- What surprised you the most? I did not know much about Coco Chanel prior reading this book for this class. I really only knew her "Chanel #5". So I was most surprised to find out that her actual name is Gabrielle and that she was raised in poverty before becoming one of the most renown designers.
- What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I admired the fact that even though she did not have an ideal upbringing, like with her addiction to morphine and more drugs, she did end up becoming to be very successful. It goes to show not everyone has a perfect life.
- What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? I guess the thing I least admire about Coco Chanel was that she did abuse drugs and that of course is not good to do. But I cannot blame her for her past because there are better outs to go through besides going to drugs to relive the adversity that was going on throughout her life at that point.
- Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? Yes she did, and more than I would have ever guessed. She was the child of two nomadic traders that were impoverished. She was then placed in an orphanage. The book did not focus greatly on the obstacles for her fashion, but more on her personal struggles, which I did like and learned a lot about more to respect her and her industry.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
I noticed that she did not give up, no matter what the circumstances are. She always pursued and would get right back up if she was pushed down.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I had always been a little confused or was fuzzy on her and her relationship with Arthur Capel. The books describes as the love of Chanel's life and the person that would help and aid her with her business to grow and become more successful. I did not know really how Arthur helped the company grow or how he supported Chanel.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
- The first question I would ask would be "What kept you motivated through thick and thin in your life?" I would ask this because dealing with adversity can make people become very unmotivated and sluggish in life.
- The second question I would ask would be "Did you ever feel like giving up?" I would ask this because I feel as though there are times in my life where I want to give up but I keep going so my future can be better with my degree.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I think Chanel's opinion of hard work was that it was important never to give up. She, ideally, did not have the most perfect upbringing and to end up where she did today, I feel it was perseverance.
Hey Kristen! I thought you did a great job providing insight to this read from someone who did not chose this book. I thought it was interesting the struggles Coco Chanel went through, yet still became such a household name. It goes to show that through struggles, there is still something successful that can come out of it all. I agree that her path was about perseverance, something we should all take as advice.
ReplyDeleteKristen,
ReplyDeleteI found your post very interesting. I did not read this book in any of the reading reflections. I really liked the questions you decided to ask to the author. Those are two very hard questions to answer but will give insight to anyone who is struggling. I found it interesting after reading your post that she did not have a great upbringing. I think we are seeing a lot more stories like this in the entertainment world. It is very inspiring for others in the same situations.