Lots of Reverence
My friend, ex, and current project partner, Mak, and I have been working on a podcast about our experience with Brad Blanton’s Radical Honesty, so I’ve been thinking and talking a lot lately about my own personal journey with Radical Honesty.
I’ve been talking with Mak about how I first got involved, how I transitioned to working for the organization, why I left, and how I’m now coming to feel a renewed and different sort of interest in facilitating this work.
For me, the journey started with finding Brad’s book, Radical Honesty: How to Transform Your Life by Telling the Truth, at a library used book sale in 2007. I devoured the book in a couple days, found something I didn’t know I was looking for, and clumsily took on telling people more about my thoughts and feelings.
I went to my first 1-day Radical Honesty workshop led by Brad a few years after reading the book, participated in the first iteration of the online course Get Over Shit and Be Happy in 2014 and started consulting with Brad shortly after that, then attended my first Radical Honesty 8-Day Intensive workshop in 2015, where I was also helping out behind the scenes.
From there I began working remotely for Brad as an independent contractor, doing admin, working on the evolving online course, collaborating on expanding the Trainer’s Training program, and much more.
Practicing Brad’s style of Radical Honesty became more and more a part of who I was, and much of how I functioned in the world and in my closest relationships… for better or worse.
I attended more Radical Honesty workshops led by Brad and Taber (his “Master Trainer” and right hand man), each time assisting with the workshop promo, participant registration and correspondence, venue and meal planning, etc. Through more workshop and Trainer’s Training participation and background coordination and operation, and work in the small company with Brad, I made my way to becoming certified as a Radical Honesty Trainer in 2017.
With the limited training I had, I didn’t feel very confident co-facilitating Radical Honesty workshops at that point and dabbled in peer-led workshops and meetups before beginning to offer workshops with other, more experienced Trainers. I gradually built my facilitation skills and confidence and by 2019 began more regularly offering Radical Honesty events online and in person.
Around that same time, several of us certified trainers formed the Radical Honesty Board of Directors as Brad was working toward retirement. I did a lot to keep the small company afloat through rotating CEOs, expansion of the trainer community, and challenging growing pains within the training program.
Radical Honesty was the biggest, most used tool in my toolbelt and I didn’t have a whole lot of other skills or practices to call on to keep myself healthy and happy.
By 2020 I was in utter burn-out in my work with the company and struggling living on my own during the height of the pandemic. In 2021 I was unwell enough that I was struggling to function and although I felt stuck, I also felt I had no choice but to step away from my work with Radical Honesty. What started as a 3 month break from the company and board turned into a permanent choice. At the end of three months I hadn’t begun to feel better but had been able to turn some of my attention to gentler work, so was able to take more time to focus on recuperating.
In my time mostly away from Radical Honesty, light was shed on messes and harm within the community, changes were made and are still in the making, more accountability is being held, and for many Radical Honesty Trainers there’s been a pretty big departure from teaching the practice of Radical Honesty in the way Brad Blanton originally intended.
With some distance from my work with Radical Honesty and from the community, and inspired by changes being made, I began to feel more interested in returning to workshop facilitation. Between then and now I’ve facilitated many workshops and especially in the last year have gotten more clear about how I want to offer this work to the world.
And through my recent work on the podcast with Mak, I’ve had so many insights about my time working with Brad, my time in workshops and working up to Trainer certification, and ways that I perpetuated problematic behavior in my early years of workshops facilitation. It’s been humbling and actually really inspiring in an unexpected way… I’ve been able to organically work my way around to remembering what’s most important to me about the practice of Radical Honesty and what drew me to it in the first place.
Through all the challenges and changes, what remains the same is my desire for authentic expression and genuine, deep connection with others.
And I wholeheartedly believe in the practices and tools I work with and teach people to use in the workshops I facilitate.
My way is not as provocative and prescriptive as Brad’s was. It’s not as in-your-face. And I believe that you can have the transformation you want in your life through a gentler sort of learning and practice of Radical Honesty. A practice that has more honor and respect for where you’re at in your own personal journey, and offers strong support and encouragement as you challenge yourself to be more honest and bold in the ways you choose.
If finding more comfort and confidence in your full self expression is compelling, and connecting deeply and meaningfully with your people is important to you, you’ll likely get something of value out of the Radical Honesty Basics Online Workshop that I’m offering on February 22nd. Four hours of practice and sharing in a small, supportive group, in a virtual space built for experimentation and expansion.
It would be my honor to welcome you later this month, and to support you in whatever you’re up to in your life that’s drawing you toward deeper work with honesty and authenticity.
And if you’re interested in the details about the story I’ve just shared, you want to hear Mak’s story, and you’d like to learn more about our experience as Radical Honesty practitioners and facilitators over the last decade+, I would love to invite you to listen to our INSIDE OUTSIDE UPSIDE DOWN podcast!
Season 1 episodes will begin to drop in March! Follow along to be notified of episode releases, to get a peak into episode content, and to give suggestions for future episode topics.
With care,
Lindsay