a problem in the world that genuinely needs solving.

The chapter makes a move that is rare in personal development books — it externalises the beginning. Most beginning frameworks are entirely internal — know your why, discover your passion, believe in yourself. This chapter turns the reader's attention outward. What problem do you see in the world around you? What adverse effect are you observing in your neighbourhood, your workplace, your community? What makes you feel something — frustration, compassion, urgency — when you see it continuing without solution?

The examples used are deliberately instructive. Mark Zuckerberg did not start Facebook from self-expression. He started it from problem recognition — people were struggling to maintain connection and he saw a way to solve that. The unnamed woman who turned plastic waste into reusable containers did not start from passion for manufacturing. She started from observing a problem and deciding she could address it.

This reframing — from passion-first to problem-first — is one of the most practically useful shifts in the entire book. It gives the reader a concrete method for identifying their project rather than waiting for inspiration to arrive. Look at what is broken around you. Look at what makes you feel something. Look at what you would change if you could. The project is there. It always has been.

The chapter then gives the reader four orienting questions that convert problem recognition into project definition — What is the problem I can change? When I see this problem continue how do I feel? How do I think when the adverse effect is harmful? What can I do about the situation? These four questions are the exact framework for moving from observation to intention to project identification.

The System: The Begin Anyway Method

Step 1 — Assess the Balance. Using the W=P framework assess your current internal state honestly. Is your willingness equal to your perception — a standoff? Or is your willingness beginning to exceed your perception — a tipping point? Naming your current position is the first act of beginning.

Step 2 — Tip the Balance. Choose two specific willingness practices from the chapter that you will implement today — not eventually, today. These are the mechanisms that shift the internal balance in the direction of beginning. Do not wait until the balance tips naturally. Tip it deliberately.

Step 3 — Look Outward. Turn your attention from your internal state to the world around you. Using the four orienting questions from Identify the Project — identify the problem you observe, name how it makes you feel, articulate the harm it creates, and state what you could do about it. This is your project in raw form.

Step 4 — Name the Project. Convert your problem observation into a project statement using this structure — "I am beginning [specific project] because I have observed [specific problem] and I believe I can [specific contribution or solution]." This statement is your beginning. Everything else is built from it.

This system is repeatable. Every new initiative, every new chapter of growth, every moment of standing at the threshold of something new — the Begin Anyway Method applies. Assess the balance. Tip it deliberately. Look outward. Name the project. Begin.

Chapters inside the Book

Part 1 — The Internal Barriers Your Mindset Is Killing You Being Told You Have to Start Big The Fear Is Taking You Up Reluctance to Start Make the Mind Ready for Change (Featured)

Part 2 — Project Identification and Foundation Identify the Project (Featured) Know Your Passion for the Project — The Passion at Heart — Tips to Find Your Passion Your Abilities — Figure Out What You Can Do — Introspective on This Personal Values — Steps to Consider When Developing Core Values Create Meaning

Part 3 — Idea Development Idea — Visualise and Record Develop It Examine It

Part 4 — Execution Architecture Action Step by Step Be Ready to Learn Divide the Activities Get Resources

Part 5 — Strategy and People Strategise Your Moves Don't Copy But You Can Benchmark Pick the Right People Set a Bunch of Advisors Develop Your Skills

How to Apply the System in Your Life

The first two days are internal days — working with the mind. Days three and four are observation days — working with the world. Days five and six are definition days — naming the project and the beginning. Day seven is the beginning itself.

Day 1 — Assess Your Current Balance Action: Write your most important project, idea, or initiative at the top of a page — the one you have been thinking about but not starting. Then write honestly — on a scale of your own honest assessment, where is your willingness relative to your perception right now? Are they equal — a standoff? Is perception winning — paralysis? Is willingness beginning to win — a tipping point? Write the current state without judgment. Just name it accurately. Self-Reflection: What specific perception or fear has been most powerful in keeping me from beginning? Where did that perception come from — is it my own experience, someone else's words, or a story I have been telling myself without examining it?

Day 2 — Tip the Balance Deliberately Action: From the willingness practices in the chapter choose two that you will implement today. Not plan to implement. Implement today. Write what you chose and why — and then do both before you sleep tonight. Write one sentence after each one about how the balance feels now compared to this morning. Self-Reflection: What is the smallest shift in my internal balance that would be enough to take my first step? And what has been stopping me from making that shift deliberately rather than waiting for it to happen on its own?

Day 3 — Look Outward Action: Spend 20 minutes today in observation mode. Go somewhere — your neighbourhood, your workplace, your community, even a social media feed that represents your world. Write everything you notice that represents a problem, a gap, an adverse effect, or a need that is not being adequately addressed. Do not filter for what you think you can solve. Just observe and write. Self-Reflection: Which of the things I observed today made me feel something strong enough that I am still thinking about it now? What does that emotional response reveal about where my project lives?

Day 4 — Answer the Four Questions Action: Take the problem or gap that created the strongest feeling on Day 3 and answer the four orienting questions from the chapter in writing. What is the problem I can change? When I see this problem continue how do I feel? How do I think when the adverse effect is harmful? What can I do about the situation? Write full answers — not bullet points. The depth of your answer reveals the depth of your connection to this project. Self-Reflection: Did the problem I chose surprise me? Have I been observing this problem for longer than I realised without naming it as something I could actually do something about?

Day 5 — Write Your Project Statement Action: Using the structure from the system — "I am beginning [specific project] because I have observed [specific problem] and I believe I can [specific contribution or solution]" — write your project statement. Write it three times. The first time will be rough. The second time will be clearer. The third time will be the truest version you have written so far. Keep the third version. Self-Reflection: What does it feel like to have named this project specifically rather than holding it as a vague idea? What changes when something moves from inside your head into written words that can be read back to you?

Day 6 — Name Your First Step Action: Your project statement exists. Now name the single smallest action that proves it is real — not a plan, not a strategy, not a business model. One action. Something completable in under an hour that moves this project from statement to evidence. Write it down with a specific time today or tomorrow that you will do it. Self-Reflection: What story am I telling myself about why this first step is not enough? And what would I say to someone else who was holding the same project and using the same story to delay beginning?

Day 7 — Begin Anyway Action: Do the first step you named on Day 6. Before conditions are perfect. Before you feel completely ready. Before you have all the resources, all the answers, or all the confidence. Do it today. When you finish write this sentence — "I began [specific action] on [today's date] and I proved that [something true about your capability or commitment]." Self-Reflection: What was on the other side of beginning that I could not see from where I was standing before I started? What is different about who I am right now compared to who I was on Day 1 of this challenge?

Before you take any further decision, I want you to think about this more deeply

When you think about the project or initiative you have been wanting to begin, what feels most honest about where you are right now?

Get the full Begin Anyway book. The two featured chapters give you the mind readiness framework and the project identification method. The remaining chapters give you the complete architecture — passion discovery, ability mapping, values clarification, idea development, execution steps, strategy building, and the people structures that make beginning sustainable. 111 pages that take you from standing at the threshold to moving through it.

Buy Begin Anyway

Execution Vault

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse