Item: Believe IT
Rating: 5.00
Author: nicolelynnreads

by Jamie Kern Lima

#1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER

ARE YOU READY TO BELIEVE IN YOU?

"Game-changing. Authentic. A must-read for every woman! Jamie is the real deal-and that's rare." -Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed

"Raw. Real. Powerful. Filled with vulnerability and grit. This book will inspire you to believe in your own power. It's a book every woman needs!" -Sara Blakely, Founder Spanx

Imagine overcoming the things holding you back, breaking through the barrier of self-doubt and fully becoming the person YOU were BORN TO BE!

In Believe IT, Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics, shares the wild but true story of how a once struggling waitress turned her against-the-grain idea into an international bestselling sensation, eventually selling the company for over a billion dollars and becoming the first female CEO of a brand in L'Oreal's 100+ year history. Faced with self-doubt, body-doubt, God-doubt, down to her last few dollars and told "No one is going to buy makeup from someone who has your body," Jamie reveals for the first time what really went down, how she almost didn't make it, how she learned to trust herself, and the powerful lessons you, too, can use to go from underestimated to unstoppable.

With radical vulnerability and honesty, Jamie takes you on a journey through deeply personal stories of heartbreak and resilience-including accidentally finding out she was adopted when she was in her twenties and the reverberations this has had on all aspects of her life. Jamie also pulls back the curtain on her fight to change the beauty industry's use of unrealistic images, on behalf of all the little girls who are about to start doubting themselves, and all of the grown women who still do. Spellbinding, riveting, with raw vulnerability and down-to-earth warmth, Believe IT shakes your soul and shows you that you, too, have what it takes to believe in yourself, trust yourself, and go from doubting you're enough to knowing you're enough! Do you have big goals, hopes, and dreams but let rejection get in the way? Do you struggle with feeling like you're not enough and like success is something that happens to other people, but have a hard time believing it's possible for you? Do you let past mistakes and failures hold you back? Do you know deep down inside that you were created for more, but somehow still doubt yourself?

In Believe IT you'll discover how to...
-Overcome self-doubt
-Gain the courage to take risks, an empower yourself and others
-Tune into and trust your own intuition
-Let go of your mistakes and insecurities
-Turn down the volume on your inner critic
-Handle the rejection, the haters, and the mean girls
-Boost your confidence
-Start your dream (and keep going!)
-And much more...

If you've ever doubted yourself or felt truly underestimated, this book will inspire a new kind of belief and confidence in you and your dreams!

I took this audiobook out from the library just on a whim because I liked the title and was looking to listen to something business/entrepreneur themed for some inspiration. I’m so glad I did!

I loved hearing about Jamie’s journey and how she grew her cosmetic company & accomplished so much against the odds. It was really interesting to learn about her entrepreneurial journey and where her company ended up. It was also a very personal look into Jamie herself and the personal struggles she went through outside of her business. I felt like I really got to know her as a person and got to peek inside her life. Some moments made me laugh and others cry, but throughout the book I definitely felt a sense of inspiration.

Probably the last few chapters of the book, Jamie did go into her faith and how that shaped her drive, decisions and attitude around life in general. Just as some others said it was pretty “god-centric” and while sometimes that god-heavy stuff turns me off, this time I didn’t mind it as much. It felt authentic to who Jamie is as a person and I’m less queezy about that type of talk now. Of course it still depends on the person and their message, but with Jamie it wasn’t pushy about making you believe in God or anything she just talked about her beliefs in the way she believed and felt God had influenced her life and her decisions. So it felt more like a Jamie thing then a “you need to believe in God and let him take the wheel” vibe to me.

Overall I felt inspired by Jamie’s story and felt like I was connecting with her as a person. I absolutely loved that she read her own book because I really feel like that made all the difference.

I hope you give this one a chance if your interested in business, entrepreneurship, family/work balance or just love memoirs in general

Reading updates

27 December, 2021: Started reading

9 January, 2022: Finished reading

7 February, 2022: Reviewed