Spotlight: Tell Her She Can't: Inspiring Stories of Unstoppable Women by Kelly Lewis
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Publisher: Go Girl Publishing
Pages: 210
Genre: Nonfiction / Inspirational
Who says you can't?
Tell Her She Can't is the manifesto for every woman who has been told she isn't strong enough, smart enough, or capable enough to excel-and the motivational anthem for those who have succeeded despite doubt.
Entrepreneur Kelly Lewis shares the true stories of 35 inspirational women who overcame the naysayers to achieve "impossible" dreams.
Tell Her She Can't is packed with motivational stories of adventurers, changemakers, and prevailers who have taken on the world to become pioneers in their fields or challenged gender stereotypes to build million-dollar businesses. These inspiring women transformed adversity into a springboard for empowerment and success-and you can too.
A powerhouse guide for every modern woman and girl, Tell Her She Can't invites you to blast past the gatekeepers of "can't" and become unstoppable.
Excerpt
In the third grade, a boy in my class told me I’d never be able to beat him at the spelling bee. I stayed up all night studying and whooped his butt on competition day, despite fresh stitches from a dental operation in my mouth.
In high school, a friend said I couldn’t do more cartwheels than she could. I did 72 in a row and was still going, long after she had quit. As a child, I was told that I would never be successful, so I became the owner of multiple six-figure businesses and went to every continent on the planet in the process. Simply put, I don’t take kindly to being told I can’t.
Chances are that someone, somewhere, has also told you that you can’t. Maybe you had a dream to be an astronaut, and everyone around you poo-pooed it, saying you didn’t have the brain for that much science and math. Maybe you wanted to run a marathon, and your aunt told you that was a ridiculous idea for someone who could barely walk around the block. Maybe you thought of a business idea and your mom told you it would never make any money. Whatever your ambitions or dreams, baby, the naysayers are everywhere.
Throughout this book, we’re going to talk about these naysayers—the ones I call the blockmakers. The people who stand in our way, get in our heads, and fill us with all kinds of self-doubt. If left unchecked, their limiting voices can become our own. We cannot let that happen. When you meet a blockmaker, you have two choices: accept their words as truth and give up, or use those words as fuel and prove them wrong. I hope after reading this book that you choose the latter.
Society has been telling women what they can and can’t do, who they can and can’t be, and what they can and can’t look like, ever since Eve took a bite out of what I’m sure was a delicious apple. With that, women have been punished for eternity for their choices.
Can’t focus too long on your career, you’ll never have a family. Can’t start a family, you’ll ruin your career. Can’t be too sure of yourself or you’ll scare men away, can’t be too accomplished or you’ll be too intimidating—can’t, can’t, can’t. Where does it end? Trying to live your life by someone else’s standards is a losing game, so I propose we change the rules. What if we started to hear “can’t” as an invitation to do exactly that thing? What if we lived our lives exactly the way we want to, authentically and unapologetically?
We cannot control other people’s opinions, nor can we continue to live life within boundaries that have been designed to keep us small.
We are powerful.
You are powerful.
You have the potential to take all the hater-ade around you and turn it into a propellant that pushes you toward success.
You have the capacity to grow, learn, unlearn, and create so much beauty in the process. How do I know? Because I’m living proof.
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About the Author
Kelly Lewis is a women's travel industry maven, passionate about helping women tap into their personal power through travel. She's the founder of Go! Girl Guides, the world's first series of travel guidebooks for women; founder of the annual Women's Travel Fest, and creator of Damesly, a boutique women's tour company. Born in Arizona but raised in Hawaii, she now lives in Portland, Oregon.
Kelly has been called a "dame disruptor" by Adventure.com, a "travel veteran" by Brit + Co, a "badass female founder" by Huffington Post, and "The woman making travel better - and safer - for all women" by The Muse. Lewis and her work have also been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Shape Magazine, Elle, AFAR, Culture Trip, CNN, Travel + Leisure, and more.
Connect:
Website: www.tellhershecant.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gokellylewis & www.twitter.com/tellhershecant
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gokellylewis & http://www.facebook.com/tellhershecant
