Embracing Fear and Failure: Bettina Briz on Building Courage and Resilience Through New Challenges

B

Bettina Briz

LinkedIn Author

Investor and Advisor

In a recent LinkedIn post, Bettina Briz shares her philosophy on personal growth, emphasizing the importance of embracing fear, learning from failure, and consistently trying new things to build courage, grit, and resilience. Briz, who actively seeks these traits in founders she meets and mentors, also applies these principles to her own life, believing it fuels her continuous development and ability to serve her network effectively.

Briz highlights a proactive approach to personal and professional development, suggesting that stepping outside one’s comfort zone is key. She states:

“Fall. Fail. Look back. Learn. Pivot. Repeat.”

This iterative process, according to Briz, is fundamental in cultivating essential character traits. She further elaborates on how these traits are not just abstract concepts but are actively developed through challenging experiences.

Developing Courage Through Rockclimbing

One of the methods Briz employs to push her boundaries is rockclimbing. She describes the activity as both scary and beautiful, noting its direct impact on her courage and energy levels. Briz suggests that this heightened courage allows her to tackle more significant and demanding challenges, which she believes translates into her capacity to handle numerous new ventures and investment opportunities.

“Rockclimbing. Its scary, its beautiful. Builds my courage and energy to attack bigger harder always. Translates to new ventures I tackle constantly,” Bettina Briz writes.

This practice, in her view, underpins her ability to engage in diverse investment and advisory work, showcasing a direct link between pushing personal limits and expanding professional capabilities.

Learning and Humility Through Skateboarding

Another activity Briz uses for growth is skateboarding. She candidly admits to the difficulty and occasional pain involved but emphasizes the fun and the invaluable lessons learned from observing and interacting with others, particularly those more skilled. This experience teaches her the importance of humility and the continuous capacity to acquire new skills, a lesson she believes is crucial for founders.

Briz points out the value of asking for help, stating:

“I ask for help all the time. I think Founders who do are way ahead of many.”

She advocates for leveraging resources like Hubble to accelerate learning through expert guidance, noting her own practice of booking calls with experts to enhance her understanding.

Resilience Forged Through Adversity in Snowmobiling

Perhaps the most profound example Briz shares involves snowmobiling and a significant accident that resulted in a lengthy ICU stay. Despite the trauma, the act of returning to the activity after recovery became a powerful testament to her resilience.

According to Bettina Briz, the experience taught her an invaluable lesson about her own capacity to overcome obstacles:

“knowing I got back on that horse taught me, I CAN TACKLE ANYTHING… Def gives me strength to apply to new ventures always.”

This profound experience, she explains, provides her with the enduring strength to approach new ventures with confidence, reinforcing the idea that overcoming significant adversity builds unparalleled fortitude.

Applying Lessons to the Business World

Briz connects these personal growth strategies directly to the demands of the business and investment world. She notes that September marks the beginning of a busy period for investing leading up to the end of the year, implying that the resilience and courage cultivated through these challenging activities are essential for navigating this demanding phase.

Her message, delivered with her characteristic energy, encourages others to adopt a similar mindset. As Bettina Briz concludes her post:

“Hope this helps. AND I meant it, GiddyUp.”

Briz’s insights underscore the value of a growth mindset, highlighting how embracing challenges, learning from failures, and actively seeking new experiences can lead to significant personal and professional development.

📝 About This Content

This article is based on insights shared by Bettina Briz on LinkedIn.

📅 Originally posted on September 4, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →