If you ever had any doubts before ... this book will confirm all your media fears.
“The most powerful predictor of virality is how much anger an articlIf you ever had any doubts before ... this book will confirm all your media fears.
“The most powerful predictor of virality is how much anger an article evokes.”
"If news doesn’t go viral or get feedback, then the news needs to be changed. If news does go viral, it means the story was a success—whether or not it was accurate, in good taste, or done well."
Awareness is key.
Lots of hard truths.
“In an age of images and entertainment, in an age of instant emotional gratification, we neither seek nor want honesty or reality. Reality is complicated. Reality is boring. We are incapable or unwilling to handle its confusion.”...more
[2021 Update: Not sure I've hated any other book quite as much as this one aside from maybe The Alchemist. When I see people praising it, it low key m[2021 Update: Not sure I've hated any other book quite as much as this one aside from maybe The Alchemist. When I see people praising it, it low key makes my blood boil. Probably says more about me than them though. Just too much "enlightened theology bro" for me.]
***Update: My most hated book of 2017. One year later, it still irritates me whenever I see it on lists like, “10 Life-Changing Tips From The Best Nonfiction Books.” ...more
Rating: 1.5 stars (1/2 for pure entertainment, like a train wreck)
As a female entrepreneur, I initially liked the idea of a book about a #GirlBoss eveRating: 1.5 stars (1/2 for pure entertainment, like a train wreck)
As a female entrepreneur, I initially liked the idea of a book about a #GirlBoss even if I wasn't sold on the title. Unfamiliar with the Nasty Gal brand, I had seen the hype around the book (Goodreads Best Business Books 2014) and am always on board for strong females discussing their success.
The first part of the book drew me in, and was relatively entertaining. I was surprised to learn the first thing Sophia Amoruso sold online was stolen (she used to steal a lot), and that she was once a dumpster diving freegan. She also believes in magic and planting wishes in her life via sigils and passwords.
It didn’t take long to realize this was not going to be the kind of book with any strong takeaways. The writing style heralds Mad Libs for blockbuster books, and the “advice” is irritatingly basic and inane (geared for millennial girls): “Be a nice person at work . . . If you are a total terror to work with, no one will want to keep you around,” “Life is short. Don’t be lazy,” “Being a girl is fun,” etc. Any time the word “ain’t” is used particularly makes my skin crawl, it seemed like she was talking to tween airheads, or was perpetuating one herself (“And the top of the chain ain’t gonna like it.”). The ditsy, magically successful fashion lady.
After she passed the “rags” portion of her story and got started on the “riches” ($250-million-plus), Amoruso started to come off, as a friend put it: "sounding like a condescending know-it-all.” This portion was difficult to get through, but was peppered with other female success snippets that broke up the pomposity.
Yes, it is a Cinderella story with social media, fashion, and monetary success—but at the end of the day, it’s just a marginally interesting, braggadocious tale. Post #GirlBoss (2014), Nasty Gal suffered layoffs, lawsuits, disgruntled employees, and Amoruso stepped down from CEO in 2015. She also was dropped from Forbes' Richest Self-Made Women when Nasty Gal filed for bankruptcy in 2016. It's not all bad news for Amoruso, she is producing an adaptation of #GirlBoss for Netflix in 2017.
Reading this, I felt at times I was being Punk’d. My favorite part was the end, and I would never recommend this book to anyone.
* Still, props to Amoruso for being a successful (no matter for how long) female entrepreneur. It was a bold move to write this book, and if you want to be rich, you've got to be a bitch.
“Bad bitches are taking over the world.” — #GirlBoss...more
Great book. Good perspective. Valid points. Less is more.
“Not only do people have ridiculously high expectations which are almost never met, but when Great book. Good perspective. Valid points. Less is more.
“Not only do people have ridiculously high expectations which are almost never met, but when they aren’t met, they attribute the responsibility for that failure to themselves. And self blame is a critical component of why we are experiencing an epidemic of clinical depression in the United States. At a time when we’ve never been richer or had more choice, people seem to be getting sadder and sadder.”
- Barry Schwartz, in a talk about The Paradox of Choice...more
*Every time you sit down to work, remind yourself: I am delaying gratification by doing this. I am passing the marshmallow test. I am earning what my *Every time you sit down to work, remind yourself: I am delaying gratification by doing this. I am passing the marshmallow test. I am earning what my ambition burns for. I am making an investment in myself instead of in my ego.*
Review to come ... after I write the two articles that are due. 😅...more
A man before his time, a classic Stoic. Sage advice for any era, should be mandatory reading.
Timeless, epic, so very zen.
"Men seek retreats for themseA man before his time, a classic Stoic. Sage advice for any era, should be mandatory reading.
Timeless, epic, so very zen.
"Men seek retreats for themselves, houses in the country, sea-shores, and mountains; and thou too art wont to desire such things very much. But this is altogether a mark of the most common sort of men, for it is in thy power whenever thou shalt choose to retire into thyself. For nowhere either with more quiet or more freedom from trouble does a man retire than into his own soul."
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