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Empower Yourself: How to Make Lemonade when Life Gives you Lemons
Xenia Tchoumi is passionate about self-empowerment and independent thinking. A fashion influencer, motivational speaker and self-made digital entrepreneur, she wrote this book to share the techniques and tools that have made her so successful, and to encourage her readers to resist media manipulation, stand up for who they really are, and live their best, most powerful lives.
Xenia takes readers on a practical, no-nonsense journey to self-empowerment, covering topics such as taking responsibility, using your pain and your failures to push yourself further, and learning digital dominance instead of letting yourself be digitally dependent. She offers a wealth of tips for creating productive habits, setting goals, protecting your mental health and resisting society's pressures to confirm.
She shares her stories of struggling against prejudice as the child of recent immigrants, battling the restrictive structures of the fashion industry, making her mark in the digital space and ultimately making herself into an ultra successful brand. Questioning exactly what empowerment looks like today, she also offers the inspiring stories of empowered people she has met all over the world and shows that, while empowerment can seem very different in different cultures, there are certain key traits that empowered people share – habits that anyone can learn and use to become a success in life.
Xenia takes readers on a practical, no-nonsense journey to self-empowerment, covering topics such as taking responsibility, using your pain and your failures to push yourself further, and learning digital dominance instead of letting yourself be digitally dependent. She offers a wealth of tips for creating productive habits, setting goals, protecting your mental health and resisting society's pressures to confirm.
She shares her stories of struggling against prejudice as the child of recent immigrants, battling the restrictive structures of the fashion industry, making her mark in the digital space and ultimately making herself into an ultra successful brand. Questioning exactly what empowerment looks like today, she also offers the inspiring stories of empowered people she has met all over the world and shows that, while empowerment can seem very different in different cultures, there are certain key traits that empowered people share – habits that anyone can learn and use to become a success in life.
- GenresSelf HelpNonfiction
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 8, 2020
15 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 8, 2020
Xenia Tchoumi has always been a naturally “empowered” individual. From a young age, she always believed that limits to excellence are to be broken no matter where you come from, what you look like, your culture or religion, the colour of your skin, or your gender. Over the years, Xenia for sure has encountered both quite a lot of resistance to this way of seeing things - as well as setbacks and failures. So she has developed her own ways of dealing with life’s challenges - build confidence, shake off other’s people’s opinions and societal expectations and use (inevitable) pain to your own advantage.
In this accessible, thoughtful and powerful self-help guide, Tchoumi shares this life-vision and #powertricks with the readers and opens our minds to the possibilities if we would only try to make the best out of any situation we may find ourselves in. Empowerment means getting to know your core self at a deeper level. To shake off other people’s influences on you - the media, your cultured or family’s ideas and expectations. Not because they are necessarily bad, but because it is the very best way to choose for yourself. Be yourself. Feel comfortable in your own skin. It reminded me that individuality and non-conformity should be celebrated rather than shirked.
The book reminds you that life isn’t perfect, it might give you lemons - some of which will be good others will be spoiled - it’s what you decide to do with what you’ve been given that truly matters. And to this, there are practical techniques and #powertricks that Tchoumi has developed which I feel will be useful now and in 5 years time. This is the ultimate guide to self-empowerment from motivational speaker and digital entrepreneur Xenia Tchoumi, offering tips and techniques for staying fiercely independent in a world of social conditioning, making the internet work for you (instead of against you) and living your best, most powerful life. Highly recommended.
In this accessible, thoughtful and powerful self-help guide, Tchoumi shares this life-vision and #powertricks with the readers and opens our minds to the possibilities if we would only try to make the best out of any situation we may find ourselves in. Empowerment means getting to know your core self at a deeper level. To shake off other people’s influences on you - the media, your cultured or family’s ideas and expectations. Not because they are necessarily bad, but because it is the very best way to choose for yourself. Be yourself. Feel comfortable in your own skin. It reminded me that individuality and non-conformity should be celebrated rather than shirked.
The book reminds you that life isn’t perfect, it might give you lemons - some of which will be good others will be spoiled - it’s what you decide to do with what you’ve been given that truly matters. And to this, there are practical techniques and #powertricks that Tchoumi has developed which I feel will be useful now and in 5 years time. This is the ultimate guide to self-empowerment from motivational speaker and digital entrepreneur Xenia Tchoumi, offering tips and techniques for staying fiercely independent in a world of social conditioning, making the internet work for you (instead of against you) and living your best, most powerful life. Highly recommended.
November 16, 2020
I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and as much as I'm usually happy with the books I request on NetGalley, this one was a miss for me.
I read a lot of nonfiction, especially personal development books, which I greatly enjoy reading. My ratings usually follow the Goodreads scale, with 1 = did not like it, 2 = it was okay, 3 = liked it, 4 = really liked it and 5 = amazing. Sadly, Empower Yourself by Xenia Tchoumi didn't live up to its hype, as I rated it a 2/5.
So, why such a low rating ?
## What I liked
The book was well organized, with a page of important things to take away from the chapter at the end of each and every one of them. The #Powertrick inserts in the middle of the chapters, with practical tips on how to put in action the advice given in this part of the book, were interesting and well thought out.
On the content itself, most of it was very sound advice, like using daily journaling as a way to know yourself better and figure out your goals and ambitions, or making sure you don't skip your self-care in favor of your work because that's never going to end well... nothing revolutionary, but nothing inherently bad either.
The use of scientific evidence to support these tips was an excellent addition, at it served a lot to support the author's claims that something would be beneficial for you - that's something I'd like to see more in self-help and personal development books, as lately it seems to me that very few of them bother sourcing their advice or supporting their theories with psychological studies or sound research, even when including those references might help convince more strongly their readers of the legitimacy of their opinions.
## What I didn't like
I didn't know anything about the author when I picked up this book, and from the very first chapters, this seemed to come from an extremely privileged place - completely detached from my reality and difficult to reconcile with my personal experiences. I had a hard time finding any flaws to her behavior and character - it seemed, from her descriptions, that she did everything almost perfectly, from eating good food cooked at home to doing physical activity every day, journaling, communicating with loved ones, to being productive while still having time for her personal life... The problem with perfection, however, is that it puts distance between you and your readers, who see your behavior as an unattainable goal - if the people who do it are this immaculate, and I'm not, how and I ever going to succeed ?
Likewise, when I'm reminded more than once that the author "turned down an offer to work full time at a leading investment bank", and that when she was looking for an internship, she was so sure she'd get into a top company that she felt offended and outraged when her therapist told her there was a lot of competition and it wasn't a done deal... I'm having a hard time relating to these experiences.
This specific situation, with the therapist trying to make sure she wasn't setting herself up for a terrible disappointment, served as a way to advance the idea that confidence is the only thing that makes the difference between you and other people - no mater your and their diplomas, experience, skills... of you have the confidence, you'll get that job/internship/work offer! Except... for most of us, that's not how life works. And treating the therapist as if she was actively trying to undermine her self-belief instead of trying to help her and make sure no matter what happened, she'd be okay... isn't a good look at all. (Neither is qualifying people who weren't productive during a worldwide pandemic as "sad and lazy".)
## Overall conclusion
On the positive/negative balance, the scale tips a bit too strongly on the negative side for me. This is not to say that this is a terrible book - to reuse the Goodreads scale qualification, it was *okay*. Sadly, with the amount of self-help and personal improvement books published every year, just *okay* isn't good enough for me anymore.
I read a lot of nonfiction, especially personal development books, which I greatly enjoy reading. My ratings usually follow the Goodreads scale, with 1 = did not like it, 2 = it was okay, 3 = liked it, 4 = really liked it and 5 = amazing. Sadly, Empower Yourself by Xenia Tchoumi didn't live up to its hype, as I rated it a 2/5.
So, why such a low rating ?
## What I liked
The book was well organized, with a page of important things to take away from the chapter at the end of each and every one of them. The #Powertrick inserts in the middle of the chapters, with practical tips on how to put in action the advice given in this part of the book, were interesting and well thought out.
On the content itself, most of it was very sound advice, like using daily journaling as a way to know yourself better and figure out your goals and ambitions, or making sure you don't skip your self-care in favor of your work because that's never going to end well... nothing revolutionary, but nothing inherently bad either.
The use of scientific evidence to support these tips was an excellent addition, at it served a lot to support the author's claims that something would be beneficial for you - that's something I'd like to see more in self-help and personal development books, as lately it seems to me that very few of them bother sourcing their advice or supporting their theories with psychological studies or sound research, even when including those references might help convince more strongly their readers of the legitimacy of their opinions.
## What I didn't like
I didn't know anything about the author when I picked up this book, and from the very first chapters, this seemed to come from an extremely privileged place - completely detached from my reality and difficult to reconcile with my personal experiences. I had a hard time finding any flaws to her behavior and character - it seemed, from her descriptions, that she did everything almost perfectly, from eating good food cooked at home to doing physical activity every day, journaling, communicating with loved ones, to being productive while still having time for her personal life... The problem with perfection, however, is that it puts distance between you and your readers, who see your behavior as an unattainable goal - if the people who do it are this immaculate, and I'm not, how and I ever going to succeed ?
Likewise, when I'm reminded more than once that the author "turned down an offer to work full time at a leading investment bank", and that when she was looking for an internship, she was so sure she'd get into a top company that she felt offended and outraged when her therapist told her there was a lot of competition and it wasn't a done deal... I'm having a hard time relating to these experiences.
This specific situation, with the therapist trying to make sure she wasn't setting herself up for a terrible disappointment, served as a way to advance the idea that confidence is the only thing that makes the difference between you and other people - no mater your and their diplomas, experience, skills... of you have the confidence, you'll get that job/internship/work offer! Except... for most of us, that's not how life works. And treating the therapist as if she was actively trying to undermine her self-belief instead of trying to help her and make sure no matter what happened, she'd be okay... isn't a good look at all. (Neither is qualifying people who weren't productive during a worldwide pandemic as "sad and lazy".)
## Overall conclusion
On the positive/negative balance, the scale tips a bit too strongly on the negative side for me. This is not to say that this is a terrible book - to reuse the Goodreads scale qualification, it was *okay*. Sadly, with the amount of self-help and personal improvement books published every year, just *okay* isn't good enough for me anymore.
July 4, 2024
As you all know if I start a book I finish it even if I hate it. … I stay committed…
I was hoping for so much more out of this book so I’m a little bummed. This book might be for someone it just wasn’t for me …
I was hoping for so much more out of this book so I’m a little bummed. This book might be for someone it just wasn’t for me …
November 22, 2020
🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿
Empower Yourself by Xenia Tchoumi
🌼🌼🌼/5
Xenia Tchoumi is the child of recent immigrants and shares her stories of battling against ingrained prejudice in society. She is a fashion influencer, motivational speaker and a digital entrepreneur and so uses specific examples from these areas.
She takes a very straight forward and easy to understand approach to empowerment and how to cultivate it. I think this is a great introductory text in this area so if this is something you are striving towards I highly recommend. As I have been working on my self esteem and self empowerment a lot, I had covered a lot of these concepts before. A lot of habits that I have implemented are included in this book and so I do highly recommend!
I think with all self-help books there were parts that I enjoyed more and others that didn’t resonate the same. Overall, I think it is a really positive book and perfect if you want to start your empowerment journey!
Thank you to Watkins Publishing for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley.
Empower Yourself by Xenia Tchoumi
🌼🌼🌼/5
Xenia Tchoumi is the child of recent immigrants and shares her stories of battling against ingrained prejudice in society. She is a fashion influencer, motivational speaker and a digital entrepreneur and so uses specific examples from these areas.
She takes a very straight forward and easy to understand approach to empowerment and how to cultivate it. I think this is a great introductory text in this area so if this is something you are striving towards I highly recommend. As I have been working on my self esteem and self empowerment a lot, I had covered a lot of these concepts before. A lot of habits that I have implemented are included in this book and so I do highly recommend!
I think with all self-help books there were parts that I enjoyed more and others that didn’t resonate the same. Overall, I think it is a really positive book and perfect if you want to start your empowerment journey!
Thank you to Watkins Publishing for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley.
November 9, 2020
This book was received as an ARC from Watkins Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
This book could not have been read at a better time for me. Personally, I am going through this journey myself and the tips, life stories and personal experiences Xenia Tchoumi shared were really helpful, heartfelt, and inspiring that it was clarity of the fact that I have to keep going and this will be the best for me. After I finished reading this book, I had a huge sense of relief and gratification that looking on the bright side and being more optimistic is the way to go to get through any tough times, especially now. I appreciate and value Xenia sharing her knowledge and experience through this book and I know she will have quite the following in our library community.
We will consider adding this title to our Self Help collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.
This book could not have been read at a better time for me. Personally, I am going through this journey myself and the tips, life stories and personal experiences Xenia Tchoumi shared were really helpful, heartfelt, and inspiring that it was clarity of the fact that I have to keep going and this will be the best for me. After I finished reading this book, I had a huge sense of relief and gratification that looking on the bright side and being more optimistic is the way to go to get through any tough times, especially now. I appreciate and value Xenia sharing her knowledge and experience through this book and I know she will have quite the following in our library community.
We will consider adding this title to our Self Help collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.
August 19, 2024
I had never read a self-help book before, so I didn't really know what to expect. The reason why I started this one is because I wanted to know more about the definition of "self-empowerment", especially as a woman, and how can one become empowered in most aspects of their life.
The book is divided in the following eight chapters:
1. Take Responsibility for Your Own Life
2. Think for Yourself
3. Be Disciplined
4. Take Care of Yourself
5. Build Your Confidence
6. Stand Up for Gender Equality (Whatever Your Gender)
7. Use Your Failures and Pain
8. Be Digitally Dominant, Not Dependent
Some chapters were better than others, but they all follow a comprehensive structure, where practical #powertricks are framed and each chapter ends with a summary of the key points it touches on. These lists of concise advice are good at reminding the reader what's most important to remember.
I believe that depending on what one needs, they would find guidance in one chapter or another. Maybe one would feel called out by "Think for Yourself" while someone else might find relief in "Take Care of Yourself". I've made 42 bookmarks and most of them are from "Build Your Confidence". I also liked the "Be Disciplined" and "Use Your Failures and Pain" chapters.
The book touches on a wide range of topics and while it doesn't dive deep into them, it gives some good insights and suggestions. For example, it mentions meditation and flow state of mind, without going into much depth, but that could be enough to push someone to learn more about them.
Although the author isn't an expert in the field, it's clear that they are well-read and knowledgeable - many quotes from books and research are included, which lends credibility to their claims.
And yet, they also include personal stories from their own experience or from those around them, with openness and vulnerability. I didn't expect, for example, to learn that they had dealt with the negative experience of unhealthy romantic attachments. Or that they have been through a burnout at a relatively young age. I would have liked them to talk more about this, I think it is crucial in the context of empowerment, even more so for women (who experience burnout more often than men). I also felt that the chapter on gender equality was lacking, unfinished, but perhaps it could be further developed in subsequent editions. The last chapter was mostly aimed at digital entrepreneurs, such as influencers, content creators, etc., but otherwise it was a good reminder of how to use social media at one's advantage, instead of letting it be their demise.
Maybe some readers won't find anything they haven't already read, but I believe this is a good starting point for people who feel lost, trapped in their lives or lack confidence in themselves. The writing style is easy to read and one can quickly refresh their memory by re-reading the eight chapter summaries.
The book is divided in the following eight chapters:
1. Take Responsibility for Your Own Life
2. Think for Yourself
3. Be Disciplined
4. Take Care of Yourself
5. Build Your Confidence
6. Stand Up for Gender Equality (Whatever Your Gender)
7. Use Your Failures and Pain
8. Be Digitally Dominant, Not Dependent
Some chapters were better than others, but they all follow a comprehensive structure, where practical #powertricks are framed and each chapter ends with a summary of the key points it touches on. These lists of concise advice are good at reminding the reader what's most important to remember.
I believe that depending on what one needs, they would find guidance in one chapter or another. Maybe one would feel called out by "Think for Yourself" while someone else might find relief in "Take Care of Yourself". I've made 42 bookmarks and most of them are from "Build Your Confidence". I also liked the "Be Disciplined" and "Use Your Failures and Pain" chapters.
The book touches on a wide range of topics and while it doesn't dive deep into them, it gives some good insights and suggestions. For example, it mentions meditation and flow state of mind, without going into much depth, but that could be enough to push someone to learn more about them.
Although the author isn't an expert in the field, it's clear that they are well-read and knowledgeable - many quotes from books and research are included, which lends credibility to their claims.
And yet, they also include personal stories from their own experience or from those around them, with openness and vulnerability. I didn't expect, for example, to learn that they had dealt with the negative experience of unhealthy romantic attachments. Or that they have been through a burnout at a relatively young age. I would have liked them to talk more about this, I think it is crucial in the context of empowerment, even more so for women (who experience burnout more often than men). I also felt that the chapter on gender equality was lacking, unfinished, but perhaps it could be further developed in subsequent editions. The last chapter was mostly aimed at digital entrepreneurs, such as influencers, content creators, etc., but otherwise it was a good reminder of how to use social media at one's advantage, instead of letting it be their demise.
Maybe some readers won't find anything they haven't already read, but I believe this is a good starting point for people who feel lost, trapped in their lives or lack confidence in themselves. The writing style is easy to read and one can quickly refresh their memory by re-reading the eight chapter summaries.
May 7, 2021
Reseña en español.
* * * * *
Review in english.
* * * * *
Review in english.
January 23, 2022
4.5 stars
A really good book about how to become your own person, the better version of you, not by an 'expert' or teacher but someone who's been there and who's done the work herself. I'd thought this book wouldn't be relatable because the author is well-known and does not have an 'average' life. But surprisingly, her talks and words are down to earth, actionable, and advice everyone can apply and work from. However, it will require that the person is ready to work with their shadow self, to face their deepest motivations and thoughts, to be willing to come out of the relative safety and comfort of being 'sheeple' and to decide to step out of victim mentality willingly...otherwise none of this advice will ever work, whether they read it here or elsewhere. Only go into this book if you are really willing to do the dirty and hard work of exposing everything in you to your own eyes and own up to it
A really good book about how to become your own person, the better version of you, not by an 'expert' or teacher but someone who's been there and who's done the work herself. I'd thought this book wouldn't be relatable because the author is well-known and does not have an 'average' life. But surprisingly, her talks and words are down to earth, actionable, and advice everyone can apply and work from. However, it will require that the person is ready to work with their shadow self, to face their deepest motivations and thoughts, to be willing to come out of the relative safety and comfort of being 'sheeple' and to decide to step out of victim mentality willingly...otherwise none of this advice will ever work, whether they read it here or elsewhere. Only go into this book if you are really willing to do the dirty and hard work of exposing everything in you to your own eyes and own up to it
November 18, 2020
Some parts of this really resonated with me. I enjoyed parts of the book, but found I’d skip through other bits. Overall, quite a positive outlook, but some didn’t feel like it added anything to the book.
Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.
Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.
October 1, 2023
It's not a bad book per se. It's a combination of well-known facts if you're familiar with personal growth literature. It can be a great book for someone to get a motivational push but nothing revolutionary.
January 9, 2021
I truly enjoyed how readable and smooth the text is.
It is smart yet understandable and clear. It gave me a boost to become more of a doer and solve my issues.
I love the power tricks too.
It is smart yet understandable and clear. It gave me a boost to become more of a doer and solve my issues.
I love the power tricks too.
November 21, 2021
Good read to reminder how to make your goals happen.
Read
June 9, 2024This was good. It helps when you are in a rough time. Good knowledge to have when you are going through life!
December 6, 2024
It's very candid to the writer who has added her personal examples. It makes sense and I have gifted it to a friend who needs it more.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews