Cara Alwill Leyba - Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur

GIRL CODE

Unlocking the Secrets to

SUCCESS, SANITY, and HAPPINESS

for the

FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR

CARA ALWILL LEYBA

GIRL CODE

Copyright 2015 Cara Alwill Leyba/Passionista Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

Cover art Cara Loper/Loose Lid Creative

www.looselidcreative.com

Interior design by Ryan Leyba

ISBN-13: 978-0692492604

For more, visit www.TheChampagneDiet.com

or email

For every woman who dreams of living her passion.

Everything you can imagine is real.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.

Diane Mariechild

I am witnessing a phenomenon. It seems as though a growing group women all around the world have discovered the secret to success and happiness in both their lives and careers. Its almost as though there is a hidden, underground world of power playing females who have all cracked a magical code: they think positively, they support one another, and they truly believe they can have it all and so can you.

Lets get real for a second. Running a business is hard work. And even after hiring the best business coaches, reading every marketing newsletter under the sun, and watching countless webinars, nothing will change until you change your mindset. Until you believe that you can and will become successful, until you eliminate your negative thoughts, until you learn to say No to the things that do not serve you, and until you surround yourself with positive, empowering women who are truly walking their walk.

There is something dynamic that happens when women genuinely show up for each other. When we lose the facades, when we cut the bullshit, and when we truly have each others backs. When we stop pretending everything is perfect, and we show the messy, beautiful parts of ourselves and our work that all look awfully similar. When we talk about our fears, our missteps, and our breakdowns. And most importantly, when we share our celebrations, our breakthroughs, and dish on what works.

Far too many women dwell in negative thought patterns and disempowering behavior. They lack the support, love, and guidance needed to run their lives and their businesses in a way that feels authentic, confident, and inspiring. They crave a network of other women who are chasing their dreams, building their lives, and facing the world with their Dior blinders on and their Louboutins planted firmly in the ground.

Sadly, its not so easy to find that.

Its no secret that women get a bad rap for being jealous and catty. Not only have I seen it all around me, Ive partaken in it in my past (Im just being transparent here). Ive been the girl who gossiped about another, and Ive been the girl who has been gossiped about. And guess what? Its miserable both ways.

So why do women keep falling victim to the trap of jealousy, comparison, negativity and cattiness? Why hasnt everyone discovered just how fabulous life can be when we empower each other rather than tear each other down? Im not sure, but Ill tell you one thing: life on the other side is wonderful.

Who I Am and Why I Wrote This Book

In the spring of 2008, I started a blog called The Champagne Diet. It was an outlet for me to chronicle my own personal life transformation and quickly became my form of therapy. Each week, Id share stories with my readers and try to teach a lesson through each one of them. I found purpose through my own pain, and ultimately began connecting with my readers who I became so passionate about helping as they experienced their own transformations.

Each week, emails would roll in from women around the world who had read my latest blog post. I took the time to respond to every single person who reached out to me. If she had questions, I answered them as best I could. If she just needed an ear, I listened. If she wanted to celebrate her success, I raised my virtual champagne glass and toasted her.

The power of connection I experienced through my blog was palpable. Being able to talk to women from places like Australia, the UK, and Sweden was remarkable to me. No matter what our backgrounds were, we all shared the same fears and the same desires. The energy exchanged between my community of readers and I is something that is hard for me to put into words. I knew I was touching women by sharing parts of my own life; and they were touching me by sharing parts of theirs. I quite wasnt sure what was happening at the time, or where The Champagne Diet blog would lead me, but I knew it was guiding me to something big.

Fast-forward to 2015 and Ive turned that blog into a rewarding and successful career. I am now a certified master life coach and bestselling personal development author with four books Ive self-published in the past four years. Ive had features written about me in Glamour, Shape, Marie Claire, Cosmo, and many other magazines worldwide, and I regularly appear on both national and regional television shows around the country. I turned a little unknown blog into a full-fledged prosperous career. Truth be told, what I do feels like so much more than a job. It feels like my lifes work, my mission, and my purpose. Its what I live and breathe every single day.

To date, Ive helped thousands of women shift their mindsets into a happier, more positive space and ultimately transform their lives and their careers for the better. Ive hosted coaching workshops for women around the world, and I have become especially passionate about working with female entrepreneurs. I know what its like to blaze your own trail and pursue your passions. I know what its like to be questioned by others who dont understand why youd ever want to take such a risky path. I know what its like to not have a roadmap to success.

I also know what its like to find those few people who do get it. To find the people who are willing to share their secrets, open a door for you, or sometimes, just have a glass of wine or three with you and listen. Nothing excites me more than watching women connect on a real, raw level, and form honest friendships and support systems with one another. It happens in every single one of my group coaching workshops and within my online community, and Im in awe of it every time. And so are the women who experience it. I like to think those early blogging days rooted me in a place of empowerment. I saw early on just how magical it is to connect, and I bring that passion to the work I do today.

But its not like this everywhere. In fact, the women who come to me for coaching usually lack a support system in their own lives, which is why they seek it out in my programs. Many of my clients have experienced jealousy, negativity, and drama from their peers, female friends, and even family members, especially when taking a leap of faith and embarking on the world of entrepreneurship. Its not an easy road to take, and its often met with a lot of discouragement and fear from those who cant relate. The women on this path are desperately craving the presence of other like-minded women to celebrate their success with. They genuinely want to lift those other women up themselves. They recognize the power of connection and know how integral it is to the success in their lives and their businesses.