Reflective Essay: Insights from Barbara Corcoran's Shark Tales

This reflective essay delves into Barbara Corcoran's 'Shark Tales,' exploring her journey from humble beginnings to becoming a successful entrepreneur. The essay examines the book's key themes, including overcoming setbacks, embracing risk, and the importance of personal development. It highlights Corcoran's business strategies, her impact on women in business, and her ability to inspire readers to pursue their dreams. The essay discusses the author's personal reflections on the book, drawing parallels between Corcoran's experiences and the challenges faced by aspiring entrepreneurs. It emphasizes the significance of determination, passion, and the application of learned lessons. The essay also touches on the importance of self-awareness and utilizing knowledge effectively, making it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to build their own business and achieve success. The essay concludes by summarizing the key takeaways from the book and its relevance to the author's personal and professional growth.

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Reflective Essay
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Author Note

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY
The story told by Barbara is an inspiring real life story of the author. It is enticing as she
is carefully penned the chapters of her real life and inspired many others to turn the events of
their lives by taking bold and courageous steps in their respective lives. The story has enriched
me and inspired me to make changes in my life as she has done and made her reality look like a
dream to the people around her and the ones who are reading the story she has shared in her
book, Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business. In this essay, I would
discuss the significance of the book and how it has touched lives of people, including mine.
The book is not just inspiring as the author shares the journey of her life but also because
she has paid attention to provide advices and share wisdom to the people reading the book. She
has made it a point to convey the most effective advices to the people wanting to change their
reality even though they are harsh or difficult to execute. In times of trouble, people are often
unable to make the right move which lead them to the way to success, which Corcoran talks
about. She mentions the setbacks she has had in her life and how she overcame the failures
which came her way. It is inspiring to me and all other readers alike that she made all the failures
she had in her life, the stepping stones towards the future she imagined. Everyone wishes to do
something substantial in life whereas, very few are able to materialize the things they hope to
conquer in life. Corcoran has actually done that by setting her own business which has been
immensely successful because of her hardwork, courage to challenge the ways of the world and
most importantly the wisdom to fight all odds which came her way. She inspires the world for
having achieved the things which are almost unattainable yet she has done that.
It is shocking that a person who is so successful had failed at twenty two jobs. When we,
the readers are told about such unfortunate events which happened in her lives, we are readily
able to relate to her. These failures which she describes in her book resonate of our own struggles

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and failures. However, it is noteworthy how she channelized her inner will to do something and
change her life, which we often are unable to do as we are deeply affected by the setbacks. She
says that it is important to understand the significance of our dreams, which she did while being
a waitress. She knew she had to quit the job in order to make changes to her life but that seemed
like a big risk. Yet she chose to take the risk and dared to embrace the dreams she had seen in her
life. She started off by borrowing money from her then boyfriend. The amount was
approximately 1000 dollars which was the only foundation she had to start her own business.
It was at this point in time that she understood the importance of her conventional
learnings and lessons which she had received from her mother. Her mom was a homemaker and
those lessons came to her use at a very crucial point of her life. From borrowing 1000 dollars
from a boyfriend to investing it in a real estate office, it was a great decision she had made. This
was the base to the palace she had been building in her dreams with hopes and aspirations. She
could build her 6 billion dollar business gradually from what we can vaguely call the scratch to
her final outcome today.
She refused to bow down even throughout the struggles which she faced after starting the
business. She was even ready to take another job to provide for the needs of the growing
company which she had built with all her efforts. She could only subsidize for the company
which had gained recognition and success when she took the second job. It was tough for her to
manage everything, yet she refused to bow down to whatever was coming along her way. The
lawsuit which was filed against her company by Donald Trump was yet another great setback for
the company but she was victorious at the end as it was not substantiated well by the ones who
had filed the lawsuit (Corcoran 2011).

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It is not just about the ways by which she built her business but also about how she had
learned and utilized the things she had learned since childhood to the best of her abilities. She
grew up as being one of the ten children in a family in New Jersey, yet she managed to acquire
the best knowledge and wisdom from the world and people. The things she had learned during
her childhood had made her the strong and bold person she had become later in her life. Her
undaunted spirit could not be diminished by every challenge which came her way. She has
inspired several by her book which is full of accounts from her life from which lessons should be
taken in order to be successful and courageous.
The world has always posed challenges to women whenever they have tried to express
their abilities and talent. The same has been the case for Corcoran. She being a women has also
been served with numerous struggles in the way to become a billionaire. However, she has
managed to face all of them and change the course of events. The world is seeing the increase in
representation of women in all sectors with the advancement of society and world yet a deficit of
the same in the top positions of the hierarchy of management and administration (Sellers 2010).
The challenges still persist for which women are hindered in their process of growth and
progress. Corcoran empowers women with her book by showing them the ways to face the
struggles and how she has combatted the forces which operated against her. She has shown ways
to the women who wish to ursue their wishes by letting them know about the difficulties and
how they are to be dealt with. The book instills a feeling in the readers, specially the women, that
if she has done that, we too can. The change has to be brought but first they are to be initiated.
The book has been written long before she came to have been known from Shark Tank.
She has shared the unadulterated story of her life with which she has touched so many peoples’
consciousness. People like me, who plan to be entrepreneurs are encouraged even more to take

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necessary steps towards what we view as our dream. Entrepreneur will get great ideas from the
book about how to have our own start up. Success can be achieved by taking simplified and well
organized measures but is very necessary to be determined and motivated. The book builds hope
and trust, which I have been able to feel about myself. It has inspired me to organize my thoughts
and plans of entrepreneurship in a differentiable way. She has reminded me that beginnings are
always humble but one must also remain humble after reaching success. It is true that education
is of great importance but it is also true that focus, passion and presence of mind gets people to
great spots in life. One must know how to utilize the things which we learn in life.
It can thus be said that the book inspires to embrace their dreams to have their own
business. Entrepreneurs will be greatly motivate to build their own startups. Women reading the
book will be empowered to make positive and necessary changes even when there are immense
difficulty and challenges coming in our way. The book is filled with elegant business strategies
which can be taken account of, in order to hit success.

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Bibliography
Corcoran, B. and Littlefield, B., 2011. Shark tales: How I turned.
Coughlin, L., Wingard, E., Hollihan, K. and Hollihan, E., 2005. Enlightened power: How women
are transforming the practice of leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Keren, H., 2016. Women in the Shark Tank: Entrepreneurship and Feminism in a Neoliberal
Age. Colum. J. Gender & L., 34, p.75.
Sellers, B., 2010. Forbes Best Business Mistakes: How Today's Top Business Leaders Turned
Missteps Into Success. John Wiley & Sons.
Walchek, B.J., BARBARA CORCORAN TO SPEAK AT SAGE SHOW. SAGE, 214(6000),
p.x4539.