Overnight Success (10+ years later)

Recently I've really been enjoying diving into autobiographies and biographies of some of the most notorious entrepreneurs and designers in Fashion -- I started with Phil Knight from Nike, which led me to Tommy Hilfiger, Diane Von Furstenbuurg, Mel and Patricia Zigler from Banana Republic, Sam Walton, and many others. To me, it was a revelation. Of course, I grew up just knowing those companies or names and knowing that they were huge, global brands and designers. They just were. They must have always been.... right? Not so much!

Reading their stories and journeys really helped reinforce the themes of patience and persistence to me. You always hear that instead of "They were an overnight success", it's really an overnight success ten+ years in the making.

As I started my fifth year of building Teysha this year, to be completely honest I've had many thoughts of comparing myself to "other" companies, wondering why I'm not "there" yet, wondering if I'm ever going to be "there", wondering why it's taking so "long".... it was so important to me to hear from these amazing, global brands that their paths were no where near straight and easy. Many of them failed at first. Many of them failed several times. Many of them should rightly not be where they are today but for persistence. 

For example, reading Phil Knight's "Shoe Dog", I was cringing, laughing out loud, and even tearing up as many of Phil's experiences building Nike early on were so similar to some of the early experiences with Teysha. Not saying we're going to be the next Nike, but it was just soo comforting to hear that they struggled as well. 

Whatever it is you're doing -- it's always beneficial to learn from those who have gone before you. We all are taking our own path to go about it, but hopefully the stories of failure and success can inspire you to keep going when that's what you need to hear. 

Here are some of my favorite books + podcasts so far:

• Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, founder of Nike

• American Dreamer by Tommy Hilfiger

• Wild Company by Mel and Patricia Zigler

• Diane Von Furstenberg by Gioia Dilberto

• Sam Walton by Sam Walton (tone is so-so and kind of meh but still cool to see Walmart bummed around and misfired several times before becoming the giant it is today)

• How I Built This - Podcast episodes with Kate and Andy Spade, Kendra Scott, and Eileen Fisher.

I would love to hear any recommendations you have for other books or podcasts! 

Thanks so much for reading -- keep on fighting the good fight. We've come so far and there are many adventures up ahead!!