{"product_id":"perfect-is-boring-isbn-9780143132301","title":"Perfect Is Boring","description":"\u003cb\u003eSupermodel and super CEO of our time Tyra Banks and her mother Carolyn show readers why when you kick perfection to the curb and showcase your unique beauty ain't nobody gonna stop you! \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003ePerfect Is Boring\u003c\/i\u003e, Tyra Banks and her mother, Carolyn, get raw, real and cray-in-a-good-way as they share what they’ve learned on Tyra’s journey from insecure preteen to supermodel and entrepreneurial powerhouse. Though she’ll be the first to tell you she is not her daughter’s best friend—‘cause she ain’t that kinda mama!—there’s no doubt that Carolyn’s signature mix of pep talks and tough love got Tyra to where she is today, and here they pay it forward to empower readers with a reminder that perfect really isn’t all that.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Whether they’re writing about watching Tyra’s most imperfect moment go viral (Does “Be Quiet Tiffany!” ring any bells?), no-holds-barred sex talks or how they’ve overcome everything from fashion industry discrimination to media fat-shaming and a misguided attempt at a music career, they never lose their sense of humor or we-got-your-back-spirit. Full of smart, wise, and often hilarious lessons for mothers, daughters, fathers and sons everywhere—including “Take Responsibility for Yourself,” “Lip Gloss + Pizza Sauce = Boss,” and “Fix It or Flaunt It”—\u003ci\u003ePerfect Is Boring\u003c\/i\u003e is a must-read for anyone who needs a kick in the booty, a pat on the back, or a good reason to laugh-out-loud.\u003cb\u003eTYRA BANKS\u003c\/b\u003e is the supermodel, super entrepreneur, and super CEO of our time. As an original Victoria’s Secret Angel, the first African American model to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, and the creator\/executive producer of one of the longest-running competition shows, America’s Next Top Model, Tyra has made it her life’s mission to expand the definition of beauty and empower women worldwide. In 2012, she graduated from the Owner\/President Management program at Harvard Business School, and now teaches personal branding at Stanford University’s Business School. She has been listed twice among Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eCAROLYN LONDON,\u003c\/b\u003e is a retired professional photographer, mother to Tyra and her brother, Devin, and the CEO emeritus of the Tyra Banks Company and cofounder of the TZONE Foundation. She is the grandmother of five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.\u003cb\u003eTyra:\u003c\/b\u003e Hi, my name is Tyra Banks, and you might remember me from      that time I yelled at a girl on TV.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Yeah, you remember that time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If I was a singer, \"Be Quiet, Tiffany\" would be my      top-of-the-charts number-one-hit-single bat mitzvah dance floor      filler that you and your gay best friend cue up every time you go      sing karaoke, and you got the GIF saved on your phone, just so      it's ready to go the next time someone starts telling you      something you don't want to hear.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And you know what? I'm not mad at that, because that moment that's      all over the Internet is really just me embodying someone I love      so damn much: my mother.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Cause I ain't crazy, but my mama sure is.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarolyn:\u003c\/b\u003e Ty, now when you say \"crazy,\" you mean it in that      good way, right? Shoot, girl. I ain't even gonna ask, 'cause I      know you do!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Tyra:\u003c\/b\u003e Well, let me see-do I? When I say that my mama is crazy,      what I mean is . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Crazy in a      letting-your-grandbabies-pull-your-wig-off-and-let-them-wear-it-to-brunch      way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Crazy in an      eating-spilled-chili-off-the-dusty-kitchen-floor-cuz-that's-her-famous-recipe-and-it-ain't-gonna-go-to-waste      way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Crazy in an      always-got-your-back-even-when-everyone-else-says-you're-down-and-out      kinda way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Crazy in a using-her-juicy-belly-bloops-as-a-musical-instrument      way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Crazy in that tough-love-that-gets-the-point-across-for-real way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Crazy in a talking-'bout-secretions-on-Amtrak kinda way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Crazy in a beautiful, talented, loving, and supportive kinda way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e So . . . yes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e You're right, Mama. When I say \"crazy,\" I mean amazing, awesome,      incredible, mind-blowing, stupendous.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For me, crazy is good. Crazy is the opposite of boring.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarolyn: \u003c\/b\u003eI like that. I ain't been boring a day in my life, so      if you wanna call me crazy, I'll take it!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Tyra:\u003c\/b\u003e I think we can all agree-me and you, the reader, and      Mama-that \"Be quiet, Tiffany!\" was my craziest moment (it's always      number one on any Internet list of \"29 Reasons Why TyTy Is One      Color Short of a Rainbow\" or something like that). It was also the      time that all the Mama in me came spewing out, like one of those      baking-soda-and-vinegar volcanoes you made for your elementary      school science fair (and with my red hair, I kinda looked like a      volcano).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e So let us just break down all the wig-shaking, finger-pointing,      mouth-flapping insanity that spawned a million memes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tiffany was a girl on cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. She was      so beautiful and talented, with a rags-to-riches story. She didn't      make it to the final cast of that cycle, but she had something      special about her so we invited her back for a cycle 4 audition      and, bam, she made it. On cycle 4, her photos were getting better      and better. She was someone who had already been through so much,      and I could see where she was going. We invested in her, and she      invested in herself. I thought she was going to be the winner.      Scratch that-I knew she was gonna be the winner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarolyn:\u003c\/b\u003e Tyra had been raving about Tiffany every time I      talked to her. She said that when she saw Tiffany model, she felt      like she was looking at the winner of the show. She had never said      that-ever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I was never someone who put tons of emphasis on physical beauty.      For me, inner beauty is much more important, and I passed that on      to Tyra. So, when she looked at the girls on Top Model, she was      looking at the whole girl-not just their posing or their runway      walks. How they laughed, how they smiled, how they treated other      people, how they lit up a room, or their quest, their fire, their      journey.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Tyra connected to Tiffany's spirit and her potential. Tiffany was      pure heart and soul, and Tyra was set on making sure that beauty      rose to where she deserved to be.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Tyra:\u003c\/b\u003e That cycle, we had created a judging room challenge that had      the models doing mock live TV commentating and reading really      difficult words off a teleprompter-things in French, difficult      designer names, tough technical terms for patterns and stitches.      The point wasn't to see who knew how to pronounce the words      perfectly, but who could butcher the heck out of them without      losing her cool. We knew that no one-no one-was going to get those      cray-cray words right. Everyone tried their hardest and everyone      messed up, but when Tiffany messed up, we felt like she acted like      she personally had been set up to fail. That all the other girls      were perfect and she, well, wasn't. Like it was her fate to lose,      entirely out of her control.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Something inside me just couldn't take that. I was looking at this      beautiful black butterfly who had finally exited her cocoon, and      she was pretty much saying that she wasn't good enough to really      spread her wings. There have been countless times in my career      when I heard that I couldn't do something because I was black, and      that only made me want to go out there and prove everyone wrong.      Now, to have a girl who had already overcome so much standing in      front of me talking about how she couldn't do things because      circumstance and fate were in her way, well . . . You saw what      happened. (And you might want to turn down the volume, 'cause it's      about to get loud.)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e BE QUIET, TIFFANY-BE QUIET! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? STOP IT!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE YELLED AT A GIRL LIKE THIS. WHEN MY MOTHER      YELLS LIKE THIS, IT'S BECAUSE SHE LOVES ME.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU; WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU. HOW DARE YOU?      LEARN SOMETHING FROM THIS.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e WHEN YOU GO TO BED AT NIGHT, YOU LAY THERE AND YOU TAKE      RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF, 'CAUSE NOBODY'S GONNA TAKE      RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOU.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e YOU ROLLIN' YOUR EYES AND YOU ACTING LIKE THIS BECAUSE YOU'VE      HEARD IT ALL BEFORE. YOU'VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE-YOU DON'T KNOW      WHERE THE HELL I COME FROM; YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN      THROUGH.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e BUT I'M NOT A VICTIM; I GROW FROM IT, AND I LEARN.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e (I typed that in caps 'cause yeah, I was yellin' like a banshee      when I said it.)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I'd been in this banshee situation before, but on the other side.      I got one of those real, raw, no-holding-back \"Be quiet, Tiffany\"      diatribes from my mama at least twice a year. Or maybe three times      a year. Wait, who am I kidding? It's probably more like four. To      this day, whenever she gets tired of hearing me doubt myself, or      when she thinks I'm about to give up because something turns out      to be a little harder than I expected, she grabs me by the      shoulders, shakes me, and screams, \"BE QUIET, TYRA!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Mama was never about just breaking me down. It was always-and      still is-about building me up. In that two-minute televised      Tyrade, I dropped several truth bombs on Tiffany that were filled      with the very lessons that Mama had tried so hard to teach me.      Mama always told me that I was beautiful no matter what and that I      was worthy no matter what, and that's the message I want to pass      on to women and men everywhere. It ain't about me. It's about us.      I don't want you getting in your own way as you strive to reach      your big, fat, sexy, juicy goals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarolyn:\u003c\/b\u003e I wasn't there on set that day, but Tyra came to my      house as soon as production wrapped. I could tell something was      up, because she was quieter than usual when she walked in the      door.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Mama, something happened on set today, and . . . I don't know if      I should air it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Something about the way she said this made me realize that she      wasn't talking about the standard-issue drama that went down on      Top Model-someone being super rude at a go-see, a girl writing      words on her booty cheeks, or a model cheating on her boyfriend in      Milan and crying under a table while getting cursed out by her      irate boyfriend back home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Ty, what happened?\" I asked. \"What did you do?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"I'm just gonna let you watch the tape,\" she said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Then she played me the uncut version, and the hair stood up on the      back of my neck.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Tyra:\u003c\/b\u003e When I walked off set that day, my heart was pounding and I      had to catch my breath. I knew I had done the right thing (or had      I?), but still, there was a part of me that was surprised as hell.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e What the eff was that?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I could feel the eyes as I walked back to my trailer. Not on me,      but on the ground, as no one on my crew wanted to make eye contact      or talk to me. \"Tyra has lost her goddamned mind,\" they were      probably all thinking. Probably? Shoot. I'm sure they were sure I      needed meds stat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Had I truly flipped the switch? No one could believe what had just      happened. Not even Mama.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Least of all me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCarolyn:\u003c\/b\u003e What Tyra showed me was bone-chilling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Nobody ever believed that Tyra was my daughter. From the time she      was born, people asked me if she was adopted-she had this pale      skin, these gray eyes, and this sandy reddish hair. Plus, when she      grew up, she was almost six feet tall and built like a gazelle      with big boobies. I was a human, and my daughter was some alien      Amazonian being from that race of people we call \"supermodels.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But when I saw that tape of her yelling at Tiffany, it was like I      was watching myself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was me up there talking to Tiffany.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Everyone's always teased me about how I look when I get upset. My      eyes turn into little slits and I talk through my teeth and I      point. My. Finger. With. Every. Word. 'Cause I'm tryna drill my      message into your brain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And that's exactly what Tyra was doing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e And everything that was coming out of her mouth was a version of      something I'd once said to her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The apple doesn't fall far from the      I-look-crazy-right-now-but-I-swear-I'm-not-I-just-believe-in-you      tree.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e Tyra: \u003c\/b\u003eAt first, I wasn't sure we should air it. I mean, yes, I      have gone far on TV. I've worn a prosthetic suit to expose the      harsh judgment of obese people, dressed as a man to show how      people responded to rap posses, posed as homeless, and pretended      to be a stripper to find out why the heck men are so enthralled      with G-strings and pasties in public places, but all of those big      moments were produced.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This wasn't.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was unplanned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was raw and real.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was emotional. Maybe even too much, because it made people      uncomfortable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It was one of the few times in my life that I had lost control,      when I cracked and everything came spilling out. People pressure      celebrities to be perfect, but this was one of my most flawed      moments.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Did I want to put it out there for all the world to see?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e I've always told my Top Model girls that perfect is boring. I got      that from my mama (and Eve even said it to Lindsay Lohan's      character, Casey, in the cult movie that I starred in, Life-Size).      But of course, when I said it, I wasn't just talking about looks.      I was talking about life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The only way to live a perfect life is to not take risks, to just      sit in a little box and never go after what you want or reach for      your goals (because, God forbid, ya could try and ya could fail,      and that sho' ain't perfect). When you care a lot about someone or      something, you're more likely to do imperfect things. Ya know,      like freak out and yell.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e So, what was I gonna do?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Try to sweep the imperfections under my Kool-Aid-colored red wig,      or air it out, even if it got a little messy?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Well, Mama always taught me not to be afraid of messy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Even if it was a hot mess.","brand":"Tarcher","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302531715301,"sku":"NP9780143132301","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780143132301.jpg?v=1767734660","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/perfect-is-boring-isbn-9780143132301","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}