38 Inspiring Quotes from Sophia Amoruso's #GIRLBOSS (and 8 personal takeaways)

1.  I have three pieces of advice that I want you to remember: Don’t ever grow up. Don’t become a bore. Don’t ever let the Man get to you. Okay? Cool. Then let’s do this. #GIRLBOSS for life. [Page 6]
2. Here’s the thing about being a #GIRLBOSS – it’s not easy. It takes a lot of hard work to get there, and then once you arrive, it takes even more hard work to stay there. A #GIRLBOSS is someone who’s in charge of her own life. She gets what she wants because she works for it. As a #GIRLBOSS, you take control and accept responsibility. You’re a fighter – you know when to throw punches and when to roll with them. Sometimes you break the rules, sometimes you follow them, but always on your own terms. You know where you’re going, but can’t do it without having some fun along the way. You value honesty over perfection. You ask questions. You take your life seriously, but you don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re going to take over the world, and change it in the process. You’re a badass. [Page 11]
3. If there were rules to being a #GIRLBOSS – which there are not – one of them would be to question everything – including me. [Page 12]
4. I don’t want you to look up, #GIRLBOSS, because all that looking up can keep you down. The energy you’ll expend focusing on someone else’s life is better spent working on your own. Just be your own idol. [Page 13]
5. Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities. Know that there is no finish line; fortune favors action. Race balls-out toward the extraordinary life that you’ve always dreamed of, or still haven’t had time to dream up. And prepare to have a hell lot of fun along the way. #GIRLBOSS is a feminist book, and Nasty Gal is a feminist company in the sense that I encourage you, as a girl, to be who you want and do what you want. [Page 14]
6. I believe the best way to honor the past and future of women’s rights is by getting shit done. Instead of sitting around and talking about how much I care, I’m going to kick ass and prove it. And when I put on makeup, I’m not doing it to pander to antiquated patriarchal ideals of feminine beauty. I’m doing it because it makes me feel good. That’s the spirit of Nasty Gal: We want you to dress for yourself, and know that it’s not shallow to put effort into how you look. I’m telling you that you don’t have to choose between smart and sexy. You can have both. You are both. [Page 14-5]
7. I entered adulthood believing that capitalism was a scam, but I’ve instead found that it’s a kind of alchemy. You combine hard work, creativity, and self-determination, and things start to happen. And once you start to understand that alchemy, or even just recognize it, you can begin to see the world in a different way. [Page 16]
8. I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. ~ Douglas Adams [Page 57]
9. To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish. ~ David Foster Wallace [Page 61]
10. What I know now is that nothing is universally boring – what’s boring to you could be totally engaging to someone else. If you’re bored and hating it, it’s a big sign that you’re most likely just in the wrong place. So hell, make it something you enjoy, because bored is not a #GIRLBOSS’s natural state. At all. [Page 62]
11. I approached them [jobs] with a sense of tourism and experimentation. Rather than being tied to how it all worked out, I felt like I was just going to see where things went. When you approach everything as if it’s a big, fun experiment, then it’s not that big of a deal if things don’t work out. If the plan changes, that can be even better. There are secret opportunities hidden inside every failure, but start looking now – they are everywhere! [Page 65]
12. So, #GIRLBOSS, if you suck at school, don’t let it kill your spirit. It does not mean that you are stupid or worthless, or that you are never going to succeed at anything. It just means that your talents lie elsewhere, so take the opportunity to seek out what you are good at, and find a place where you can flourish. Once you do, you’re going to kill it. [Page 71]
13. Living a comfortable life can allow you the psychic space needed to focus on other, often bigger, things, and when you treat your possessions as emblems of your hard work, they inherit a meaning that transcends the objects themselves. [Page 93]
14. Compromise is just a part of life. We all, at some point, find ourselves either directly or indirectly supporting something we disagree with. Rules surround all that we do, and no one, no matter how saintly she may seem, follows all of them. I choose to obey explicit rules – like you know, paying for something before I leave the store – but the rules that society implies we follow, well, those are the rules I have the most fun breaking. [Page 94]
15. Life is unwritten, like a great big experiment. Why not see how long the red string of my imaginary kite can get? And why not let it whisk me up into the sky with it when my dreams start to become reality. For that, I think it’s worth putting up with making some compromises, and even playing by (some of) the rules. [Page 95]
16. Figure out what you love doing and don’t suck at, then try to figure out how to make a living doing that! Don’t be scared. We’re all going to die, it’s just a question of when and how – so be brave! You will never regret trying to fulfill your dream! Don’t get caught up in hanging out and drinking or partying. 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. It’s a small world. Good luck. [Page 98]
17. If you learn to control your finances, you won’t find yourself stuck in jobs, places, or relationships that you hate just because you can’t afford to go elsewhere. Learning how to manage your money is one of the most important things you’ll ever do. Being in a good spot financially can open up so many doors. Being in a bad spot can slam them in your face. And being broke gets old, so start making smart decisions now to avoid paying for stupid ones later. [Page 103-4]
18. Cash is King. Money is a guarantee that we may have what we want in the future. Though we need nothing at the moment it insures the possibility of satisfying a new desire when it arises. ~ Aristotle [Page 106]
19. Do not spend more money than you have. Doing just that is not only the norm for a lot of people, but also a signifier of success. These things often weren't a sign of what these people could afford, but only of what they could borrow. [Page 107]
20. Another big no-no is increasing your spending as soon as your income increases. #GIRLBOSS, when your time spent making money is significantly greater than your time spent spending money, you will be amazed at how much you can save without even really thinking about it. [Page 108-9]
21. Sell things for more than you pay for them, and save more than you spend. Simple, yes, but that is the philosophy that ultimately led to a really big business. [Page 110]
22. Treat your savings account like just another bill. It has to be paid every month, or there are consequences. If you have direct deposit, have a portion of your paycheck automatically diverted into a savings account. Once it’s in there, forget about it. You never saw it anyway. It’s an emergency fund only (and vacations are not emergencies). If you’re tempted to buy something, just imagine that those new shoes were actually made out of crisp $20 bills. Do those $20 bills look good getting dirty on the sidewalk? No, they do not. That’s because money looks better in the bank than on your feet. [Page 111]
23. If you’re frustrated because you’re not getting what you want, stop for a second: Have you actually flat-out asked for it? If you haven’t, stop complaining. You can’t expect the world to read your mind. You have to put it out there, and sometimes putting it out there is as simple as just saying, “Hey, can I have that?” [Page 112]
24. There’s also the everyday kind of magic that we make for ourselves. It’s just recognizing the fact that we control our thoughts and our thoughts control our lives. This is an extremely simple, totally straightforward concept. It’s the age-old concept of like attracts like, or the law of attraction. You get back what you put out, so you might as well think positively, focus on visualizing what you want instead of getting distracted by what you don’t want, and send the universe your good intentions so that it can send them right back. [Page 111-20]
25. Each time you make a good decision or do something nice or take care of yourself; each time you show up to work and work hard and do your best at everything you can do, you’re planting seeds for a life that you can only hope will grow beyond your wildest dreams. Take care of the little things – even the little things that you hate – and treat them as promises to your own future. Soon you’ll see that fortune favors the bold who get shit done. [Page 121]
26. Chaos magic is the idea that a particular set of beliefs serves as an active force in the world. In other words, we choose what and how we believe, and our beliefs are tools that we then use to make things happen…or not. Though this comes from a school of magical thought, it actually seems really practical and “no duh” to me. It all goes back to the red string of my imaginary kite – if you believe something, other people will believe it, too. You can’t convince someone else that you’re amazing and terrific if you don’t actually think you are. This isn’t the false confidence that comes from getting a bunch of “likes” on your Instagram selfies, but a deep-down, unshakable self-confidence that persists even when things aren’t going all that great. A big practice in chaos magic is the use of sigils, which are abstract words or symbols you create and embed with your wishes. [Page 122]
27. 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 blinded to other ones that come up. If you let yourself meander a bit, then the right things and the right people fall into place. Some things are worth fighting for – but I really think that what is right should be easy. If something’s not working out, go after something else for a while. That’s not giving up, that’s just letting the universe have its way. If you approach everything in your life with a certain degree of intention, you can affect the outcome. At the absolute minimum, you will affect how you feel about the outcome and that is ultimately what matters the most. [Page 124-5]
28. Focus on the positive things in your life and you’ll be shocked at how many more positive things start happening. But before you start to think you just got lucky, remember that it’s magic, and you made it yourself. [Page 129]
29. 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. Failure is your invention. I believe that there is a silver lining in everything. It is she who listens to the rest of the world who fails, and it is she who has enough confidence to define success and failure for herself who succeeds. These words were not invented for an incremental life. “Success” and “failure” serve a world that is black-and-white. And as I said before, it's all just kinda gray. [Page 138-9]
30. 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. The earlier in your life that you can learn that, the easier the rest of it will be. You is who you is, so get used to it. When you accept yourself, it’s surprising how much other people will accept you, too. [Page 141-2]
31. I think if you have a unique point of view and stay relevant and authentic, you will make an impression. You have to be excited and passionate about your ideas to make them work. Chances are it will take twenty of those good ideas before one sticks and has a chance to become real, but a good idea is only good if there is a well-thought-out plan to make it a reality. The most important thing to do is to take risks. The risks are where breakthroughs happen, and big shifts take you to new places and create opportunities. They can be really scary and intimidating, but that means it is taking you out of your comfort zone. “Learn how to take care of yourself so that the man you marry is the man you choose to be with and not just the man who will take care of you.” My advice would be to dream and never stop dreaming. Making my dreams come true has always inspired me to work hard. One dream is never enough, and your dream can be molded and finessed along the way to become relevant and successful. [Page 146-7]
32. A #GIRLBOSS knows where she excels and where she could use some work, so get to know yourself and your weaknesses. [Page 159]
33. The #GIRLBOSS who is willing to do a job that is below her – and above – is the one who stands out. It’s that attitude, and behavior, that will get you ahead. [Page 164]
34. When you begin with the finish line in mind, you miss all the fun stuff along the way. The better approach is to tweak and grow, tweak and grow. I call it the incremental potential. [Page 181]
35. Entrepreneurial people are passionate about what they do, comfortable with taking risks, and quick at moving on from failures. [Page 187]
36. It’s cool to be kind. It’s cool to be weird. It’s cool to be honest and to be secure with yourself. Cool is the girl at a party who strike up a conversation with you when she notices you don’t seem to know many people there. [Page 225]
37. My entire path is littered with me defying every piece of advice I’ve ever been given. I’m giving you carte blanche to pick and choose from the advice outlined in this book. Hell, ignore it all if you want. But don’t ignore this: You create the world, blink by blink. It is entirely yours to discover and yours to create. That’s the number one thing, perhaps even the only thing, you can absolutely count on. Regardless of what you dreams are, if you listen only to those around you, the chances of your dreams coming true are very small. The world loves to tell you how difficult things are, and the world’s not exaggerating. But, here’s the real shit: You can’t have it all, and nothing comes easy. You will make sacrifices and compromises, get let down and let other people down, fail and start over, break some hearts, take some names, and learn to pick up and continue when your own heart gets broken. But difficult doesn’t mean impossible, and out of the bajillions of things in this universe that you can’t control, what you can control is how hard you try, and if or when to pack it in. [Page 236-7]
38. In a now famous commencement speech at Stanford University, Steve Jobs urged the graduating class to “stay hungry. Stay foolish.” Never let go of your appetite to go after new ideas, new experiences, and new adventures. Compete with yourself, not with others. Judge yourself on what is your personal best and you’ll accomplish more than you could ever have imagined. Life stops for no one, so keep moving. Stay awake and stay alive. There’s no AutoCorrect in life – think before texting the universe. Breaking the rules just for fun is too easy – the real challenge lies in perfecting the art of knowing which rules to accept and which to rewrite. The more you experiment, take risks, and make mistakes, the better you’ll know yourself, the better you’ll know the world, and the more focused you’ll be. And once you’ve found success, don’t stop. It’s not about being insatiable; it’s about not resting on your laurels. This crazy, loopy universe that we live in is pretty entertaining, and we’re only here for a short amount of time. #GIRLBOSSes make it count. Look up and look around, and if you’re not finding something inspiring, then you’re probably not looking hard enough. An advantage of being naïve is being able to believe in oneself when no one else will. If you start listening, you should find that your heart has known what’s up all along. [Page 237-8]

8 personal takeaways:

• Work hard, take control and accept responsibility.
• Adopt a learning attitude to improve my weaknesses.
• Don’t worry too much about what others think of me. (In life, 1/3 of the people you meet will like you, 1/3 are neutral with you and 1/3 will dislike/hate you. If the 1/3 who like you and the 1/3 who are neutral can agree with you, that's good enough.)
• Take life as an experiment and don’t be too attached to the outcome since failing is okay.
• Stay positive and try chaos/sigil magic.
• Keep dreaming and continue to fulfill the dreams in small steps.
• Have multiple sources of income as any business can go bankrupt.
• Save more than 50% of income every month.