GIRL, STOP APOLOGIZING - BOOK REVIEW

Title: Girl, Stop Apologizing

Author: Rachel Hollis

Format: Paperback | Audio Book | E-Book

Pages: 240

Length: 8h10m

Published: 5 March 2019

Publisher: Harper Collins Leadership

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

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One morning while scrolling through my Audible and Kobo accounts looking for a new Audio Book to start my day off with, my phone went off. Repeatedly. It was 6:12am. I opened my phone to 14 text messages from a client having trouble with their landlord and looking for advice. In 14 messages, the words “I’m sorry” were plastered seven or eight times. And the first thing I thought to myself was “Girl, Stop Apologizing!” Suddenly a gear turned in my head, and it was in that moment that I knew exactly who I’d be hitting play on that morning.

Sometimes, the perfect book comes along, at exactly the right time, even if you don't realize it. In that moment, all you can do is think "Thank you, Universe!"

Most people I know picked this one up for one of two reasons: 1. They're in the middle of working on a particular goal - whether it be personal or professional or 2. They'd gotten around to reading Hollis' last book, Girl, Wash Your Face and have been fan-girling her since. I'm talking Podcasts, Social Media creeping and every live event of hers they can find.

I, however, seem to have been in neither of these categories. Or so I thought. I can at the very least own up the fact that after having listened to her Audio Book, I am smitten with Ms. Rachel Hollis. So much so, that she's become my wakeup call - I've literally made her Podcast my morning mantra.

My mornings tend to start off the same. Cup of coffee, my laptop, my daily diary and my iPad. There hasn't been a change in this for at least two years. Usually, my iPad is busy getting sucked into a new Audio Book while I'm scrolling away through emails and really waking up to my morning cup of java. This last week though, Ms. Hollis has been busy getting me pumped for the day ahead, and ready to crush every single thing on my to-do list. Guess I'm a little bit from column A, and column B now that I've given Girl, Stop Apologizing a listen. To say she's a little inspirational with her words might not actually be giving her enough credit.

Rachel’s premise is simple: women spend too much time apologizing for our dreams. She gives the all-too-relatable example of how she used to minimize her own passion projects as just a hobby, when the reality was that she never should have downplayed her own potential. As women, we’re brought up to believe our worth lies in our value to other people — whether that be as a mother, daughter, sister, employee or so on — and Hollis says we need to own our own dreams and assert our right to our own happiness. Let's face it, if we are not willing to do it for us, no one else will either.

It wasn't that there was one specific thing that I was looking to focus on when I'd started this book. Realistically, the title just kind of spoke out to me in the moment, and so I decided "hey, why not?" Truth be told, somewhere within in the first hour or so, my mind was spiralling. Not in a bad way — this wasn't one of those downward spirals, leaving me thinking "why haven't I done this yet", but instead, it was more of this inspiration trigger that went off within me, that imminently put my brain into a motivational overdrive of all these things I've wanted to do to continue growing my business, and take it to the next level. I had no intention to, but I found myself jotting notes here and there as she spoke. Honestly, if this had been a physically copy, I'd likely be constantly staring at a scribbled, weather-worn and coffee-stained book by now.

I feel like my enthusiasm over this book is just throwing me into a bandwagon category, but it's one of those self-development books that you just have to read to understand the reason behind its hype. But here's the deal — for one, I love that Hollis acknowledges that reality doesn’t always make it easy to follow your dreams. What if your reality is that you’re working two - three jobs to make ends meet? Or that you’re dealing with a screaming newborn and can’t just take time when you feel like it for that little bit of much needed RnR. She acknowledges these real-life barriers because she's faced. She's human — who'd have thought! So she knows exactly how to encourage us to carve out whatever me-time we can, in a way that works for us. All the while reminding us that we are worth the me-time we so crave, and much more importantly, that we do have the right to put ourselves first.

Something else that stands out in Girl, Stop Apologizing isn't that it's all about the message — a lot of it comes down to its delivery as well. As an entrepreneur myself, I've come across A LOT of self development, self help, and business planning/growth books — they literally stack my shelves. Is there such a thing as too many when it comes to investing in yourself and your dreams? While each have helped shape a specific target I've tried accomplishing, I feel almost crazy to say that Hollis may have just shouted it through the roof tops in a form the resonated with me far more than some others. It comes down to a mixture of the How, the Why and the What. She suggests setting a routine for yourself to focus on achieving your goal, whatever that may be — this of course, is exactly what anyone will tell you, it's exactly what we know we should be doing in order to make that dream a reality and obtaining said goal. What makes this different than the rest though? Delivery. Hollis tells us exactly what we already know, but she does so in such a way that makes us think "wow...this is actually a lot less complicated than I keep making it seem in my head."Here's the flawless eye-opening concept: Think of that routine you've created for yourself, like having a coffee date with Chris Hemsworth.

We're constantly battling ourselves on whether or not we have the time for the little tasks we need to fulfill in order to reach a next level of growth personally, professionally, emotionally, mentally... but If you had a coffee date with Chris Hensworth, you likely would keep it come hell or high water, and only a major emergency would drag you kicking and screaming away. Let's be real here, if my jaw could truly drop to the floor, I'd likely be rolling my own tongue back into my mouth at the thought of a coffee date with Chris Hemsworth. But in truth, if we could make the time for an hour of mingling over a caffeinated beverage with a hunky famous movie star, why can't we make time to realize our own potential? Even if you’re tired or feeling lazy, you’ll likely still drag yourself out of bed to keep that date. So why don't we think of your work-in-progress, as that date?

Now, this is more than just a wake up and realize your dreams mantra. This is a powerful guide for women. It doesn't matter if your goal is to hit the gym, or take your business to the next level, or even just to finish that book you've been trying to read for the last six week while running around after your toddler. We all have goals, dreams and aspirations — big or small, and we all also have road blocks — they are inevitable. This isn't so much a step-by-step guide to getting through them, but rather helping us realize that they happen to everyone! Everyone needs help sometimes, everyone needs guidance, everyone needs a push or a bit of motivation. But most of all, everyone needs a reminder that you are worth it. You are worth every bit of the things you want to accomplish, and the time you deserve for yourself. So girls, don't apologize for wanting it! As women, we spend so much time and energy prioritizing other people’s needs, when we have every right — and in fact, every obligation — to prioritize ourselves and our hopes, dreams or secret wishes, every bit as much, if not more.

Praising Rachel and this fabulous 4.5 star eye opener. Guess I have jumped on the band-wagon, because I've already got a ticket in hand to see her live in Toronto in late October. Everyone needs a little source of inspiration here and there, amiright?

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