Girls Who Code CEO inspires women to choose bravery over perfection -- to live a fuller and more rewarding life. From an early age, women are taught to play it safe. Well-meaning parents and teachers urge girls to be careful on the playground so they don't get hurt, steer them to activities at which they can shine, teach them to sit quietly and strive to be liked. Boys, on the other hand, are encouraged to speak up, get dirty, play rough, climb to the top of the monkey bars -- and fall down trying. In short, boys are taught to be brave, while girls are taught to be perfect. Of course, cautious girls grow up to be cautious women, terrified to stumble, say the wrong thing, or get any less than the "A". At school, at work, and at home they strive to do it all, with a smile and not a hair out of place. That is, until they realize that in the real world, no one is giving out gold stars, it's impossible to look "flawless" after being up all night with a crying baby, and the road to achievement is in fact not paved with diligence and caution. Meanwhile, opportunities have passed them by and happiness has slipped further out of reach. In a book inspired by her viral Ted Talk, Saujani aims to stop this paradigm in its tracks. By pursuing things we think we suck at, by rethinking the impossible standards we set for ourselves, and by realizing that the messy edges are what make our lives rich and interesting, she says, we can let go of our need to be perfect and rewire ourselves for bravery.