Get Yourself Together

One of my favorite motivational reads! 

Recently I've become obsessed with reading books, browsing blogs, and stalking the LinkedIn accounts of successful businesswomen. Maybe it's because I'm interested in what these women have to say, their experiences in the business world and how it can improve my life, personally and professionally.  Or maybe it's because I realized I'm graduating from college in 16 months and really need to get my life together. If I'm being honest it's probably a combination of both. Either way, i'm here to share some of the sites I've found to be particularly helpful and some of my favorite nuggets of advice that they have to offer.

1. Levo League
How did I ever survive without this site? That's a bit dramatic, but seriously, it's an awesome website! You can create a profile (follow my profile here) and follow lots of different prominent men and women who are doing big things in business! Most of them are entrepreneurs with lots of amazing advice to offer. You can ask questions (that they actually answer themselves) or browse older questions to get advice. It's like an online mentor available 24/7! They also have a blog with thousands of great articles like interview tips (I really need to take my own advice and read those again) and networking advice. They also do a great series called Office Hours where they interview powerful people in a variety of different industries. One of my favorites was an interview with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. She's amazing and I love her. I'm also obsessed with her book Lean In. Watch her Office Hours here, I think you'll be just as inspired as I was.

2. Classy Career Girl 
I discovered this blog with perusing Levo League's article on the top 5 blogs for young professionals. The title of this blog really drew me in because, let's be honest here, who doesn't want to be a classy career girl? The writer (Anna is her name) has amazing tips on job searching, networking, and increasing productivity. One of my favorite things she does are Motivational Monday's. They're weekly snippets of advice that never fail to leave me oozing with inspiration. I even wanted to start my own Motivational Monday's on this blog but...well, i'm not that motivational so i'll just leave it to the professionals. You go Anna!

As much as I appreciate the technology revolution and the convenience of blogs, I still love a good old fashioned book. I've read two recently that have really changed my outlook on life.

1. 20 Something, 20 Everything (pictured above) by: Christine Hassler
Buy it here
This book really helped me out at the end of my freshman year when I was feeling a little bit lost. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and it seemed like everyone around me already had life figured out. (Disclaimer: I technically read this book when I was 19 but i still got a lot out of it, do not be dismayed by the title). Christine provided me with the comforting thoughts that a lot of women struggle to find their identity in their twenties. What I loved most about this book was how she used personal examples from her own life and lives of people she knows. It made everything that much more personal, like she was there giving me the advice herself. Basically, this book teaches you how to make the most of this time in your life instead of wasting away hours on your computer, sitting on your butt and eating Ben and Jerry's red velvet cake ice cream...which may or may not be exactly what i'm doing right now. Oh well, at least I now have the skills to change my life if I decide I want to later.  

2. What I know Now: Letters to My Younger Self by: Various women
Buy it here
If you're looking to be motivated, but are still really lazy and want an easy read this is the book for you. It's filled with letters written by prominent women such as Madeline Albright, Maya Angelou, Ann Curry and a bunch of others (most of whom I had never heard of before but their stories are still inspiring, nevertheless.) The women wrote these letters for themselves at pivotal points in their life. Each one begins with a short introduction about all the hardships each one had overcome and everything she has since accomplished. I'll be honest, those introductions sometimes left me feeling a little insignificant but the letters were always heartfelt. I even got a little emotional at a few of them.

So that pretty much sums up my favorite resources if you're looking to feel inspired! Tell me in the comments if you've been inspired lately! I love getting book/blog recommendations becuase i'm always looking for something new to read!

xo Sydney


Disclaimer: the links provided above to amazon to purchase products are NOT affiliate links. I won't make any money if you do actually buy the book from that link. Despite the fact that I spend way too much money on their site, Amazon still has no idea who I am and does not sponsor me.