Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur

is giving him an address! I thought. What the hell could be taking so long?
Finally it appears he’s ready for me, so I make my way over and hop in. My
driver is extremely nice, and I immediately confirm with him the ride will
take ten minutes as promised (and you can imagine my panic because
we’ve already wasted almost ten just negotiating this ride). He shows me
his GPS and says, “Thirty seven minutes, Miss.”
“Thirty seven!?” I yelp. I can feel my heart start to race as I glance at
the clock. Breathe.
“Yes, Miss. Thirty seven minutes to this address,” he replies.
“Okay, let’s just GO! This is a live appearance. Live television. I can’t
be late.”
He nods and we take off. As we’re getting on the highway, the knot in
my stomach grows tighter. We’re driving, and driving, and driving, and I’m
trying not to have a full-blown panic attack in the backseat as I realize we
are going far.
It’s now 8:35 am, (I was supposed to be at the station by 8:30), and I
ask him to confirm how much longer the ride will be. He tells me twelve
more minutes. I email the producer and let her know I’m running late,
apologizing profusely in my message, desperately hoping I see a sign for
the station building.
By 8:50 am I’m seeing farms.
“This can’t be the right way. They told me the studio was downtown, in
the city,” I calmly say, though I’m fighting tears at this point, convinced I’m
going to miss my segment. “Can you pull over?”
My driver pulls over and I dial the station. As I’m feverishly tapping
the numbers into my iPhone, I can see this poor man starting to sweat. He’s
wiping his forehead with a handkerchief and looks nervous. “I’m so sorry,
Miss. My GPS gave me these directions.”
At this point, I get the station receptionist on the line and quickly brief
her on my situation. She starts giving me directions and I toss my phone at
my driver. “Please talk to her! I have no idea where we are!”

---

It’s now 9:00 am. I am a half hour late. The show has begun taping –
live.
After some more conversation with the receptionist and some
maneuvering in his GPS, we’re on our way. “Are you sure this is the right
direction?” I nicely ask, now trying to calm this man down because I can
see how badly he feels for the whole debacle.
“Yes. I promise. I will get you there. You will not be late, right?” He’s
still sweating. I feel terrible for him.
“No no, it’s okay. It will be fine. They’ll tape me and use it on another
day if anything. Don’t worry.”
I’m worried. In fact, I’m panicked. But I’m realizing that it will be
okay, and this man probably feels way worse than I do right now.
He thanks me repeatedly for being so kind. He’s apologized about four
hundred times by this point – and sincerely. My heart is breaking now,
imagining how most people probably treat him.
“Listen, life happens. Sometimes we go in the wrong direction. All we
can do is turn around and find our way again,” I say to him. Hello – life
coach on board.
He looks relieved, even happy that I am not going to scream or chuck
my stiletto at his head. We pull up to the station and he tells me he will wait
for me while I film. “Just go, miss, I will be here. I will take you back for
free. Anywhere you need to go,” he assures me.
I pull myself together and walk into the station, channeling my most
Fearless & Fabulous self, despite the chaotic adventure I was just on. I
wind up making my appearance by the skin of my teeth, with just ten
minutes to spare, and it goes off without a hitch. I walk outside afterward
and there is my driver, waiting for me just as he said he would. He takes me
back to the hotel, and all is well.
I think most people – including my former self – would have probably
lost their shit in my situation. Imagine flying into a city to be on live TV,
only to almost miss your opportunity? It definitely rattled me, but rather
than freak out, get angry, or go into full-on panic mode, I actively looked
for the lesson that situation was trying to teach me. I tried to find the
diamond lining. And there were a few.
The first lesson I learned was compassion. I like to think of myself as a
compassionate person, but that situation certainly put me to the test. It
would have been easy for me to think purely of myself. It would have been

---

easy to get angry with my driver for getting us lost. But how would that
have made either of us better? Instead of getting pissed off and turning into
a diva, I looked for an opportunity to be compassionate and put myself in
his shoes. He didn’t want to drive forty-five minutes in the wrong direction
and upset his passenger. He tried as best he could to get me where I needed
to be, but he made a mistake. As we all do. We make lots of them.
We’ve got to be compassionate toward others – especially other
women. I think many of us are quick to judge or go on emotion, but it’s so
important to put yourself in some else’s Jimmy Choos and try to understand
where they are coming from. In every situation, especially the challenging
ones, you must ask yourself, how can I be better?
Another lesson learned? Things do not always go as planned. We have
to make room for imperfection in our lives. Those imperfect moments are
the moments we grow the most. Can you imagine how boring life would be
if everything always went the way we expected it to? A little turbulence is a
good thing – in life and on the plane. It shakes us up (literally) and it makes
us feel something. And when we get through it, we feel like a rock star.
GIRL CODE: Secret
Embrace the imperfect moments. Look for lessons. In every situation,
especially the challenging ones, you must ask yourself, how can I be better?
How can I grow? Commit to finding your diamond lining.
GIRL CODE: Unlocked
Tawnya Falkner, Owner of Le Grand Courtage
I am constantly inspired by women who take risks in the name of passion,
and Tawnya is no exception. Tawnya and I met a few years back on Twitter
and have since become great friends. To be honest, I can’t even recall the
details of how we connected, but let’s just say Champagne Girls attract
other Champagne Girls! When I learned that she owned a sparkling wine
company that she built from the ground up, I was seriously impressed.
When I learned that she dropped everything and moved to France to chase
her dream and build it, I knew she was truly a girl after my own heart.

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Tawnya and I share a love of all things effervescent, sparkling, and girly,
but don’t let that fool you. We also share an insatiable drive to make shit
happen, and her ambition has inspired me for years. I am thrilled to include
my interview with Tawnya in Girl Code and I could not be happier for all of
her success.