by Torrie Oglesby | Sep 15, 2015 | Learn + Grow
In a world where being a female and being black can get you sold or killed, Ronnie J. reminds us why now more than ever, we need to stand up and take our lives in our own hands. In this timely and honest read, Ronnie J speaks to girls everywhere, and though it is towards black girls, I believe this can speak to any female that has ever been a minority in any way, shape or form. It’s very insightful and empowering and makes you want to work even harder on the vision and dreams you’ve been given. Despite whatever adversity stands in your way Ronnie challenges you to stop making excuses and start taking control of your life.
With haunting statistics that make you realize just how harsh our reality is, Ronnie encourages us to question if we are going to fall into the statistics or rise above. She forces us to look at our decisions and choices and to be bold enough to choose the path that may not be the easiest in our lives because in the end, that is the path that gets us what we want out of life.
“Do you know what a diamond is without pressure? Coal. Invaluable lumps of coal. Your life is that diamond. You will have to work sometimes under pressure, to get where you want to be. Working hard and deviating from the norm may sound overwhelming but there is no better feeling than when you start seeing results and reaping the benefits of your hard work.”
After getting you pumped up in the first part of the book she then prepares you with methods and real world examples to help you achieve all your goals. Things like building work ethic, making a plan, sticking to it, and remaining unbothered in a world that is constantly trying to upset you and get you off focus. Finally she ends by encouraging us to finish strong!! The path will not always be easy but with a little sweat, a lot of prayer, and perseverance you will be fruitful in the end. I recommend this book to any young minority female who is building her empire despite all the challenges that she is facing. This book will inspire you and pull you forward on your journey!
All in all, I gave this book 4/5 stars. Defintely go pick it up and catch Ronnie on Instagram @OFFICIAL_CANILIVE to join the Can I Live? Movement.
With love and big smiles,
torrie
by Torrie Oglesby | Jul 18, 2015 | Learn + Grow
“I stopped feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere, and realized that I actually belonged anywhere I wanted to be.”
—Sophia Amoruso
I’m an avid reader, but very rarely does a book make me stay up all night reading it until I’ve finished it. #GIRLBOSS definitely was one of those books that kept me up in the late hours of the night until I finished it from front cover to back cover. Sophia Amoruso is not your average CEO, therefore you immediately feel welcomed and comfortable around her. I say her, because #GIRLBOSS literally felt like you were sitting down and having coffee with a friend who had valuable information to share with you. Sophia didn’t come from a wealthy family, didn’t get a fancy college degree and wouldn’t have been anyone’s first choice for a CEO, but with a spirit of excellence, hard work, and trusting and believing herself and her own path, she managed to become the CEO of one of the world’s fastest growing companies, Nasty Gal, a $100 million plus online fashion retailer with more than 350 employees.
Her book is filled with advice on how to work hard even when no one is looking, how to handle your money, and how being an outsider is okay, and possibly your best weapon. She gives us lessons based on her life story, from digging in dumpsters for food, being a hitchhiker, stealing from stores and how all her valleys have helped her not only get to her mountain tops but also taught her how to handle her mountain tops with humility, grace and confidence. If you’ve ever felt like you weren’t good enough, didn’t fit into the world, and an outsider then Sophia’s book is for you. It will encourage you that even YOU can have what you want if you are willing to believe in yourself and put in the sweating hours to achieve it. Her brand is not successful and excellent by chance, it’s that way because she put in the work to have it become that way. She teaches us to take chances, work at the beginning stages of your business as if it’s already a successful empire and to always stay true to yourself and your brand. If you are an entrepreneur, a business girl, an innovator or just a girl who wants to know how to be more confident in life and the work place, pick up this book! It will motivate you in every area of your life and inspire you to become a #GIRLBOSS with every move you make in life!
You create the world, blink by blink. It is entirely yours to discover and yours to create.”
–Sophia Amoruso
With love and big smiles,
Torrie.
by Torrie Oglesby | Jul 2, 2015 | Learn + Grow
“This is for the little brown girls…”
That’s the mantra Misty Copeland chants while she rehearses for her groundbreaking, history making role in Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird.
When you picture a ballerina you most likely see a thin, fare skinned, tall girl who has no curves and hair that lays flat easily. This is not the case with Misty Copeland. She breaks all stereotypes and challenges us to ask ourselves “What does a ballerina look like?” In her book, Life in Motion, an unlikely ballerina, she shows us how her story was not always one of beauty, although she is now the only African American soloist dancing with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, she certainly did not start there. Her story was extremely riveting, to the point that I found myself observing my life and asking “What’s stopping me from going after what I want?”
Misty did not come from the all American dream, with the white picket fence and the mother and father who loved each other and their kids more than anything. She came from an underprivileged home where she had multiple fathers, always moving with her mother and siblings, and as the title suggest, always in motion. She shares stories that leave your jaw on the floor and have you think “How in the world did this girl survive?” Her passion for dance and her will to push on and overcome the hardships that life hands you is, in my opinion, a super woman attribute. Not only did she overcome a lot, but she shares it in such an open way which takes vulnerability and bravery. She is truly inspiring and is an overcomer. If there’s one thing her story has taught me it is to always push forward and to let your passion guide you through out life. Also, as corny as this might sound it reminded me that I can be whoever I want to be and do whatever I want to do. I don’t have to listen to what the world tells me but follow what God has placed in me.
She kept me on the edge of my seat for more than half way through the book. Towards the end the writing got a little redundant but regardless of the writing the story was allusive, artistic and heart wrenching that by the time it got a little boring, I was already so invested in it that I didn’t mind it that much. If you’re looking for a book that has a story that tugs at your heart and motivates your soul and perhaps awakens something in you to go after what you want, go pick up Misty Copeland’s Life in Motion, an unlikely ballerina, you won’t be disappointed.
Torrie’s rating (out of 5): 4 cups of coffee.
With love and big smiles,
torrie.
by Jasmine Shirley | Jul 2, 2015 | Learn + Grow
Mackenzie Allen Philips had a difficult time wrestling with the existence of God and if he was good. Married to a woman with a relationship so close to God that she calls him “Papa”, Mac struggled believing that the same God she loved and believed in would allow their youngest daughter, Missy, to have such a fatal outcome. The loss of their child and a bruised childhood left Mac in a dark whirlwind of emotions for years…until he was invited to the shack.
William P. Young has a way of immersing you right in the midst of a life that you feel is your own. After you get past the slow beginning, this Fiction novel will take you on a ride of emotions. Out of the many emotions felt love is what you will enjoy unfolding with this novel and what you get out of this book about spirituality is really the gift. Treat yourself. Enjoy!
Jasmine
by Torrie Oglesby | Jul 2, 2015 | Learn + Grow, Lifestyle+Culture
We’re almost halfway through the year and if your motivation to complete all your 2015 goals is getting slimmer by the minute then do yourself a favor and pick up Diane von Furstenburg latest memoir The Woman I Wanted To Be.
“Use your brains, your common sense, and do not become an object. The way you look is important, but who you are and how you project it is eventually who you will become and how you will appear.”
-Diane von Furstentburg, The Woman I Wanted To Be.
The Woman I Wanted To Be by Diane Von Furstenberg is a must read for women of all ages, but it offers something special specifically for the twenty and thirty something year old women. Diane’s life is one big pot of inspiration, courage and guts!!! In this riveting and honest account of her life she takes us on a journey about love for yourself, love for others, family life, work life and all the battles in between. It definitely relit a fire in me to go after my dreams and to be as fearless and daring as I was in high school. The wisdom and grace oozing out of this woman is admirable and contagious! I felt myself desiring to be more like her just by reading her words and looking at her life! She’s lived a lot and has seen a lot and is completely honest and transparent with her story and choices, which is rare in today’s world. The reader gets to see how the woman we become starts from childhood and evolves through every season of our lives. It was hopeful seeing the evolution of Diane and encouraged me to keep doing my best because hard work truly does pay off, even if it takes time. Bottom line? GET THE BOOK. You won’t be disappointed and you will be burning with a new desire to finish 2015 strong!I give this book 5 coffee beans out of 5 coffee beans.
With love and big smiles,
torrie
![STRONG, Inc. [Simple Transitions Render Opportunity Necessary For Growth]](https://www.knowyourstrong.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/NewLogo.png)
Recent Comments