LESSONS FROM GIRL BOSS

AUDACES FORTUNA IUVAT

 

I was scrolling through Netflix one night about a month ago looking for something new to start when a title caught my eye: Girl Boss. I mean, that sounds too cool right? So I read the premise and decided to give it a go. It seemed like the kind of thing I NEEDED to watch, being a blogger and all. Basically, Girl Boss is about a girl (true story yo!) called Sophia Amoruso who turns her life around from rock bottom to success by starting an online business selling vintage clothes on EBay. Hello inspiration, right? Nah, not really. Turns out it wasn’t what I thought it would be and mean for me as a blogger. But I completed the season anyway and learned a few things after all . . . 

1. Focus on your strengths

   We waste so much time focusing on our weaknesses instead of our strengths. Like if we can become average at something we aren’t naturally inclined to, it somehow means more than being friggin’ phenomenal at something we were born to do. Sophia’s strength wasn’t the generic “adulting” that is expected from most of us. It was vintage clothing: how to pick them, how to style them, how to sell them. And that’s where she succeeded. Not at the other things she was horrible at. I’ve always been a believer in the same. Do what you’re good at, hone your strengths. Shine! Try it and see the difference in your achievements. Effort x Strength = Success! Who wan’ts to be mediocre or average anyway? Not me!

2. Be fearless

   I said it up top: fortune favours the bold. You can’t go around life all timid and scared and be anything great. You must be fearless and bold and daring enough to go after what you want. That job. That man/woman. That body. That life. You must brave it all: the challenges and the doubts and the fears . . .  Sophia didn’t let having no money at all get in her way. She didn’t let the forum of vintage online sellers (or whatever they were called) get in her way. She didn’t even let that hernia get in her way. She was fearless and relentless in her pursuit of success. And guess what? she made it to the top!

3. Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do

   Because for most of us, this is how the world is set up. You can’t be where you need to or be who you want to until you’ve “paid your dues” to the universe. There are so many things you have to endure in order to make your dreams come to life. Or just to be okay enough to work on them. Like when Sophia had to get a job as a receptionist/guard at an arts school just so she could get medical insurance to get the hernia removed and she could go on with her business. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. And one day, when you’re dues are paid and the work is done, you can do what you want to do.

4. You can’t do it alone

   Most of us like to think we did it all by ourselves and never had any help from anyone. AT ALL. That’s highly unrealistic. Even when the whole world is against you (or so it seems) there is always someone who is a part of your story. A sister, a friend, a colleague, a parent, a lover. Someone who supports, encourages, listens, keeps us on track and even helps with the heavy lifting. In the case of Sophia it was different people, especially her BFF even though she didn’t want to acknowledge or appreciate it until the damage was done. We all need somebody. And what’s best, we all have somebody even when we can’t see it. Seek help. Accept assistance. We go farther together. Always.

5. Re-invest in your dreams

   That goes without saying. You don’t start making progress and profits just to squander it away. No. You plough that back into the hustle. You grow yourself and what you do. Re-invest. Because at  some point, you found it hard to start without the investments you thought you needed, remember those days? Now that you can, why act a fool? Look at Sophia, whatever profits she made went into expanding her business. She bought more clothes to sell. She rented storage/working space because her inventory was growing. She launched her own platform. She kept on reaching new heights. She didn’t immediately move into a lush apartment after her first few thousand. She used it to make more. And it was always worth it!

BONUS: THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY

We all have our own destinies and our own journeys. Just because someone does something one way doesn’t mean that’s the only or the right way. Just because your idea is different, doesn’t make it the wrong way. There really is no “correct” path to success. sometimes it takes big risks. Sometimes it takes proper planning and calculated, mitigated small time risks. Whatever works with you and your style – that’s the one. Don’t force someone else’s ways. Don’t let nay-sayers get to you. Be you. Do you. And you will find your way home.

 

xo