If you are just at the beginning of finding your path, Marie Forleo’s book “Everything is Figureoutable” is definitely worth reading! But if you have already picked up certain wisdoms in life and hold the mindset that every problem has a solution, you may be a sceptic like me. If you know which book I am talking about but have not bought it, you probably are.
I was thrilled when the book came out (I had eagerly helped it along, after all), but when I started reading, I hit an obstacle. I was sceptical. I already live by the idea that those who want to, find a way; those who don’t, find an excuse.
Thoughts swirled in my head about what could possibly be new in this book. The introduction was heavy going. Honestly, I forced myself to read, because I have always believed every book holds at least one grain of wisdom. And knowing what I knew about Marie Forleo, this book had to hold heaps of it! Yet everything triggered the thought “I already know this”. I even wrote that thought down, along with the question: “What new could this book still offer?”
Is Marie Forleo a mind reader?!
Fine, I pushed myself onward. I had to hold back laughter when, right at the start of chapter two, I read Marie Forleo’s words: the first destructive thought to watch out for is “I already know this”. Thank you! Either she is a very good psychologist, has received that feedback in hordes, or has somehow read my mind! Things got more interesting. From the same page I took this thought with me: it is important to catch these thought viruses and turn them into useful questions. Why? Because the brain is built to answer questions. Agreed and agreed! Luckily my brain (or the little voices in it) is not shy about asking questions either!
I barely reached the next page when the thoughts struck again: “How does Marie Forleo do it? How did she know my thoughts in advance?!” I had long ago discarded the phrase “that won’t work for me”, but the sceptic in me had simply rephrased it: “What new could this book still offer?” There is no real difference between saying “it won’t work for me” and “I won’t find anything new in this book!” I consoled myself that at least I was open, and forced myself to read on (I am no quitter!). And the thoughts I read were good! All right, Marie, fire away! Challenge accepted! What happens next?!
I read on in the joy of recognition. What else could I do? I agree with Marie Forleo’s thoughts! At every step! Deep down I kept waiting for the part where the personal stories begin, because stories always inspire! But I did not dare skip pages either, in case a good thought slipped past. Yes, I also agreed that understanding must lead to action, and then Marie whacked me over the head with her line: so don’t just think about the answers, they demand to be written down. Don’t say “that sounds exciting, I’ll try it someday later” when the exercise says “do it now!”
The truth hurts!
Ouch, that actually did hurt! I know it myself! Probably you do too? And yet I had to admit that some things I had wanted to do, I had still postponed. Always with excuses: “first things first”, “I’ll do it when there is more time, it is not a priority right now” and so on. Sound familiar? And yet the heart has longed for those things… I believe that is called dreaming… Well then! I did not yet know what exercises Marie Forleo actually wrote about (the more exciting part of the book was probably still ahead!), but I threw the book on the shelf and got moving.
Even though it was Saturday morning! Even though I could have kept reading (and thought, once again, “I’ll finish the book first, then act!”) or had breakfast with the waking family. Don’t get me wrong, I am not recommending anyone swap their family or the most important people in their life for work. But in that moment I decided to postpone everything for half an hour, send one email and give my assistant one task (one I had meant to do myself, but there was never time!!!), to set one project in motion (at least to explore the options!). It had crossed my mind a hundred times, but I had repeatedly pushed it to the bottom of the to-do list. And then a lovely Saturday morning with the family could begin! My soul was lighter and my face smiled, as if I had already done something big, although the wheel had only been given a gentle push…
And then I understood something! It does not matter whether we know or do not know what someone else writes or says! A human being is such a lazy creature that we slide back into our comfort zone all too easily, and everyone needs a little reminder now and then! From there on I read with much greater anticipation. What else will I get done as a result of reading this book?! What other thoughts will it spark!?
The knocking on the conscience continues…
So I read and read, and with every chapter a new little voice wakes in my head: “You know this! Why the heck aren’t you doing it?!” Is that the conscience? Marie Forleo introduces a shift in thinking: how “I can’t!” is really just an excuse that should be replaced with “I don’t want to!” It has worked in my life. At some point a painful realisation hit me: when I replaced every “I can’t!” with “it is not a priority”, wow, how quickly all the priorities fell into place!
And yet: here I am! Apparently sunk back into the comfort zone here and there, because something starts scratching in my chest as I read, and I want to lower my eyes in shame for leaving something undone.
There are more and more and more examples like this in the book. And just like Marie Forleo, I raise my hand in my mind too. Despite knowing better, I have used those excuses! Only recently! Sound familiar? Tell me honestly, have you never used a sentence like that? It does not have to be anything big. But it can be important. Whether it is exercise, a proper lunch break, a good night’s sleep, not to mention some bigger project or venture: excuses, excuses, excuses…
So what to do?!
Luckily Marie has a cure for this “disease”! I agree with her once again that everyone is 100% responsible for their own life, and I set out to analyse more thoroughly when and about what I had said “I can’t!”, and what the real root cause was. Did I actually not want to? Did I offer an excuse without thinking? That is what this book does: it makes you think! It makes you pause for a moment to review your life.
Maybe you have done it at some point. I know I have. But everything is in constant change, and much has changed in the meantime. Goals set long ago may have been reached, or steps taken. Change does not happen overnight; it comes step by step, and Marie Forleo shares lovely tools for taking those steps. You only have to promise yourself one thing before reading: do all the exercises! You may discover quite a few interesting things about yourself…
And best of all: this book makes you act! A warm recommendation: read it every morning. It does not have to be much, one chapter, one page, and you can feel a curious energy run through you, a will to act, and the day gets a whole new momentum. Even the things you would have done anyway get done with completely different energy!
Thoughts to take away from the book:
- It is important to catch the thought viruses and turn them into useful questions. Why? Because the brain is built to answer questions.
- So do not just think about the answers, they demand writing down. Do not say “that sounds exciting, I will try it someday” when the exercise says “do it now!”
- Look around you. In all likelihood we are sitting amid modern miracles like electricity, indoor plumbing and wifi. Do you realise that almost everything around us was once just a thought?
- Nothing in this life is too complicated. You can do whatever you set as your goal, if you are ready to roll up your sleeves and get it done.
- Do your best until you find a better way. And once you know a better way, do better.
- Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything”. Albert Einstein did not speak until the age of four and did not read until he was seven.
And it is impossible to write down all the thoughts here. Something must be left for you to discover while reading!
Life is full of choices. Which one will you make?
As Marie Forleo herself says in “Everything is Figureoutable”, the purpose of the whole book is to inspire you to adopt the supremely powerful belief that everything is figureoutable! And believe me: it works! Because even if you already know it, as they say, repetition is the mother of wisdom. Every now and then it is good when someone reminds you of useful truths and reinforces your beliefs. Or, as Marie Forleo writes, repetition is a core principle of neuroplasticity (did you know that?!).
So, are you curious and would like to read the book yourself? If yes, read on HERE. Note that this edition is the Estonian translation; the original English book is Everything is Figureoutable.
If you still do not believe you could find anything useful in it, I challenge you the way I challenged myself: read the book! But read it with attention and commitment; after all, to prove there is nothing useful in it for you, you have to know the details, right? I would bet that if you are an open-minded, intelligent person, your scepticism will change before you are halfway through!
So, ready for the challenge? Information about getting the book is HERE.
And if you honestly admit to yourself that you do not want to read this book, that is fine too. Admitting you do not want to do something does not make you bad or lazy (though if you even once thought “I can’t read this book”, for whatever reason, then you actually should). It makes you honest. Maybe you have something more important going on? Then please go and do it! Otherwise you have just wasted at least 10 minutes reading this article for nothing. Take up something that matters, something you have kept postponing or been afraid to do. Do it now!
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