How Small Acts of Courage Can Change Your Life: A Conversation with Adam Girsault

On this week’s episode of Something New Is Possible, I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Girsault, an entrepreneur, CEO of Your Dream School, and a proud gay dad who has intentionally built a life that reflects who he truly is.

Our conversation moved between personal and professional. We spoke about what it means to step outside of the life you’re “supposed” to live, how small acts of courage can reshape your identity, and what it actually takes to create a life that feels aligned from the inside out.

Stepping Outside the Default Path

Adam’s story doesn’t follow a straight line.

He moved from Paris to London, into entrepreneurship, then into the corporate world, and eventually back to entrepreneurship, but this time on his own terms.

What stood out to me is that his decisions weren’t driven only by opportunity, but by a deeper need for meaning and impact. He realized that even in a successful corporate role, something was missing. That awareness became the starting point for a different kind of exploration.

The Rejection Challenge: Changing Your Relationship with Discomfort

A turning point in Adam’s journey came from a simple but powerful idea: deliberately seeking out discomfort.

Inspired by a TED Talk on rejection therapy, he created his own daily challenge. Each day, he would do something that felt uncomfortable: approaching strangers, asking for things he expected to be refused, or putting himself in situations that stretched his comfort zone.

At first, even saying hello to strangers felt difficult.

Over time, that changed.

What began as an experiment became a shift in identity. Adam saw firsthand that the things we avoid often hold the key to growth, and that confidence builds through experience, not theory.

One of the most powerful takeaways from this part of the conversation is that identity is not fixed. We tend to define ourselves based on past behavior, but those definitions can change when we take different actions consistently.

Building a Family on Their Own Terms

Another meaningful part of our conversation focused on Adam and his husband’s journey to becoming parents.

After exploring different options, they chose surrogacy and eventually welcomed their son. Like many non-traditional paths, the process came with uncertainty, external opinions, and moments of doubt.

What struck me was the way Adam described the experience as deeply human.

Despite the challenges, they built a genuine relationship with their surrogate and approached the process with care, respect, and intention. Their story is a reminder that there are many ways to build a family, and that love and commitment are what ultimately shape that experience.

The Role of Difficult Conversations

We also spoke about something that applies to all areas of life: the importance of having conversations that feel uncomfortable.

Whether it’s coming out, expressing a need, or setting a boundary, many of us hold back because we’re afraid of how others will respond.

Adam shared openly that if he had avoided those conversations, he would not be living the life he has today.

There’s a cost to staying silent, and there’s also a possibility that opens up when we’re willing to be honest, even when it’s difficult.

Taking Action Before You Feel Ready

Toward the end of our conversation, Adam shared something that I see often in my own work as well.

We tend to believe that motivation comes first, and then we take action.

In reality, it often works the other way around.

You take a small step, even if you don’t feel fully ready. And through that action, momentum begins to build. Confidence follows experience.

It doesn’t have to be a big leap. It can be something small, something slightly uncomfortable, something that moves you just beyond where you are right now.

That’s where change begins.