I met Stephanie, the author of the book, on an airplane.

Somehow, it surfaced that we’d both published books within a few months of each other. I vowed to go home and order her book, but had no idea what to expect.

Welp, I just put it down. This book is AMAZING and I couldn’t help but smile at how much our books overlapped. This book is packed-full with far too many lifechanging, incredible practices to list, so here were my favorite 13:

1) Happiness comes from within
2) Whatever we focus on, grows (law of attraction)
3) We literally DESIGN / CREATE our own life (YOU are the Architect)
4) Have a (specific) gratitude journal/process- it WORKS
5) Be present (mindfulness). Don’t focus too much on the past or future.
6) Consistency beats intensity, every time
7) Comparison is the thief of joy and erodes our self-esteem
8) Have a personal set of core values. Use them to make decisions.
9) Know your triggers and PREPARE for them
10) Words have power. Have a list of daily, positive affirmations to override that pesky, tempting, negative self-talk that preys
11) Ditch perfectionism and people-pleasing
12) Create space between our triggers and our emotions
13) Knowing thyself, become truly self-aware, and be your authentic self

I hope Stephanie doesn’t mind me sharing that every single one of these 13 topics appeared in my own book, “6 H.A.B.I.T.S. of Powerful People. It was heartwarming to see that Stephanie and I wrote books aimed at cultivating confidence, courage, identify, self-compassion, and joy and cited so many of the same factors.

But, Stefanie did it in a different way and with different words- which I LOVED.

A few of my favorite quotes from Stephanie:

💬 “Life is about continuous growth.”

💬”If you’re going to have a life of purpose, you must know who you are.”
“Once you gain self-awareness, everything changes.”

💬”The more you focus on your flaws, the more problematic they become.”

💬”Forgiving doesn’t mean you’ve lost, it means you’ve won. Forgiveness isn’t about them, it’s about you.”

💬”Whatever you put out into the world, will eventually come back to you.”

And finally, from her very last chapter:

💬”Joy is an attitude that allows you to enjoy the journey rather than being fixated on the end result. When you prioritize joy, you’re consciously choosing to fill your life with good things. you know that your happiness doesn’t come from external validation or success but comes from an authentic connection with your true self. Joy empowers you to face life’s challenges with strength and resilience, and to view setbacks as temporary mishaps with many benefits if you change your perspective.”

Wow, talk about powerful.

I don’t just recommend this book to female teens, I recommend this book to ANYONE. Stephanie has knocked it out of the park with her concise but highly actionable and transformative advice.

How fun that I met this woman on a plane. joy courage leadership books