Sophia Amoruso is one of the most prominent and iconic figures in retail and was named "fashion's new phenom" by Forbes magazine. She is the founder of Nasty Gal, an online global marketplace for new and vintage clothes and accessories. She is also the author of #GIRLBOSS, a New York Times bestseller, and created the #GirlBoss Foundation which awards grants to women in fashion, design, and music.
Sophia says, "I like to make promises that I'm not sure I can keep and then figure out how to keep them. I think you can will things into happening by just committing to them sometimes". She's done this many times and has made it work for her. An example she gives is when she first started selling clothes on eBay. She'd leave feedback for her customers about her website "Coming soon, nastygalvintage.com". However, she didn't have a website in progress at all. When she was hit with the reality that she was now expected to have a website, she got to work building it. When her website launched, she was completely suspended off of eBay so her website had to now carry all of the business. She used her site to launch Nasty Gal and turned it into the successful retailer that it is today, but it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't promise her customers a website when she hadn't built it yet.
I think we often hold back because of the doubt in our mind, the "what if I tell people and it doesn't work". Sophia didn't allow these doubts to stop her though. She promised a website she hadn't started creating and then made it happen. In the end, posting the URL is what got her suspended from eBay but it also allowed her to launch her own business, instead of staying as a seller on eBay.
Remember, don't let doubt stop you from jumping and building a plane on the way down.
"Amoruso's book, #GIRLBOSS, is actually the book that inspired me to start Jiva More Life. I wanted those around me to stop listening to their doubts and pursue their dreams instead - believing that they too are limitless." - Radhika, Founder & CEO
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Ferriss, Timothy, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers HMH Books, 2016.