The Daring Female's Guide to Ecstatic Living: 30 Dares for a More Gutsy and Fulfilling Life [Paperback]

Natasha Kogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2006

An inspirational guide for women that dares them to live life to the fullest

Natasha Kogan dares any woman to use this book as a springboard to launch herself into a life that is more rewarding, exciting, interesting, and fun. On every page of her lively guide you will find a shot of energy and inspiration encouraging you to escape your hectic schedules, endless errands, and growing to-do lists, and find the time to do the things that make life more fulfilling. In 30 short chapters containing practical and refreshing dares, checklists, and inspirational sidebars, The Daring Female’s Guide to Ecstatic Living will turn any woman into a daring female.

-Dare to take life’s detours.
-Dare to look forward more than you look back.
-Dare to have a life wish list and to check off one wish every year.
-Dare to find what makes you ecstatic and do it for at least ten minutes a day.

So go ahead, open this book to any page, and start living your life with gusto, guts, and satisfaction.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Natasha Kogan grew up in the Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of 14. After graduating from Wesleyan University, she and her husband started their own company, Natavi Guides, to publish a series of unique guidebooks written for students by students. Using her consulting and investment experience, Natasha has worked with many women to help them start and grow their own businesses.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (March 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401307906
• ISBN-13: 978-1401307905
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,178,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi! My name is Natasha Kogan and I am a Daring Female. (Now, say this sentence with your own name. Repeat at least once a day. And make sure to use your most convincing tone when you do.)

Two years ago one of my most precious, life-long, "I can't believe this is ever going to happen" dreams came true I wrote a book and got it published. I titled it The Daring Female's Guide to Ecstatic Living and filled it with 30 Dares that I believe can help us all live fuller, more exciting and rewarding lives. I hope that you will check it out and find at least one dare that you want to take on and zap your life with some necessary energy and passion.

You might be wondering what makes me an expert on being a Daring Female. Well, I would never call myself an expert on anything, but I have taken on more than a few dares in my own life and believe very strongly in the idea that doing so has allowed me to live it in a more exciting and fulfilling way.

Here's a small selection of some of my biggest dares:

1. Too Old to Lose My Accent

When I was fourteen my family emigrated from Russia to the United States. We came here with six suitcases and $600. This dare was monumentally more difficult for my parents than it was for me and I'll forever respect them for the gigantic effort they put into building our new life here. After the shock of the first few weeks wore off, I decided that the only thing that was going to allow me to come out of my room and live my life was learning to speak English like a real American.

Everyone we met told me that there was absolutely, positively no way that I could lose my accent completely - I was simply too old to do that. Well, it was all or nothing, so I decided to go for it anyway. After four years and endless embarrassment later, I did it. If you heard me today, I sound like a regular New Yorker! (Whether that's a good thing or not is another question.)


2. You're Giving Up THAT Job?

Fast forward ten years and I'm living in New York, working day and night at a big-name management consulting company. It's a great firm, I get tons of perks, a good paycheck, and interesting work. But I get the urge to work in a more creative environment, helping much smaller businesses grow, and maybe start my own some day.

So I decide to leave. My parents, my friends, and my colleagues decide that I've lost my mind and try to talk me out of making a terrible mistake. But I'm stubborn and I know that if I don't leave now, I won't leave later, and wake up 20 years from now with a bunch of "woulda/coulda/shoulda" thoughts in my head. I give my notice and I leave, spending the next few years working with small start-ups and being part of their devastating failures and great successes. No steady paycheck, no famous companies, no perks except for one: I'm doing something I've always wanted to do and I'm doing it on my terms. And damn, that feels good!

3. You Can't Start a Publishing Company Out of Your Apartment

Well, you can, actually. Which is what my husband I and did three years ago. I got this wacky idea to publish a series of books written by students and for students and told it to my husband. Since we are both book lovers and publishing industry junkies (we have a nice collection of rejection letters we received for many ideas we tried to turn into books) we researched what it would take to publish these books on our own and started a company to do it. Whoa! That was one of the toughest things I've ever attempted (until I gave birth to our daughter several years later and understood what tough was!) We plunked our life savings into the company and made tons of very costly and na've mistakes. We worked at our regular bill-paying jobs during the day and on our publishing business all night and during weekends. We were exhausted and often intimidated, but it was so exciting to see our books come to life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep it on your Nightstand...., May 20, 2006

By 

Stacy-Michelle Reid "Coffee Girl" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Daring Female's Guide to Ecstatic Living: 30 Dares for a More Gutsy and Fulfilling Life (Paperback)

I flip through the book every morning and find myself ideas to start the day! The book gives ideas, big and small, on how to be an exciting, daring, and FUN female! I love it so much that I just bought copies for my friends and had it shipped to them! Get it! You'll love it!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take This Dare!, May 15, 2006

By 

K. P. GILLEN (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Daring Female's Guide to Ecstatic Living: 30 Dares for a More Gutsy and Fulfilling Life (Paperback)

The title of this book grabbed me from the start. The Daring Females Guide to Ecstatic Living is just the right tool to get any woman, at any age or stage, thinking about living a bigger life. Each of the six sections offers five dares to try. With a fun Dare-Meter at the start of each dare, the reader knows if they are looking at a "Daring", "Ultra-Daring", or "Ultra-Gutsy Daring" topic. Dare to have a life wish list ranked at an ultra dare and really spoke to me. Thinking of a few things to wish for in life is normal, but writing them down and crossing one off each year is gusty. The author shares how she actually accomplished the dares with her own stories. The short chapters end with a few helpful tips or inspirations to carry out your dare. This is a great book for anyone in a life transition or just feeling a need for inspiration.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Way to Get Started on Living a More Daring Life, July 27, 2006

By 

szan18 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Daring Female's Guide to Ecstatic Living: 30 Dares for a More Gutsy and Fulfilling Life (Paperback)

This lovely book takes you by the hand and shows you how to make your life a more daring and fulfilling journey. For the person who is a little risk-shy but wants to live large I highly recommend you to buy this book and begin living with more passion, purpose, joy and excitement than you ever have. Before you know it you'll be living way out of the box and enjoying every moment.