Sophia Amoruso

“I learned the hard way that taking shortcuts and living for free is not really living free.”

“It takes a lot more than just knowing how to put an outfit together to succeed in the fashion industry, so more power to you if this is where you want to be; just don't expect it to be an extended trip to the mall.”

“Don't you dare alter your inner freak.”

“My days of being the tardy employee at the record store gave me a cultural and musical understanding that was more unique than if I'd just listened to garbage-y pop on the radio my entire life.”

“I've never worked in a retail store, but I did sell shoes at Gimme Shoes in San Francisco, a job I was fired from.”

“I'm not going to lie - it's insulting to be praised for being a 'woman' with 'no college degree.'”

“Sometimes in the world, there's such pressure to follow a certain path that we forget the importance of learning as we go.”

“I want to give other creatives the opportunity to find the entrepreneur inside themselves and teach them how to build their own platform.”

“It's the beauty of the Web. You can pretend to be anything you want. But people figure out pretty quick if you don't live up to it.”

“It's important that people are open. Some people say, 'I'm going to be a doctor,' and they're a really good doctor. But for the rest of us, it's a big question mark. Just giving yourself a break, letting yourself try new things, and when something doesn't work out, moving along... it's all we can really do.”

“Making small talk about what someone is wearing is just another form of unsolicited feedback.”

“My parents taught me the value of money and working hard. And I kind of got that in me intuitively.”

“when you believe inyourself, other people will believe inyou, too.”

“EBay gave me the framework to discover I was an e-commerce entrepreneur. I touched everything, from shipping to logistics.”

“I wrote '#GIRLBOSS' while running a $100 million-plus revenue business.”

“Music is such a big part of my life.”

“I work in silence.”

“Work hard, no matter how much recognition you get.”

“I don't want to spend too much time dwelling on what I've already done because there is still so much to do.”

“It's amazing how directly you can connect with people via social media.”