When I was a teacher, one of the worst things a kid could have, the thing that would hold her back throughout life and beyond, was low self-concept.

It was whispered about children, as though they would never get any farther than flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s because they had, you know:

a low self-concept

Of course, as teachers, we did everything we could—praise, special recognition, a paper crown on their birthday, stapling their paintings front and center on the bulletin board—in a valiant effort to make them feel better about themselves.

So they would have improved self-esteem.

There was nothing wrong with that, of course. Kids need to grow up feeling good about themselves.

But in the adult world of the creative arts, I find that the best writers, bloggers, and plain old communicators, the ones whose stuff I can’t wait to read, have a certain vulnerability. They let me in close, tell me what they’re really feeling. They examine themselves, bare their hearts and souls.

Admit their humanness.

I love Mitch Joel’s quote in his post, The Power of Vulnerability:

The heart and soul of great art is the ability for the artist to be vulnerable.

If being vulnerable means taking off the armor and allowing yourself to be hurt, it also means being open enough to connect with people on deeper levels—to touch the heart and not just the head.