My review of Girl Code by Cara Alwill Leyba

“You know a woman is strong, beautiful, and secure by the way she empowers others.” – Alicia DiMichele

I stumbled upon Girl Code while perusing the business section in Barnes & Noble not too long ago. Now, I don’t like to judge a book by its cover, but something about the black, light pink and gold caught my eye. As I began to read the summary on the back cover, I began wondering why this gem was in the business section. Sure, it’s geared towards the female entrepreneur…but now that I’ve finished the book, I believe all women in general would benefit from reading it. Entrepreneur or not.

I couldn’t have found this book at a better time in my life. I found it a time when I was lacking inspiration. I found it when I was asking myself questions like “why don’t other bloggers in my area want to work with me? Why are people making snide remarks about my life decisions and blog?” I also found this book at moment when I was craving a #girlboss role model.

As a woman, I’ll be the first to say, women are the worst. I have 3 to 4 female friends in my life, 1 of which is my mother, and there’s a good reason why. Women tend to be catty and they’ll be the first to judge you when they can’t relate to your lifestyle. As women, we tend to be hard on ourselves anyway, so why add more negativity and criticism to the mix? With that said, I choose to surround myself with positive women who understand, support and love me. I’ve learned if I have to spend time convincing women to like me, they’re probably not worth my time to begin with.

Girl Code was a breath of fresh air and I can’t wait to read it again with a highlighter in hand. Cara’s positive messages and compelling interviews, with strong women who have overcome obstacles in their lives to achieve greatness, are inspiring.

I finished reading the book with so many takeaways, these are only just a few: when women support other women amazing things happen. There’s enough success to go around for all of us, so don’t be afraid to celebrate someone else’s success. Insecurity competes, confidence empowers. Lastly,  it’s ok to create the life you wish existed.

So many inspirational women share their personal mission statements throughout the book, which left me thinking, what would mine be? Easy. It would be this : We all get a life but it’s up to us what we do with it. If you choose to get married, buy a house and have kids, fine. If you choose to be a renter and kid-free so you can travel and buy expensive handbags, fine.  Are either one of those choices wrong? The answer is, no. Do what makes you happy and don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for it.

If you’ve read Girl Code, I’d love to hear your takeaways or personal mission statement!