BookSmart: The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo

As discussed previously, I'm a highlighter. Wether reading ebooks or books of paper and pulp, I always snag passages that resonate, passages that I want to be able to reach back to when I need them.

Today's installment of the BookSmart series? Amy Schumer's, "The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo."

Amy Schumer might not be for everyone (no one who creates art that's worthwhile creates something that's for everyone). But even if you don't enjoy her TV show or her standup, I think you'll find that she's got a few thinks worthwhile for women, artists, leaders, and entrepreneurs. She's a smart, driven, honest, and brave woman in charge of something she built.

On being real

"It’s about being my own best advocate and knowing how to take what I deserve in life without bringing anyone else down."

"I wear my mistakes like badges of honor, and I celebrate them. They make me human."

"...my very first experience of the stripped-down, cold, unprotected space where vulnerability meets either confidence or shame...I had to learn (I’m still learning) how to choose to be proud of who I am rather than ashamed."

"I can’t remember ever wishing for something that I couldn’t afford. I was very lucky."

On being a woman

"As women, we relive our fears all the time, despite our best efforts to build each other up and truly love ourselves. It happens."

"I’m pretty sure that’s why I officially became a woman that day...I became a woman because I turned a solemn, quiet room into a place filled with unexpected laughter. I became a woman because I did, for the first time, what I was supposed to be doing for the rest of my life."

"There are lots of “firsts” like this in life, little flashpoints here and there when you’re unknowingly becoming a woman. And it’s not the clichéd shit, like when you have your first kiss or drive your first car. You become a woman the first time you stand up for yourself when they get your order wrong at a diner, or when you first realize your parents are full of shit. You become a woman the first time you get fitted for a bra and realize you’ve been wearing a very wrong size your whole fucking life. You become a woman the first time you fart in front of a boyfriend. The first time your heart breaks. The first time you break someone else’s heart. The first time someone you love dies. The first time you lie and make yourself look bad so a friend you love can look better."

On being an introvert...and a leader

"...if you’re an introvert like me, especially a female introvert, or a person who is expected to give away your energy to everyone else on the reg, I want to encourage you to find time to be alone. Don’t be afraid to excuse yourself. Recharge for as long as you need. Lean up against a tree and take a break from the other bears. I’ll be there too, but I promise not to bother you."

On being in charge

"I surround myself with smart, talented people, let them do their thing, listen to their ideas, and figure out the strongest ways to collaborate with them to make the best possible final product."

"There is nothing better than being your own boss. Well, there is, actually: not having to work at all. That is way better."

"I do my best to make decisions that are fair and good for me and everyone else."

"I’m tired and beaten down a lot of the time. But it still feels so ... good to know that no matter who or what comes at me, this is my court and I wear the whistle."

"And now that I’m the boss and can be openly honest about my feelings at work, I try to set a good example for my staff to let them know they are welcome to do the same. Everyone is free to feel their feelings on the set of my TV show...You should be able to be yourself and keep it real at work, no matter what you’re feeling."

"...have high expectations of people, but also to keep it realistic. You can’t expect someone to work past their potential. If you’ve hired someone with the mathematical aptitude of a pet rock, and she eats all your hot dogs and doesn’t know how to make change, try to figure out how and where she shines, and let her excel in that area instead."

"I try to be patient and forgiving with the people I hire, just as they are with me...But when I realize they don’t have what it takes, I do the kind thing and let them go."

"I’m guessing almost every person reading this knows how much personal dignity you sign over when you work for someone you don’t like or for a company you don’t care about. But I still have to give it up to all the horrible bosses I worked for in the service industry, because most of what I know as a boss today has come from those experiences. And from learning NOT to ever be like them."