Today’s Book on #50BooksInAYear: How To Be A Bawse By Lilly Singh

by Riya Roy · December 10, 2017

On the 17th of August, 2017, I started a book challenge for myself where I decided that in the next one year, I am going to read 50 books. Yes, I’m insane like that! Why? Because if my memory is kind to me, then I completed only 10 books last year, and flipped through numerous other books, which is like tasting just the lite cream, and not enduring the entire chunk of the tiramisu (Why is that wrong, anyway?!).

Fast forward to today, I am three months into the challenge, and have read 9 books! Now I don’t believe in reviews; I know it’s not a ghost or a conspiracy theory for me to believe or not believe in, but no review has ever compelled me to buy a book, let alone read it. This is an absolutely personal opinion; people who do reviews, more power to you! Basically, I won’t be doing reviews (the reason is not exactly what I just blabbered on about; it is because I don’t know how to write reviews! :P)

Sooooo instead, I have planned to write about the important lessons I learn from the books that I read on this challenge. In today’s post, I will be telling you all about the life lessons, How To Be A Bawse, which was the first book on my list, taught me.

Before we dive into the “gyan”, let me give you the definition of Bawse; no, I didn’t make it up. Only a bawse can define the word, and so here it is from the horse’s mouth:

Bawse is like boss, but so epic that I had to change the spelling. Unlike a boss who is defined as such only within the workplace, a Bawse is someone who excels in both personal and professional settings.

This was one of the funnest books I have ever read. It taught me a number of things; it wouldn’t be honest of me if I said that I didn’t already know almost all the principles explained in the book from before (You see, I ate self-help books for breakfast during college!), but the way Superwoman has explained them in her book is crazy. It just feels like one intense, but awesomesauce, brainstorming session by the end of which you are all prepped to be a positive light in this world!

Lilly is magic. She is inspirational, and I absolutely adore that munchkin of a woman. Today, I will give you 8 amazing lessons that I learned from this guide to, not just surviving, but also conquering life.

Lessons from How To Be A Bawse

1. Respond, don’t react

“If you can’t control other people, then control your reaction to them. If you can’t control a situation, then prepare for it.”

Lilly, in her initial chapters, talks of how she’s trolled almost regularly on her YouTube channel. She says that even after dealing with these hate comments for years now, she still feels hurt by some of them; however, she has (and still is) developing a thicker skin; she has altered her reaction to these comments. She either ignores the comment or turns it on its head and does a funny video about that comment, shaming the person who posted it.

For example, when a troll commented on one of Lilly’s posts saying, “Women aren’t funny. shouldn’t u be in the kitchen making me a sandwich”, she prepared him the most savage sandwich in her next video. Watch it here:

How has she been able to change her reaction? By conquering her thoughts. She says,

“What does conquering your thoughts mean? First, it means you get to wear an awesome warrior costume, so congrats on that victory! #OOTD Also, it means understanding why you feel the way you feel, what prompts you to carry out certain actions what causes specific reactions, and what circumstances lead you to make regrettable decisions.”

2. Don’t overshare your life

“The more details people know about you, the weaker you become.”

According to Lilly, this was a piece of wisdom that her mom imparted to her while she was growing up. Funnily, this was something my mom told me when I was in school. Do all moms know this? Well, since mothers always know it all, we need to trust them on this one!

Stop giving away all your secrets. Stop sharing all your weaknesses. Wait for the right moment to let people know of your strengths too.

3. You live only once, and so, be legendary in whatever you do

“Don’t just try to pass your classes; try to ace them. Don’t just aim to pay your bills; save enough to travel. I don’t want you to write a script just to see a movie get made; I want you to win an Oscar. That’s the difference between settling like a survivor and conquering like a bawse.”

You need to stop doing things to just get by; do them to make a statement, to live your dream. Do things like a bawse!

4. Commitment is key

“You’ll never truly know if you can accomplish something or be great at something if you don’t commit… when you make a commitment, there is no asterisk at the bottom stating that the decision is valid until obstacles are present. Your commitment isn’t a coupon with fine print.”

To achieve something, you need to be committed to your goals. Once you find the meaning and purpose behind the goal you want to pursue, then you need to marry this goal and make the marriage work. Period.

5. Burn that backup plan

“If you really want to do something, then don’t have a Plan B. Having a Plan B means you are expecting your Plan A to fail, and that isn’t the right attitude.”

Toss the plan B away, and put your entire energy and focus on plan A. Don’t get Superwoman wrong. She does not mean that you can’t make small changes to your plan, improve as you move forward, twitch a plan a little to make it more efficient and effective.

6. Action, certainly, speaks louder than words

“If you can do it, you don’t have to say it… Talk is cheap, so leave it at the thrift store.”

Stop saying it that you are working hard. You are not working hard; you are whining hard. If you think you are giving it your all, then let your work speak for you. If you want to be the best partner one could ever ask for, then be understanding, be loyal, be loving and be lovable too.

People fighting in boxing rings do not say they can punch hard; they just do it.

7. Wage a war against procrastination

“Procrastination is a hustler’s worst enemy.”

Lilly says that deadlines are always easier to follow once you make them public, because then you’re held accountable for them. This, at some level, inspired me to start this #50booksinayear challenge. I knew that once I announced it to the world that I will be reading fifty books this year, I will be obliged to complete it. Thank you, Lilly! 😀

8. You are an investment

I am still working on this, and if I have understood it well, then it is something that I need to work on for the rest of my life if I want to grow. You need to spend your time, energy and money on yourself. You need to spend a majority of your energy on improving your craft; the best teachers of the world are those who are still learning. You cannot be a good teacher if you are not a good learner.

Lilly says it beautifully in this book, and I will leave you with that quote:

“You are revolutionary. You have amazing ideas You have the ability to create, to change, to solve and to influence. Don’t sell yourself short by not spending your time, energy and money on creating the best version of yourself. Instead of buying the new iPhone, which will be slightly bigger, slightly faster, slightly more waterproof, and ten times more expensive, use the money and bet on yourself. Instead of scrolling mindlessly through Facebook and checking in on what everyone else is doing, use that time to check in on what’s happening in your life.”

That is all we have on today’s post on How To Be A Bawse by Lilly Singh. Did you like what you just read? Let us know in the comment section below.

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See you again next time.

Featured image source: Riya Roy

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