Rebecca Minkoff - Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success

2021 Rebecca Minkoff

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by HarperCollins Leadership, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by HarperCollins Leadership, nor does HarperCollins Leadership vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

Book design by Aubrey Khan, Neuwirth & Associates.

ISBN 978-1-4002-2072-4 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-2071-7 (HC)

Epub Edition April 2021 9781400220724

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021934470

Printed in the United States of America

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TO ALL THE GIRLS WITH NOTHING BUT A DREAM.

its yours.

NOW GO AND GET IT.

1. RULE #1: SIGN YOUR OWN PERMISSION SLIP:
   Give Yourself Permission to Stop Asking for Permission
2. RULE #2: GO FOR PURPOSE OVER PAYOUT:
   Happiness Is Not a Time Card
3. RULE #3: DONT ASK FOR HELP:
   Ask for What You Need
4. RULE #4: GIVE YOUR ALL:
   You Have More to Offer Than You Might Think
5. RULE #5: POINT OF VIEW IS EVERYTHING:
   Look for the Opportunities in Front of You
6. RULE #6: LOVE IT AND LEAVE IT:
   Be Okay with Walking Away
7. RULE #7: BE BETTER TOGETHER:
   Practice with Partnerships Makes Perfect
8. RULE #8: COMMUNICATE YOUR HEART OUT:
   Dialogue Daily to Stay in Sync
9. RULE #9: CREATE TWO-WAY STREETS:
   Networking Flows Both Ways
10. RULE #10: CHANGE THINGS UP:
    Change Is Inevitable and Enviable
11. RULE #11: SKIP THE SHORTCUTS:
    No One Is Timing You
12. RULE #12: PLAY THE WILD CARD:
    Go On and Take the Risk
13. RULE #13: BE THERE FOR IT:
    Make Yourself Available
14. RULE #14: UNFOLLOW:
    Break from the Pack and Go Your Own Way
15. RULE #15: GUT CHECK:
    Get into Your Intuition
16. RULE #16: HAVE AN EXPERIMENTAL PHASE:
    Youll Never Know Until You Try
17. RULE #17: GET FRIENDLY WITH FAILURE:
    Sometimes You Win; Sometimes You Learn
18. RULE #18: COLLAB OVER COMPETE:
    Theres Always Enough Success to Go Around
19. RULE #19: GO BEYOND BURNOUT:
    Work Can Be Self-Care Too
20. RULE #20: FORGET ABOUT BALANCE:
    Optimize Your Life for You
21. RULE #21: ITS ENDLESS:
    Success Is Being Able to Keep Going

LETS FACE IT. We all have fear. Even me, the person who decided to call her first book Fearless.

Throughout my life, fear has stopped me in my tracks. Trying new things, taking a risk, leaving a job, breaking up, saying yes, saying no, standing up for myself, standing up for someone else, turning a corner but not knowing whats up ahead: its all scary. Sometimes I dont know which is more terrifying: being vulnerable and putting my ideas out into the world, being a boss and feeling responsible for so many peoples livelihoods, or being a mom and feeling like my heart is living outside my body at all times, constantly attempting to jump off the highest piece of furniture in the room while ingesting a code-red-worthy choking hazard.

But fear isnt as bad as you think. It can actually be a good thing. Were human, after all. We need fear to help us stay safe, avoid disaster, and make a run for it when we need to. Fear creates awareness. It wakes us up and keeps us moving.

And heres the thing: Fear is not calling the shots. Its not in control. You are. You dont have to listen to it. You dont have to let it stop you. You dont have to let it stand in your way. Especially not when its preventing you from reaching your goals and achieving your dreams. It is possible to feel freaked out or out of your league or terrified or mortified or paralyzed or all of the above to do something and then to find a way and the courage to do it anyway. Fear can be overcome. You have the power to take action.

Inside this book are the rules that Ive laid down to help me see my fear, push it aside, and move forward. As a woman, designer, entrepreneur, mother, wife, and friend, I have seen fear rear its unattractive head in more ways than one. The upside of all this practice is that Ive learned how to have fear and to still do what I have to do anyway. And I know you will too.

I NEVER SET OUT to be a rule breaker. Its just that the old rules werent really working for me, so I had to go out and make my own.

Had I followed the old rules, I assure you there would be a 0 percent chance that you would be reading this book right now. If I had taken the safe route and always done as I was told, when I was told, where I was told, Im pretty sure I would be answering the phones at my fathers office in Florida. Not that there is anything wrong with working for my dad, or answering phones; it just wasnt what I was meant to do. I find it much more fun being a fashion designer and serial entrepreneur.

Two decades ago, I designed a shirtwe soon started calling it The Shirtthat mixed ideas from my favorite tourist-destination T-shirts to create an ode to my favorite city: New York City. An actress wore it on The Tonight Show, and the next day people everywhere knew my name. Its the kind of story that, looking in from the outside, makes it seem like it just takes a little bit of luck to become an overnight success. In actuality, I had been living in New York, in a tiny walk-up shoebox that was advertised as an apartment, and working long hours for little more than minimum wage in the fashion industry for two years before this moment. There was nothing overnight about it. It wasnt until four years later that I designed my first handbag, the Morning After Bag, a.k.a. the MAB, and my business actually took off. Lets also be clear about taking off: I had inbound interest. What I didnt have was a huge staff or a bottomless bank account. Figuring out how to fan that flame on my own was all-consuming.

Today, after years and years of early mornings, late nights, and good old-fashioned hard work, there is Rebecca Minkoff, the brand. As the founder, I get to be the chief creative officer of a global company with a range of apparel, handbags, foot-wear, jewelry, and accessories that are all available online and through over nine hundred retailers around the world. I also host a podcast called Superwomen and created the business network Female Founder Collective. Oh, and I live with my husband and three kids in Brooklyn. Out of breath yet? I am.

Along the way, I realized that often the world around me dictated what should be done, as well as where, how, and why I should do it. I tried to follow the rules, to go about getting things done in the conventional ways, and to fall in step with the pack. It just never worked out the way I thought it would or should. Eventually, I stopped seeing the point in doing things the same way that they have always been done just for the sake of playing it safe. So then I would do it my way, piecing things together as I went. The majority of the time, even when it would have been much easier just to go with the flow, Ive found myself doing my own thing. Ive made my own rules and been successful in the process. If thats rebellion, then call me a rebel. Its not about the labels for me. My goal has always been to get shit done.