My shelves are lined with tons of self-help, motivational, how to be mentally tougher, & shift your mindset types of books. Most caught my attention based on a review or recommendation by someone. I purchased the book & dove in looking for inspiration & tips. However, I don’t find books that live up to the hype very often. Okay – everyone else said it was good or maybe you haven’t read many of that nature, so it seemed good to you.
I’m pretty picky. I want a book to have some content that is new or insightful or just makes me giggle because I can genuinely relate. When you read a lot on the same topic of course you’re going to have overlap, but I get frustrated with how much repeated crap I read. Here’s the thing, it’s not the good crap that gets repeated, it’s the same old – think positive thoughts, set goals, have a morning routine crap. So when I find a book that has a little different twist to it & makes me actually want to do the exercises it suggests or better yet, I find myself quoting a line or two from it, I figured I should tell people about it.
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo stood out to me. I read a book about every 2 weeks, & this puppy got me excited. It’s funny, raw, an easy read, & it’s relatable. It has stories that make you go WOW! I actually highlighted parts of the book, you know like you did back in school so you’d remember a concept. I know people rave about Rachel Hollis or Elizabeth Gilbert – they have decent books with some laugh out loud moments, but for me I don’t get what all the fuss is about. I liked many of their books, but I don’t know that I loved them. Marie’s latest book is tangible & I loved it.
Just so you know, I’m not a fan girl, I didn’t know who she was, I mean not really know, before a few months ago when I attended some online trainings & she was mentioned a lot. I’d only heard of Marie Kondo & all that de-clutter business. Turns out this Marie has B school, MarieTV, a podcast, & is worth 4.5 million. I share this, because I didn’t buy her book because she wrote it. She’s the real deal though.
I got into several ideas in her book, they’re not all new, but she has a way with words & selling the idea to you that got me. She doesn’t tell you do something, she paints a picture of why it’s worth investing in yourself. She provides the science behind why something will work, not just woo-woo. I want the science if you want me to try something.
I want to share a few excerpts that I enjoyed throughout her book:
“Therapy is about healing your past. Coaching is about creating your future.”
“When we say we ‘can’t do’ something, that’s a euphemism for won’t. You don’t really want to. When we use the word can’t, we behave like victims.”
“Fear is not the enemy, waiting to stop feeling afraid is. The trick is allowing yourself to take action while feeling fear. Fear doesn’t speak words. She sends messages by making you ‘feel’. Then we interpret any fear like sensation to mean stop, danger, don’t do this. What if fear’s message wasn’t danger, but do it. Fear sent you a signal, we just misinterpreted it.”
“Failure is an event, not a characteristic. People can’t be failures. Failure is not who you are.”
“Purpose fuels persistence. Reasons come before results. Everything worthwhile is hard. Excruciatingly hard.”
“We tend to suffer from loss aversion as humans – we prefer avoiding loss to acquiring gains.”
“Whenever you notice your self talk being self-doubt – add ‘yet’ on the end of whatever you said. I’m not good with money yet. I don’t know how to do that yet.”
“Haters are confused admirers who can’t understand why everybody else likes you.”
“We’re all afraid of being judged, but we judge ourselves too. Human beings are judging machines. For everything we think is great, someone else hates it. Have a sense of humor about it. A person’s opinion is not the truth – it’s their truth.”
“Do whatever you can to put yourself in an environment that focuses on contribution, not complaint. Giving not getting. Service not self-importance. If you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them.”
I obviously got something out of this book, the next person may not & that’s okay. I just wanted to share without fear of judgement, that we could all benefit from performance psychology, mindset coaching & a clarity check every now & then. We all make time for things that are important to us.
