Become the Fire: Transform Life’s Chaos into Business and Personal Success by Elisa Schmitz is an inspirational book created to be a pick-me-up for those who need it the most. The book is designed to help readers turn chaos into a vehicle for success in both their professional and personal lives. The author provides strategies and techniques for developing a growth mindset, taking risks, and turning challenges into opportunities. Schmitz uses examples from 10 talented and successful women (herself included) to motivate, encourage, and provide aspiring women and men with information on how to pursue their dreams and succeed.

Elisa Schmitz creates a healthy space for dialogue and inspiration with Become the Fire. In 10 meaningful chapters, she manages to evaluate all the key aspects of what we consider success to be and describes how we can adopt these in our personal and professional environment. It is much more than a coffee table book. Elisa keeps her words simple yet strong, with enough power behind them to leave an imprint. She asks questions, provides advice, motivates, keeps morale high, and educates her readers. Each individual featured is inspirational, but Paula Boggs, Emily Smith, and Laura Desmond are now my heroes. It's not easy to turn chaos into triumph. You need to develop a thirst for success to channel all your energy into something productive. I believe this book will be a massive help for anyone who wants to start or restart their professional life or just wants to better themselves. I highly recommend this guide.

Become the Fire: Transform Life’s Chaos into Business and Personal Success by Elisa A. Schmitz begins with her childhood in Puerto Rico, recounts the family’s escape from war-torn Lebanon, and describes being bullied at school in Chicago. As a woman, Elisa was able to create the internet business iParenting, and also establish a second business called 30Seconds. Each chapter's title encapsulates the author’s approach, beginning by being “visionary”, sticking to “your authentic self”, learning to push outside your comfort zone, tapping into your inner courage, and embracing failure as an opportunity. The author also advises being practical (“viable”), persevering, developing inspiring leadership skills, and striving to be the best you can be. The experiences of other inspirational women are included in special focus sections. Jules Pieri, Sarah Hofstetter, Laura Desmond, Desirée Rogers, Paula Boggs, Kim Oster-Holstein, Emily Smith, Winnie Park, Talita Ramos Erickson, and Angela Martinez Korompilas all have lessons to teach us.

Become the Fire by Elisa A. Schmitz is a combination of self-help writing and memoir. The message was designed to inspire women to overcome barriers and succeed. I was fascinated by Elisa’s experiences, especially how being forced to help at a preschool led to paid babysitting and eventually to the author finding a niche interest she could share with the world. I liked the way she described the niche market growing until it became a series of related websites. I admired the way Elisa protected her intellectual property with specially chosen domain names. I was particularly impressed by her chapter on failure, as the fear of failure often inhibits initiative. The motivational discussion was beautifully balanced by the chapter on viability, which emphasized employable skills. I can recommend this book because it encourages the reader to make the most of themselves.