Stop Trying to Improve Yourself

Welcome to Wednesday. Safe moves are officially off the table.

September is National Self-Improvement Month.

I have an unusual suggestion.

Maybe you don't need that much improving.

I'm not arguing against growth.

Learn the skill.
Read the book.
Get stronger.
Become better at the things that matter to you.

But ambitious women can spend a lot of time asking:

How can I get better?

When sometimes the more powerful question is:

How can I get into a better position?

Because those are not the same thing.

Maybe you don't need another certification.

Maybe you need to put yourself forward for the opportunity now.

Maybe you don't need to become indispensable.

Maybe you need more authority or ownership.

Maybe you don't need to work harder so people finally notice your contribution.

Maybe you need to make your contribution more visible.

Maybe you don't need another six months to feel confident about your price.

Maybe you need to say the bigger number out loud.

And maybe the next level of your life doesn't require a better version of you.

Maybe it requires a more powerful position for the woman you already are.

Self-improvement can be valuable.

But there's a trap hidden inside it:

You can start treating yourself as the problem that always needs solving.

Not earning enough?

Get another credential.

Not getting recognized?

Work harder.

Not being considered?

Build more experience.

Not getting the opportunities you want?

Become more impressive.

Sometimes those are exactly the right moves.

But not automatically.

Because you can become smarter, more qualified, more productive, more prepared, and more accomplished without materially changing your position.

That's why I want us to add another question to the self-improvement conversation:

What needs to improve around me?

My compensation?

My visibility?

My access?

My authority?

My network?

My ownership?

My opportunities?

My position in the room?

Because if your position is the problem, endlessly improving yourself may never solve it.

This week, conduct a Power Audit.

Think of one area where you've been telling yourself you need to improve.

Write down the sentence.

"I need to get better at __________."

Now challenge it:

What if I stopped trying to improve myself here and improved my position instead?

Then translate the answer into a move.

"I need more experience."

→ What opportunity could I pursue now?

"I need to be better at networking."

→ Which three relationships would actually change my access?

"I need to prove my value."

→ Where does my value need to become more visible?

"I need to feel more confident before I raise my rate."

→ What should I actually be charging?

"I need to work harder."

→ Where do I need more authority, leverage, support, or ownership instead?

Don't assume every problem requires a better version of you.

Find out whether it requires a better position.

Then make one move to change it.

You already know the difference between improving yourself and improving your position.

Imagine becoming significantly better at your job while your compensation stays the same.

You've improved.

Your position hasn't.

Imagine becoming the person everyone depends on while someone else retains the authority to make the decisions.

You've improved your usefulness.

Your position hasn't necessarily changed.

Imagine spending another year preparing for an opportunity you were already capable of pursuing.

You've improved.

But the opportunity may have gone to someone who put herself forward.

This is why the distinction matters.

Growth and power are not automatically the same thing.

Sometimes growth means learning more.

Sometimes growth means making a move.

Know which one you're dealing with.

There is nothing un-Brazen about wanting to become better.

The problem begins when better becomes the price you think you have to pay before you're allowed to want more.

More money.

More authority.

More visibility.

More ownership.

More access.

More opportunity.

That's a very different proposition.

You don't have to become perfect before you negotiate.

You don't have to become fearless before you ask.

You don't have to know everything before you lead.

You don't have to exhaust every possible form of self-improvement before deciding you're ready for something bigger.

Sometimes the next move isn't:

Become better.

It's:

Claim better.

Brazen Law reinforced: Don't make yourself the improvement project when your position is the problem.

Where have you been trying to improve yourself when what you really want is to improve your position?

That's today's move.

Stop automatically asking how you need to become better. Ask what needs to become better for you.

The Brazen Capital Movement is in its stakeholder-discovery phase, exploring how we can strengthen the connections among women founders, capital, innovation, and economic opportunity.

Right now, I especially want to hear from two groups:

Women founders — particularly women who have raised, are raising, have considered raising capital, or are building businesses where access to capital and opportunity matters.

Women with capital or access to it — investors, funders, allocators, and women who influence or connect founders to capital and economic opportunity.

I’m conducting a select number of 20-minute research conversations about what’s actually working, what isn’t, where meaningful gaps remain, and what could create greater economic opportunity for women entrepreneurs.

This is research, not a sales pitch or networking request. The goal is to listen before deciding what BCM should build.

→ Volunteer for a 20-minute BCM research conversation https://forms.gle/vzJbf6sH2H8tpiTd9

—Martise
Founder, BrazenEra
Building Project Brazen 2026

P.S. - In five weeks, The Brazen Code arrives.

One of the three pillars of the Code is Put Yourself First.

And underneath that idea is a question I've been thinking about a lot:

What changes when women stop automatically assuming we're the thing that needs fixing?

Sometimes growth absolutely means becoming better at something.

But sometimes the more powerful move is changing the conditions around you.

Your price.

Your position.

Your visibility.

Your ownership.

Your access.

That's Put Yourself First in practice.

Because The Brazen Code isn't just something I want women to read.

It's something I'm proposing we practice.

One more thing:

If you know a woman who keeps telling herself she needs one more credential, one more accomplishment, one more year of experience, or one more dose of confidence before she's ready...

Send her this Power Letter.

And ask her one question:

What if you're already ready enough to make the move?

If she wants the next Brazen Power Letter in her own inbox, send her here:

👉 https://newsletter.brazenera.co/

Women like us don't spend our lives auditioning for the next level. We put ourselves in position for it.