I recently had great pleasure reading the #GIRLBOSS written by the CEO of Nasty Gal, Sophia Amoruso. Being one of the most successful business women in the United States, she is now in charge of a $100 million plus online fashion retailer with more than 350 employees. But she is not always lucky. When she was in her early twenties, she was broke, directionless, and working a mediocre day job. This book is about the journey of how she started and how she came to where she is today.
1. A #GIRLBOSS knows when to throw punches and when to roll with them.
Have you ever thought about how you could go about your own unique path instead of working a normal 9-5 job? Or have you ever dreamed about being an entrepreneur and leading your own life? Well, that happens to me a lot. But if your answer is yes, congratulations! You’ve already taken the first step toward an awesome life by simply wanting one. But I have to tell you it’s not easy. It is much more difficult to be unusual. You may fail many times and feel upset about yourself. You may have doubts and experience confusion. But trust me, every failure has an opportunity in it. If you are able to be a sponge and soak it all up, the goods and the bads will take you far.
2. Accept the discomfort and fight with the boredom.
If you think being an entrepreneur is a lot of fun, you are wrong! In fact, you have to deal with lots of discomfort and boredom. So often, I would fall into the trap of judging myself too hard and being unconfident. But as Sophia told us, the true success lies in knowing your weaknesses and playing to your strengths. Perhaps you fail in one field and feel really bad about it. But seriously, so what? Everybody makes mistakes. And it is good to know what you are good at and what you are not. You then know how to adjust and improve. Same thing with the boredom. Just like David Foster Wallace says, if you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish. You just need to practice and learn how to get along with yourself. Accept the imperfection, and you are fine.
3. Learn from your past and play by the rules (at least some of them).
Sophia was a thief and a badass. But she learned from her mistakes. Look at it in a good way, her past actually shaped her later life in a lot of different ways. She realized there is no time for crime and we do have to play by some of the rules. You can make your own rules, but there are also things that you need to obey. Here is a short quote that I believe are awesome suggestions.
“Celebrate when there’s something to celebrate. Take pride in what you do. Don’t do sloppy work. Be the best. Have something original and special to offer that makes people’s lives better. Don’t have sex with everyone in the world you work in. It’s a small world. Good luck!”
4. Money looks better in the bank than on your feet.
Financial skill is just damn so important! You have to learn how to control your desire and manage your finances. It doesn’t matter if you made $100,000,000 or not. But if you spent $100,000,001, you are in debt. Indeed, only when you are financially secure can you live your own life. So, don’t live like a CEO when you are still a sandwich artist! Even when you can afford to buy the luxury goods, you shouldn’t spend all your money buying Chanel, Chanel, and Chanel! That’s definitely a big no to spend as soon as your income increases.
5. Learn about the power of magical thinking.
You may not believe in it, but it is really magical. The universe can hear what you want and bring you the good things. Another book named Secret has also demonstrated the same idea. All the little things you’ve done will connect together and show you the new path, so take good care of it. I believe in goodwill and good intentions. If you approach everything in your life with a certain degree of intention, you can affect the outcome.
6. Why fit in when you are born to standout?
That’s my favorite quote actually! Being a #GIRLBOSS means you want to create your own life and you belong wherever you want to belong. But there are also great challenges. The first one is to dive headfirst into things without being too attached to the results. I strongly resonate with Sophia when she talked about no matter where you are in life, you’ll save a lot of time by not worrying too much about what other people think about you.
7. Don’t just dream about success, work for it.
If you are a #GIRLBOSS, you should work harder than everybody else. For me, I like to be challenged, seeing or reading something that opens my eyes or gives me chills is the whole point of everything. As hard as it might be, just stop caring so much about what other people think. But instead, find a way to hear what you want. Recognize what is your passion, your dream, then put everything you have into that. It can be small as the food you put in your body, or big as your work and the relationships you surround yourself with. Once you realize what you really want, then everything can make you feel like a #GIRLBOSS.
8. Take care of your business.
Be hustle, hustle, hustle. I can’t stress this more. I love what Abraham Lincoln said about “things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”
The business that you create needs to be taken good care of! All the details matters. Be sincere to your employees and your customers. Treat them as your friends and family, they will feel it.
9. Own your style like you own your used car.
If you aim to step into the fashion world, creativity is something you need. But more importantly, I believe curiosity should be the fundamental part. Be curious about life in all aspects. Absorb new things and meet people. You gotta own your style and make it as unique as it could be. This world doesn’t need another boring photographer, model, or stylist. Trust in your gut and your vision, then do something about it!!
10. Chances are everywhere. Opportunities are for those who prepared.
Oh gosh, finally come to the last one! I just want to tell you, when you are open-minded, things will come to you. Take the leap of faith before seeing the bridge because if you don’t, someone else will get that holy grail.
Good luck girls!