The Woman Code: 20 Powerful Keys to Unlock Your Life

By Sophia A. Nelson

A powerful, no-nonsense guide for women that provides them the keys to unlock a fulfilling life.

Every woman lives by a code, whether she realizes it or not. It informs how she treats others and herself, how much she expects of herself, and how far she is willing to go in order to find success. But is the code we're living by truly helping us create the lives of purpose and fulfillment we desire? Or are we sacrificing the deeper things for mere achievement? 

In this inspiring book—updated with new insights from the profound economic and societal shifts that have changed our world with the advent of the global pandemic—Sophia A. Nelson calls women to live out a powerful life code that will lead them to purposeful and successful lives. With the wisdom that comes from experience, Nelson reveals to women:

• The true meaning of “having it all"
• How to take better care of their minds, bodies, and souls
• How to discover new reserves of strength
• The importance of having courageous conversations to build relationships
• How to achieve professional excellence without compromising their values
• How to find lasting love and purpose in life beyond their accomplishments
• How to navigate the sisterhood of women, to build collaboration rather than competition
• How to heal from past hurts, rejection, and life's inevitable storms 

The Woman Code is a way of living, of navigating life's challenges, and of interacting positively with other women. It's a way of pursuing our dreams and our deepest desires. It reveals a universal and timeless set of principles of the mind, body, and spirit that help women balance the demands of work, home, family, and friendship. The Woman Code not only calls on women to practice purpose in their lives, it shows them how to do it with grace.

 
 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Health Communications Inc EB
• Release date: Mar 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9780757324086

Sophia A. Nelson

Sophia A. Nelson is an award-winning author and journalist, a former White House reporter, former Congressional Committee counsel, and an attorney. She is a sought-after motivational speaker and leadership trainer in Fortune 500 companies and at universities, and she contributes regularly to MSNBC, NBC, CNN, and FOX News. She writes for The Huffington Post Healthy Living and Newsweek/The Daily Beast. Nelson has also appeared on the BBC, World News with Diane Sawyer, and The Today Show. She has also contributed to USA Today, Essence, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. She makes her home in Virginia.

Book preview

Section I

The Personal Codes

Whatever is going on inside of you is what will come out of you. These four Codes are the foundation of every woman’s life. All roads to positive life transformation begin with you doing the work on yourself. Self-examination is core to how we develop into the women we all want to be.

Code 1

Know Your Value

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

—Eleanor Roosevelt

You are the only person on this earth who can make you feel less than or inferior. It does not matter what others say about you, think about you, or do not like about you. It only matters what you think about you. Neither your family’s definition of you nor unkind words spoken to you are valid.

Value is another way of saying worth. Value is another way of saying importance. Value is another way of saying precious. You and you alone must define yourself—for yourself. You must love and like you or no one else ever will. It is life changing to know your value. One of the most timeless and challenging issues for women of every generation is the struggle to know our value, to know our worth, and to claim what we deserve in the workplace and in our relationships.

Knowing your value means not only knowing who you are but who you are not. I know that some of you may not feel very valuable right now, or very loved. That is okay. That is why you picked up this book. Many women look good on the outside but are badly wounded on the inside. They may seem successful, but they are hiding their hurts inside. Believe it or not, they feel valueless too. So I need you to stop thinking you are alone. You are not. Every single one of us at some point has doubted her value.

Women today are educated, talented, connected, financially secure, gifted, well traveled, and more, yet we still do not know our value. We shrink from saying what needs to be said for fear we will be called the B word or worse. We fear outshining men lest we make them feel less than. We worry that we are not pretty enough, smart enough, talented enough, or powerful enough. We envy other women who are thinner, more beautiful, smarter, or happier. We fail to see the amazing gifts we are to the world.

It is time for that to change.

All of our doubts, fears, and limitations come from within our own minds. Envy starts out as admiration. We want what other women have because we don’t see our own intrinsic value. We are so good at advocating for and empowering other people but not ourselves. We know how to negotiate a fierce deal for a client, and we will go to the mat for a family member or friend when we feel someone is not treating them as they deserve. Yet we will diminish our own value; we do not stand up for ourselves and honor our worth.

We can possess an Ivy League degree and an amazing work history, and yet when it comes time to negotiate for that salary at the new job we just landed, we let someone else decide our value. Men never do this. From the time they are boys, men are empowered by their families, their culture, their communities, and even the sports teams they play on to know their value. Men are taught almost from birth that they are to be hunters, protectors, providers, and winners. In other words, they have value.

This is not the case for us.

Women are taught almost from birth that we are to be nurturers, supporters, encouragers, peacekeepers, and ladies. While these are all great virtues, these traits play into what we call soft skills. Soft skills, which most women possess in abundance, are important; however, they do not often get you what you want when it comes to the corporate boardroom, business, or life. How you value yourself has a direct impact on how well you live out your Code.

In a nutshell: your life Code is formed from the time you are a small girl. It is shaped by the influence of your parents and your nuclear family. And after the family, it is shaped by your community, by the friendships you form, and by the faith (or spiritual value system or lack thereof) your parents impart to you. Your Code either propels you to greatness or keeps you stuck in the challenges and obstacles of your life. If you grow up in a family of people who are nurturing, loving, and kind you are more likely as an adult to be nurturing, loving, and kind. On the other hand, if you grow up in a family where people are angry all the time, argumentative, and demeaning to one another, you are likely to handle conflict as an adult by arguing, demeaning, and yelling at people.

All women struggle with self-esteem, self-worth, and self-value issues. Women have been taught for centuries that we are second-class citizens. It is not easy to undo centuries of programming. But we are going to consider three keys to unlock how to know and honor your value as a woman.

Erase the negative tapes in your head—don’t let your history define your destiny.

Realize that what you think about you is what others will think about you.

Shift your thinking to put you at the top of your list.

Erase the Negative Tapes in Your Head—Don’t Let Your History Define Your Destiny

Words have power. Words define, shape, and mold us beyond what we can ever imagine. You have value. You are born and created as a person of value. How you perceive your worth and self-value is shaped by your experiences. And once certain words and images have been placed in our spirit, it becomes almost impossible to redefine ourselves so that we can truly embrace our value.

One of the most fundamental factors that determines your happiness, success, and joy in life is how well you value yourself. It sounds simple, but far too many women and girls do not know their value. You must be defined first and foremost by your Creator and

Reviews for The Woman Code

[Ana Lipičar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Krasna knjiga vredna branja. Vsebina je bogata in aktualna. Priporočam v branje!

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fans of female empowerment books, look out, there's a new book for you! Former White House correspondent, journalist, and TV personality, Sophia A. Nelson, delivers a book that will help you unlock your life with twenty powerful keys. Split into five sections: personal, emotional, spiritual, professional, and relational code, Nelson attempts to help readers find and believe in simple truths that will help raise womankind up. Before we can be better spouses or mother, we have to be better for ourselves. The self comes first, otherwise we can't properly take care of and appreciate the ones we love. The crux of Nelson's beliefs, is that we need to know our value as woman. Once you know your value and potential you can make peace with your past and learn to live authentically. Each chapter, or key, explains several concepts, gives "real life examples" and then has a section on how to "live the code." At the end there also key words and discussion questions in the back (it would make for a thought provoking book club). Overall, I learned some quality things, I definitely think that it's a good guide to empower and inspire confidence in woman. I felt that many of the keys were obvious (maybe they just were to me) and themes could get very repetitive but overall, I commend Nelson on creating a book that many women will eat up. Hopefully it inspires several generation of woman to do more with their lives.I received this book for free from Revell Reads in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.