Be extraordinary

I met Kelly Cutrone.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those teeny boppers who follows anybody from tv around town. I've known of Kelly from watching the Hills in the past.

I recently became more intrigued by her when I caught up on "The City."

What struck a cord with me was how she was constantly telling people how she started her business from the ground up without having a clue as to what she was doing. That's what drove me to google her....And that's where i found out she just came out with her book,

"If you have to Cry, Go outside."

As i told you the other week, i ordered this book along with some others. I read this book the minute it arrived in my mailbox, and honestly, i finished it in a day. It was THAT good.

Now, i love reading biographies in general, learning about how people started and how they got to where they are today, but this book is different. Its definitely in Kelly talk - if you didn't tell me who the author was, i'm pretty sure i could guess it was her. She narrated in her straight shooter, no holding back info -manner that she portrays on her shows. Yes, she comes off as bitchy. And yes, if she was my boss she would make me cry, and i would cry even harder if she told me to cry outside. But through this book, you see that she is genuinely a good person. She does care about her employees, her daughter, her clients. She does cry if a client says something mean. But she also avoids the bullsh*t and says the things that no one else will admit. How can you put her down for that?

If i were to explain her book, its like Keith's Ferrazi's, "Never Eat Alone" but for people in the fashion world. If you know me, you know i rave about keith's book ALL the time. But coming from the fashion world, Kelly's book hits home more since its specific to my industry. Her main point was that, there's no secret recipe to success. If you keep working hard, everyday, eventually, 1+1+1 adds up to something big. And she's an example of that.

So, i want to say, it was meant to be that my infatuation with her history came just recently, because i found out she was speaking at a local event here called, SCADStyle. SCAD is the Savannah School of Art and Design. I mean the time difference between when i got my book and the time she was coming here to Atlanta was like a week so it was perfect timing.

I attended her seminar and as i thought, loved everything she had to say. She was funny, very opinionated but i honestly agree with a lot of what she said.

I'll post some take away points in a separate blog.

What i loved the most about her was her "pay if fwd" mentality. She wasn't all about becoming big and popular. She learned what she learned and she made it a point to teach and mentor others. Her being there at SCAD just proved that.

She had a book signing afterwards. of course i was at the end of the line since i waddled my way to it. Well, turns out she had commitments afterwards so the moderators were already warning us, that incase she had to leave before us, we could go to her next location and catch her there. I was seriously bummed thinking i'd have to chase her around. I still don't know my way around Atlanta- plus i got to the seminar early so i righfully deserved to get my book signed. I don't know why, but from reading her book and listening to her speak, i got a feel for the type of person she was and i honestly didn't think she'd go without getting everybody in line.

I was right. As I got to her, she was probaby 20 minutes late already from the time she was supposed to leave. I expected her to take my book, sign it, and that was it. But no, she made time to chat with me. She was telling someone next to her how she had to pee really bad - that's totally Kelly for you. I was cracking up and nodding in agreement. She saw me, saw my baby bump, and said, you probably feel the same way. I totally agreed b/c i really did have to pee - i'm telling you it was a long line. lol. She made the time to ask me when i was due, and she looked me in the eyes, and said, "i sincerely hope you enjoy your experience when you deliver." and she wished me all the best of luck. I can't even explain how much that made my day, my year even. It reminded me of one of her points of advice, you should never just be ordinary, you should be extraordinary. Here i was thinking i was going to be an ordinary person getting my book signed, but my baby bump made me stick out and be extraordinary. My baby helped me without even knowing it. And that inspired me to make myself extraorinary on my own. Even if its for my son, i will make it known to the world that i am something special and that i do have a lot to offer. Thank you Kelly. More importantly, thank you baby.

My outfit for the seminar at 35 weeks:

Target-black leggings

Old Navy - chambray button up shirt - long but slightly fitted

purple sandals (not shown)

Spring 2010 necklace from Designs by K Cayetano

Pearl button earrings

Michael Kors watch

Trump Card

I'm finishing up reading, "The Trump Card" By Ivanka Trump. (What a relief because I'm so ready to tackle my new books.) Ever since i've seen her on "the apprentice" - i've loved her presence. Ivanka has this demeanor of being so classy, very Grace Kelly-ish -as if she should be a princess or some sort of royalty. Granted, I really only see her on the show, but she gives off the impression that she wears sheath dresses to bed and wakes up in the morning looking perfect. I like her because she's smart. She's not only beautiful, but she has brains to back herself up. She holds a high ranking in her father's business which you can just tell she had to earn. She has her own jewelry line. And Donald Trump is her dad. How can she not be smart. So when i heard she had a book coming out, it was the first thing on my christmas list.

Although i like the book, i found it to be a little slow. It might be because my mindset is not really in business mode right now, but baby mode. I still enjoyed it though. She explains how she realizes many doors were opened for her because of who she was, but she also explained that she had to work twice as hard b/c of that very same reason. I can see that. I love how her parents gave her the independence to make her own decisions, but they were able to instill their way of thinking and their values in her from a young age so she was able to make the right choices, despite that independence.

The one thing i took away from the book, is something i knew already, it just reaffirmed that what i was doing was right. Ivanka mentioned that if she read an article about someone she looked up to, someone she could learn from, or just someone she wanted to meet, she would send them a personal letter telling them so and asking them to meet for coffee or something. This helped build her network - and its not for the purpose of networking but for the purpose of possibly making a friend -someone to add to her intelligence-base, her life lines. This is the same school of thought as the popular author, Keith Ferrazzi.

Anyway, onto my easy reading. I have too many things on my mind to read these kinds of books right now. I do recommend this book though for those self motivators!