* Message to the girls of the world *

I wrote ITGIRL4LIFE because I want you to create the best life you can for yourself. I want you to go for your dreams and give it all you’ve got. I want you to be bold, speak up, speak out and move fear to the side. I want you to be HAPPY. I want you to know how strong you are—that you can get through anything. I want you to pick yourself up when you fall down.  I want you to be YOU to the highest power, authentic and real. I want you to SHINE. I want you to believe in yourself, honor your life, step up responsibility, have faith and push through. I want you to stand in your GREATNESS as a young woman.

When the idea popped into to my head to write this book, I thought of my own insecurities when I was a teen and what helped me to overcome them. I thought about what I learned from my mistakes, experiences, personal study and my life’s exploration. I thought about the ‘not smart enough, pretty enough, tall enough, thin enough’ epidemic in our society, the media’s influence on how girls feel about themselves, other people’s opinions and judgements and the pressure on girls and women to look, act and be a certain way. 

I wanted to contribute to the self-esteem conversation to be of service. I’m a student of personal development. I study the thought leaders in this area. I read books that uplift. I surround myself with people that are about IT. I am committed to improving, expanding my thinking, and keeping myself inspired. Everybody has doubts, fears, challenges, tough times. I certainly do. It’s not easy to show up for yourself and stay positive all the time. I wrote ITGIRL4LIFE to help you navigate the journey of life. 

To build a house you have to begin with a strong foundation. You have to lay the groundwork before you start adding on and designing the rest. Same thing with you and me. ITGIRL4LIFE is essentially the foundation that I live by and always come back to. Having a foundation of powerful ideas and principles helps to create an inner support, giving you structure to stand, reminders of your greatness and tools to cope with the ups, downs, twists and turns. The stronger your foundation is the more solid and grounded you are. 

There is a reality that hits you as you get older and that is that your life is up to YOU. What you believe about yourself is EVERYTHING. When you believe that you are a person of value, extraordinary, beautiful, capable, smart, talented and important, you walk into the room differently, you ACT differently and you make decisions from a secure and confident place. This book was written for you, for me, for all of us — the girls of the world. I want you to remember the simple, yet profound things that will help you create the best life you can. 

xx, Tam

“My mission in life is not just to survive, but the thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.”

~Maya Angelou