What Miley Cyrus Taught Me About Facing Fear

In a world full of noise, authentic stories cut through and truly resonate with us.

Miley Cyrus, in her recent speech, gave us a masterclass in storytelling.

She didn’t just share facts about her journey—she took us along for the ride, making us feel the excitement, fear, and triumphs she experienced along the way.

So you're probably wondering...what makes her storytelling so powerful?

1. Authenticity: Miley doesn’t shy away from sharing the highs and lows. From her nervous audition for Hannah Montana to her first concert at a mall, she lets us in on her vulnerabilities and victories. This honesty is what grabs at our heartstrings and makes us feel connected to her journey.

2. Relatability: By sharing personal slices of life like shopping for that fateful audition t-shirt, she allows us to see ourselves in her story. We’ve all had moments of doubt, dreams that felt out of reach, and it’s these shared experiences that bridge the gap between the star and the audience.

3. Engagement: Her storytelling isn’t just about recounting events—it’s about creating a shared experience. We’re not just hearing her story; we’re living it with her, feeling the anticipation, the fear, and the joy as if it were our own.

4. Inspiration: By the end of her speech, we’re not just informed; we’re inspired. She shows us that fear and failure are part of the journey, but they don’t define us. It’s the courage to keep going that makes us legendary.

Miley’s ability to weave storytelling into her speech is a powerful reminder that our stories are not just for us—they’re a way to connect, inspire, and remind others that they’re not alone on their journey.

How can you use stories to connect with your clients, prospects, and colleagues? What might shift if you practiced sharing stories that called people in and made them remember what you shared?

I'm thrilled to share that I've partnered with Forum and am offering a Group Communication Experiential Learning Beta Program in which you can sign up for two months and get the first month for FREE. 

It's the perfect way to blend experiential learning, role-play, and improv activities. We'll start with simple, low-stakes activities and build to bolder conversations each week. You get to practice using your voice and speaking up for the ideas and issues that matter the most to you, and it's a completely safe environment.

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P.S. If Miley hadn’t faced her fears and embraced the unknown, she wouldn’t be where she is today. Imagine where you could be if you took that next bold step in your journey—don’t let fear hold you back from achieving your own legendary success. Sign up today, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. CLICK HERE

Transcript from speech:

Before I get started, I’m gonna let everybody in a little Disney Legend secret. I’m the one that tells you what you’re not supposed to know. And what I want to say is that legends get scared, too. I’m scared right now, but the difference is we do it anyway, and all of you can do that every single day. It’s legendary to be afraid and do it anyway. There is no such thing as failure when you try. That’s the only way you lose [by not trying]. The way you win is to try. So here I am. I’ll show you; I made two speeches: one long if I’m the badass that I’m supposed to be, and one short if I get scared. So I want to say thank you. It’s such an honor to receive this award. My other legends have said it best: It is all because of you, everyone in this room, outside of this room. It’s all about the fans. And in 2005, Disney was on a mission to rebuild and reimagine the company. That’s why they hired Bob Iger and me. I remember this clearly because it was during the auditioning process of Hannah Montana. There was a buzz in that Burbank Disney office where it’s rumored they create all of us Disney kids. I definitely wasn’t created in a lab, and if I was, there must have been a bug in the system which caused me to malfunction somewhere between the years of 2013 and ’16. Sorry, Mickey! I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, where I sent my audition tape from. After those tapes were sent in, my mom got a message that what I said was great, but I was just too small, and I was too young for the part. A year or more goes by, and I forget all about Hannah Montana. But then we get a call, and they tell us that they fully casted the show, they’ve already shot a pilot, but the show just isn’t working. So they want me to come out to L.A. and audition in person. My mom tells me the news but reiterates that if I get it, I’m going to have to leave school and all of my friends. So we go to the mall to shop for what I’d wear to the audition and in true fashion of fate, there hangs a T-shirt that says, ‘I should have my own TV show.’ So we took it home, bedazzled it, and flew out to L.A. After a few of those auditioning trips, I got the part. I came out to California to shoot the pilot, I fell in love with L.A.: the beach, the palm trees, they were awesome. But it was the sound stage that I lived for. I mean it was the most beautiful place that I’d ever seen. There were lights, dressing rooms, the wardrobe racks, there were costume fittings, wig fittings, acting, dance, vocal lessons. It was like being on RuPaul’s Drag Race Junior. We shot the pilot, we went back to Nashville to wait, but I had gotten a taste of what my life could be like, and from that moment on, I did not want anything else. So when I was told the show had gotten picked up, I just couldn’t wait to get back to stage nine. But because Hannah Montana is a pop star, we needed footage of her playing sold out concerts, but no one knew who she, a.k.a. Miley, was. So they gave away tickets at the Glendale mall where I would have my first free concert. And the first song I opened with was titled, “This Is the Life.” Which of course no one knew because in reality, I was a little girl in a blonde wig at the mall with a big dream, but in my heart, I was Hannah Montana. And I was so proud to be. A little bit of everything has changed since that day. But at the same time, nothing has changed at all. I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana because she made Miley in so many ways. This award is dedicated to Hannah and all of her amazing, loyal fans, and to everyone who has made my dream a reality. To quote the legend herself, “This is the life.”