Courage to Communicate

Michelle V. Wolf
May 21
7 min read

Rest. Receive. Learn. Achieve.

I have been called courageous long before I truly understood its meaning. In my late 20s, a dear friend was dying of cancer, and I decided to launch a nonprofit to raise money for her treatments called The Mommy Be Well Fund. She gave each of us a personalized gift with a word, and mine was "courage." At the time, I was offended. I had wanted “love” or “kindness” instead. Why was I always considered the strong one? I wondered. But the greater question is: Why was I offended? The truth is, I can be both. We all are — the strength and the softness, the polarities within us.

Let’s be honest. When we think of courage, we often think of doing something. The bold leap. The big “yes.” The loud, the strong, the visible.

But what if courage doesn’t always roar?

What if courage sometimes looks like silence?

Like saying no. Like pausing. Like resting.

Like telling the truth — even if your voice shakes.

Like deciding not to push through — even when you could.

Like showing up in your complexity instead of playing small in your simplicity.

This isn’t a message about the courage to rise.

It’s about the courage to rest.

To refocus. To reset.

To realign with what’s actually yours — not what’s expected of you.

This kind of courage isn’t flashy. It’s quiet. It’s deeply personal.

And it’s what I live and teach every single day — through breathwork, coaching, yoga, channeling the Akashic records, and simply choosing again and again to return to me.

I’ve had quite the year already — a full unraveling. Of identity. Of energy.

Of beliefs I didn’t even realize I was still carrying.

Some days feel like standing still in the middle of a storm.

Other days, it’s like discovering wildflowers growing through the cracks.

I’m especially grateful in those moments for collaborations like Next Health — where I receive my weekly boost toward my longevity goals and have the opportunity to share my own gifts, like breathwork, across their incredible spaces.

If you don’t know this about me by now, you need to: I choose to walk through life divinely guided with curiosity, engaging in experiences that feed my soul’s journey and offer me insight.

Truly — on a daily basis — I meet incredible people who seem to show up at just the right moment, delivering wisdom, messages, and direction. Sometimes it's loud and unmistakable. Other times, it’s subtle — a quiet pebble on the path toward my dreams and goals.

I’m no longer surprised by these encounters. I welcome them. They’ve become a natural part of my manifestation practice.

Just last weekend, I told a friend, “I want to throw a sponsored dance party,” and ten minutes later, I met an accomplished musician who offered a venue and connected me with a reputable DJ. No joke. It’s all energy.

There have been new friends like Jules — a brilliant woman from Argentina, a marketing executive who works for Aperol at Coachella. As we talked, we realized we’d both worked at Mattel and I had presented to her. I shared with her about my writing around women in the corporate world, and in that moment, she reminded me that the challenges working mothers face are universal. Global. We saw one another - a gift of listening and empathy on our paths symbolizing to each of us infinite possibilities.

Nothing is by chance.New teachers have also appeared — like Swami Jiri at The Meditation Foundation in Santa Monica, and Peter Evans, a life-changing breathwork facilitator (with a different approach than mine). Both have helped me go deeper — not only into myself but into the spiritual practices I now share with others.The more we learn and grow, the more we’re able to shift our realities — creating change one lived experience at a time.New mirrors have shown up — reminders that I don’t always have to push so hard. That there’s magic in the receiving. Sometimes it’s the younger generation that teaches me this — and I genuinely want to learn. I was conditioned to believe that “hard” is good. And while I’ve come a long way, I’m a big believer in cross-generational wisdom. Other generations have so much to offer — especially when it comes to efficiency. And I listen… because let’s be honest, why work so hard when you can work smarter?

Of course, one of the most powerful mirrors in my life was my beautiful late sister, Petra. On a late night after one of my early EmpowHer events, I was exhausted and in tears. She looked at me and said with quiet wisdom, “Even a lion needs to rest. Tomorrow is a new day.” It was simple, but it was a turning point. A moment that reminded me no success is worth sacrificing your health.

It became a compass for me — one I’ve returned to often, especially after falling ill and choosing to leave the corporate world behind.

So, how do you practice courage in a way that creates ease — not exhaustion.

You pause.

You feel.

You breathe.

You stop proving.

You start listening — to your body, your breath, your truth.You give yourself permission to be messy, magnificent, and fully human.

In breathwork, this is what we do.

We release through the receiving.

We grieve and grow — not by effort, but by letting go.

Rest is not weakness. It’s wisdom.

It’s the space where our soul finally gets to speak.

Courage isn’t just in bold moves — it shows up in how we communicate with others.

Do you speak your truth?

Do you express how you really feel — in a way someone else can truly hear it?

Or do you hold back, afraid of being told you're too much, too sensitive?

I don’t believe you can love too much. Or be too much.

But I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) that you do have to be prepared:

The person you're speaking to might not be ready to hear it.

Speaking your truth takes radical vulnerability.

Not everyone wants to receive it — even if they say they value honesty.

Sometimes they flinch, get defensive, or minimize your feelings —

because you didn’t use the “right” tone, or timing, or wording.

But here’s the thing:

If you want depth… if you want intimacy… if you want realness —

you take the risk.

You say it anyway.

You listen not to defend, but to understand.

And you build something stronger —

not by avoiding conflict,

but by moving through it… with care.

You see, clarity is kind.

It prevents unnecessary conflict and allows for honest communication.

And conflict — it's not good or bad. It just is.

But on the other side of it?

Depth. Authenticity.

A connection that can’t be faked or replaced.

This is true in all relationships — romantic, familial, professional, and platonic.

Anyone who told you that relationships shouldn’t require effort… was wrong.

I lead with my heart — always.

It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it.

I show up open. Vulnerable. Present.

Not everyone meets me there — and that’s okay.

Some people are meant to walk beside us for a lifetime.

Others show up just for a season, or to deliver a message.

Each one is a clue.

A reflection.

A divine reminder to come home —

back to who you really are.

Back to your core values.

Here’s your call to courage:

✨ Rest.

✨ Refocus.

✨ Reset.

✨ Restart — not because you have to, but because your soul is asking you to.

Use your breath. Use your body. Use your truth. And know: it doesn’t have to be hard.

It gets to be honest. It gets to be healing. It gets to be YOU, uniquely divinely YOU. I invite YOU to join me and my MembHership community on our journey's toward better mental health and stress reduction whether it be our weekly Power Hours, monthly

Breathwork Detox at Platefit (next one Tuesday, May 27 at 6PM), yoga, coaching or an upcoming retreat to be announced soon - they are all available to YOU.

I know we are all striving for something in this lifetime, whether it be building a company or simply peace, if you remember one thing this is it, Even a Lion Needs to Rest.

Friends, it’s not to be overlooked, much of what I have accomplished in the last almost 9 years of launching EmpowHer Purpose and the Opportunity Knocks podcast has taken a lot of courage. Courage to launch and to continue to consistently evolve and grow.

Love you!

Be well. Do well.

All my best,

If this message stirred something in you — if you're craving a moment to come back to yourself, to pause the pushing and feel what's real — you're not alone.

Breathwork is one of the most powerful tools I use to access that quiet courage. It helps calm the nervous system, shift energy, and bring you back to presence. It’s both medicine and magic.

In our sessions, we don’t fix or force.

We feel.

We open.

We let go — of what isn’t ours, of what no longer serves, of who we’ve been told to be.

It’s a reset for your body.

A reunion with your truth.