Leon Logothetis struggled with depression and anxieties linked to a dark period of bullying when he was younger. However, his life completely changed direction at the age of 27; an incredible journey sparked off by meeting a Navy Seal in rehab that showed him what true bravery looked like. It wasn’t running into battle or saving people from burning buildings. Rather true bravery is speaking your truth and sharing your pain.
Leon’s journey took him down a road filled with adventure, discovery, and a newfound sense of bravery. Along the way to over 100 countries, documented by his Netflix show The Kindness Diaries, he met people who opened his eyes to the beauty in the world, teaching him about kindness and how it can be used to overcome adversity. By relying on strangers for everything, even basic needs such as food and shelter, to finding ways to bring joy into their lives through small acts of kindness, he began to see the power of bravery and how it could help him fight his anxiety and depression.
His message is simple: we all have the ability to break free from our anxieties, fear, and trauma by taking risks and embracing our courage to speak up for help, encouragement, and support.
Logothetis’ story is one of courage and hope, providing a powerful reminder of the importance of taking risks and facing your fears to find joy and peace in life. His journey has inspired countless people to explore the world with a newfound sense of bravery, showing them that anything is possible when you take that first step. People like Leon have shown us that it is possible to take risks and choose courage so that we may live our fullest lives.
His new book Go Be Brave: 24 ¾ Adventures for a Fearless, Wiser, and Truly Magnificent Life, is a collection of stories, both personal and from others, that showcase the transformative power of bravery. Logothetis shares his own struggles with anxiety and depression and how he was able to overcome them by embracing a more courageous approach to life. He also recounts the experiences of people he’s met on his travels, from a former drug addict who found redemption through surfing to a woman who quit her job to start a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities.
One of the things that sets Go Be Brave apart from other self-help books is Logothetis’s emphasis on the importance of human connection. He writes about the power of empathy and compassion and how reaching out to others for support can be a crucial step in overcoming our own fears and doubts. He also emphasizes the role that community and shared experience can play in fostering a sense of purpose and belonging.
Throughout the book, Logothetis weaves in practical tips and adventures for readers to try out in their own lives. He shares that bravery is a choice—the choice to reconnect to our humanity—and it’s one we can make every single day. By speaking your truth, sharing your pain, and standing in your power, you strengthen your bravery muscle. He also provides tools for dealing with setbacks and self-doubt, such as reframing negative thoughts and practicing self-compassion.
Bravery means to find the place within ourselves that feels broken (sometimes in big ways, other times in small ones), a place we all have, and to give it hope. It means finding that place at the very center of our existence that we’ve been avoiding, but that desperately needs our attention and love.
That delicate place, the one that we’re so afraid to let the world see because we’ve been hurt there before. That place is the key to unlocking our bravery. It is the hidden treasure within us all. The most true and powerful source of who we are.
And that place is our humanness. Bravery is finding that space; courage is living it.
I know what you’re thinking . . .
OH, NOW YOU’RE THROWING IN BRAVERY AND COURAGE, LEON?
But they are equally important because you can’t be courageous without being brave. Just as bravery is finding the vulnerable place within us, courage is taking the action to share it.*
Cover photo: BYUTV
