I’m normally more of a fiction gal, but lately I’ve been into reading some non-fiction, business-centered books.
I’ve been feeling more entrepreneurial than ever before. I obviously run this blog myself and try to keep up with it – I would love for my follower and content bases both to expand. I also have two jobs…and counting. I say and counting because I have the opportunity to take on another two roles in my field, and lately I’m in a “yes” state of mind.
However, I recently sat down with my parents and explained to them this new overwhelming feeling I’ve been experiencing. I explained that although my jobs are part time, they are full time mentally. For example, running the various social media accounts and website of a store while simultaneously running my blog’s social media accounts and website and my personal social media accounts sometimes makes me feel like I have to be three different people at once. And one of my latest opportunities would require adding a fourth persona into that mix. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way sending out “whoa is me” vibes. I’m lucky to genuinely enjoy the things I’m doing.
I just sometimes get frustrated with the fact that just because I don’t have a 9-to-5 desk job, people think I don’t work hard. The thing with most desk jobs, though, is that at the end of the day, you can leave the desk and shut off that section of your mind. You can’t do that when you essentially ARE a brand.
That’s why I finally felt the need to read Sophia Amoruso’s #GIRLBOSS. I had definitely been interested in the bestseller when it hit shelves in 2014, but lately the desire to read Amoruso’s perspective on a creative, fashion-centric career seemed more relevant than ever.
For those that aren’t familiar, Amoruso is the founder of Nasty Gal, a huge online fashion retailer. (At the time the book was published, she had also been the only CEO of the company. She has since stepped down to focus more of her energy on the creative side of the company, ironically enough.) Amoruso went from digging through garbage for her next meal to sitting in the boardroom of a wildly successful retailer.
#GIRLBOSS is part success story, part advice-giver, and part tough-lover. The book wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I loved it anyway – or maybe because of that. After I finished the book (in one sitting) I started looking at course catalogues of fashion schools. Needless to say my parents laughed and told me that I better make my 2.5 jobs into 8 if that’s my plan. Oops.
But regardless of what my future actually holds (probably not school, to be honest), my point is that #GIRLBOSS got me off my butt and into action mode.
Rather than reiterate all the lessons that Amoruso shares in the book, I’ve compiled my favorite quotes from the novel. Enjoy, girlbosses!
- “You don’t get taken seriously by asking someone to take you seriously. You’ve got to show up and own it.”
- “Fortune favors the bold who get shit done.”
- “The more you know what you want, the less you’re willing to put up with what you don’t.”
- “While I truly believe that you must have intentions to fulfill your dreams, I also think you have to leave room for the universe to have its way and play around a bit. Don’t get so focused on one particular opportunity that you’re blind to the other ones that come up. If you think about one thing, and talk about it all the time, you’re being too obsessive. You might ruin it. If you let yourself meander a bit, then the right things and the right people fall into place.”
- “You have to kick people out of your head as forcefully as you’d kick someone out of your house if you didn’t want them to be there.”
- “Your challenge as a #GIRLBOSS is to dive headfirst into things without being too attached to the results. When your goal is to gain experience, perspective, and knowledge, failure is no longer a possibility.”
- “When you begin with the finish line in mind, you miss all the fun stuff along the way.”
- “You can have a ton of money and buy yourself all the designer goods you can stuff into the trunk of your Mercedes-Benz, but no amount of money can buy you style.”
- “Clothing is ultimately the suit of armor in which we battle the world. When you choose your clothing right, it feels good. And there’s nothing shallow about feeling good.”
