Tavi Gevinson was a girl boss long before we were all uttering the phrase — and before she was even a teenager, for that matter. So, when we heard the Rookie founder/budding actress/fashion darling was coming to share her wisdom as a speaker at the Commonwealth Club, you'd better believe we reserved a seat to take notes on her insider knowledge.
Below, we rounded up some of her very best advice from the night. Read on, and you'll be that much closer to becoming a media mogul yourself one day.
Put Down Your Phone
"I think it’s really important to feel like you can just document things for yourself, or even not at all, and just live in the moment...I try not to make my phone my first and last interaction with the world every day. It's good to wake up and do your stuff, get dressed and all of that, and then see what’s going on instead of feeling constantly like you need to keep up or have an opinion or show how cool your life is just because you’re having brioche toast.” Embrace Failure
"When it comes to creating art, remove responsibility in a way, not as an excuse to be lazy, but so that you can fail and be fine and keep editing. Make whatever is in you and be okay with it for what it is. Take some of that pressure off yourself...that helps me a lot. It’s all trial and error, and everyone is entitled to making cheesy art or writing bad poetry. Chill out and be nice to yourself; that’s generally my blanket of advice for anyone.” Take The Road Less Traveled
"I always thought I was going to go [to college]. I found something the other day that I wrote when I was 11 where I said that I wanted to go to NYU to study theater. I did apply my senior year; I got in and then I deferred for a year. If I were to go, I’d basically be paying a school to give me credit for something I’m already doing. I’m taking time to take in the world instead of putting out so much...” Know Your Cultural History
"At Rookie, every month is a different theme and then we explore it by having a list of movies relating to that theme, and I don’t want all of them to be what just came out. If you’re a creative person, it’s really useful to know the context of what you’re putting in your work. You have to learn the rules before you can break them."
"I think it’s really important to feel like you can just document things for yourself, or even not at all, and just live in the moment...I try not to make my phone my first and last interaction with the world every day. It's good to wake up and do your stuff, get dressed and all of that, and then see what’s going on instead of feeling constantly like you need to keep up or have an opinion or show how cool your life is just because you’re having brioche toast.” Embrace Failure
"When it comes to creating art, remove responsibility in a way, not as an excuse to be lazy, but so that you can fail and be fine and keep editing. Make whatever is in you and be okay with it for what it is. Take some of that pressure off yourself...that helps me a lot. It’s all trial and error, and everyone is entitled to making cheesy art or writing bad poetry. Chill out and be nice to yourself; that’s generally my blanket of advice for anyone.” Take The Road Less Traveled
"I always thought I was going to go [to college]. I found something the other day that I wrote when I was 11 where I said that I wanted to go to NYU to study theater. I did apply my senior year; I got in and then I deferred for a year. If I were to go, I’d basically be paying a school to give me credit for something I’m already doing. I’m taking time to take in the world instead of putting out so much...” Know Your Cultural History
"At Rookie, every month is a different theme and then we explore it by having a list of movies relating to that theme, and I don’t want all of them to be what just came out. If you’re a creative person, it’s really useful to know the context of what you’re putting in your work. You have to learn the rules before you can break them."