Jumping into the Parade with Author Tim Brown

Positively Powered with Amy Collette Featuring Author Tim Brown

Tim Brown was living the American dream for anyone looking in from outside. He had a growing business, a beautiful family, and a busy social life. Like many of us, Tim had always equated his self-worth with his work, buying into the idea that if you “make it in the world out there, and you’ll be fine in here.”

But after losing millions of dollars when the economy went south in 2009, he came close to suicide more than once. Jumping Into the Parade is Tim’s story about finding his path back to life and a new definition of happiness and success. Tim explains, “Jumping into the parade means not being afraid to follow your heart. Not being afraid to be who you are. Embrace all of it – the good, the bad, and the ugly. When we love ourselves, we can better love other people. It’s a journey.”

Tim Brown’s Advice for Living

Gratitude is a major theme in Tim’s book and provided him a new path to “living from the inside out.” He says, “Without gratitude, you can’t access joy. And without joy, you can’t access peace.” Now Tim is even grateful for going through that dark time. “It was the greatest gift that was ever given to me. We have a real opportunity with our stories to inspire other people. When you’re willing to be vulnerable and share it, you can make a difference.”

I asked about the impact the book has had on his readers: “It was very positive because I opened up my heart. I felt helpless, I felt alone. I wanted to share, here’s what worked for me. People write me to share their stories.”

Then I asked about his experience as a first-time author: “After the book came out, I felt a lot of shame about sharing so much of my pain. But the response was beyond any expectations I might have ever had. I thought people would judge me, think differently of me. There was an unbelievable outpouring of support.”

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Takeaways

Tim laughs at the idea that public speaking is the biggest fear of humans. “The number one fear of humans is abandonment. We give up who we are to please other people. When we do that we are not able to jump into the parade by not living in our integrity.”

“Our words matter. If you want to change your life, start by changing your words.”

On happiness and success: “It’s based now on how I’m feeling on the inside, the relationships I have, how I’m helping other people. It has shifted into a state of being.”