A Note From Brooke on Taking Up Space

Hi friends,

Every woman I know is intimately familiar with the feeling that there are some rooms she just does not belong in. I certainly do; I’m willing to bet you do, too. So today, I want to talk about taking up space, fully and unapologetically. 

As girls, we’re taught to be smaller, to not rock the boat, to use our inside voices. If you speak up, you’re a bitch, or—maybe even worse—a difficult woman.

As an actor, I have a lot of experience with this. I had a job not long ago—I was practically apoplectic, I was so nervous. I went into my trailer and said to myself in the mirror: you have a choice. Are you going to give all your power away now and then beat yourself up later? Or are you going to assume that you deserve to be here—that you belong here? I had to psych myself up or I would have sabotaged myself. Sometimes you just have to fake it till you make it. (The job went really well, by the way.)

As an entrepreneur, I feel it even more. It can be terrifying to be in the room with these businessmen, these venture capitalists, these people who assume something about me without really knowing who I am and what I’m capable of. 

What I’ve learned? When I walk into a room not standing tall, that’s how I’m treated. When I stand my ground, look people in the eye, and refuse to make myself smaller with self-deprecation—that’s when things fall into place. I’m starting to come into the truth of what I know, what I can do. 

It’s not always easy. Give yourself time, trust your instincts, see what it’s like to claim your worth—even in a small way. You won’t believe how empowering and invigorating it is. You deserve it.

Take care,
Brooke