“... as an adult, I discovered I actually had a unique combination of characteristics, experiences, and skills that were distinctly me, and because I honed and developed them as my unique formula I was able to overcome my average start and become world class. I created my own special way of finding success.” - Sarah Robb O’Hagan
WHY do we read motivational books? We all want to be inspired to make positive changes in our lives. We want to boost our confidence. We want to solve our problems. We want to feel optimistic. We want to know that we are not alone and to learn from other’s mistakes, failures and experiences. We want confirmation that failure is just a stepping stone to success. We want to be better than what we currently are. We want hope.
Perhaps we may find ourselves in a mental or emotional rut, and need a motivator to help us take stock and shake us out of the monotony of our daily existence. For those who especially feel like they are not achieving the levels of personal or career success that they should be, a book like ‘Extreme You’ may be just the kick up the ar** to help get that momentum going again.
This one starts with the completely frank admission that Sarah Robb O’Hagan makes about being entirely ordinary and having a ‘not too remarkable’ start in life. O’Hagan, a sought-after expert on innovation, brand reinvention, and health and fitness, is also the founder of Extreme You, a movement to unleash high performance.
As a youngster, O’Hagan had big dreams, but her accomplishments were fairly average.
So how did a B-average student from New Zealand end up being a ‘reinventor of brands’? She has held leadership positions at Nike and Virgin, was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, and was a three-time recipient of SportsBusiness Daily’s Forty Under 40 Award. She was also named by Forbes as one of the Most Powerful Women in Sports, and served as global president of Gatorade – where she turned around a sports drink company into a sports performance innovator.
Well, to begin with, O’Hagan wasn’t scared of her imperfections, contradictions, and attitude. She had the audacity, even at a young age, to believe in herself and to try to ascend the pinnacle of whatever she set her sights on - for example, to be a famous tennis player, Olympic swimmer or internationally recognised singer/actor.
She never won any tournaments, her parents weren’t the kind of parents to wake up at the crack of dawn to take her to swim practice, and she was never picked for solos in her school choir. But she figured that if she kept trying and experimenting to find where she was great and where she faltered, somehow, eventually she would find her path to its own kind of greatness.
In time, she developed her own unique mix of abilities in her own personal way - and she believes that anyone can do this. She calls it developing ‘Extreme You’ - becoming the best you can be as only you can.
“I’m writing this book because it’s high time someone talks about a different, more fun, and more uniquely ownable path to making the most of our potential, a path open to most everyone.”
Now that’s a special way to sell a self help book to most of us average or quiet achievers. Whilst most of us, innate talent and personal as well as professional experiences aside, suffer from imposter syndrome in our career and work life, embracing all that is distinctive and relevant about ourselves in everything we do seems absolutely doable. This book aims to motivate us out of the state of apathy to a state of discovering and doing.
Her strategies are laid out over 10 chapters and include such zippy ideas such as: Checking Yourself Out, Igniting Your Magic Drive, Getting Out Of Line, Getting Over Yourself, Pain Training, Staying Stubbornly Humble, Playing Your Specialist Game, Changing the Game, Calling All Extremers, and Breaking Yourself to Make Yourself. There are some practical gems here and steps to take to continue developing yourself - warts and all - to tap your true potential and find your own greatness.
To simplify it, this book is a rousing pep talk by someone who’s been there, discovered her mojo almost by accident, and done it all. If you are insouciant about achieving greatness in your - or any - field, you may find the strong extrovert perspective a little overwhelming.
The tone she sets is LARGE. CONFIDENT. LOUD. And dare I say, in places, a little obnoxious. I am not entirely convinced that being bold and brassy is the only way to career greatness, so my introverted sensibilities were triggered by her enthusiasm on the subject. I do, however, think for those inspired souls who want a driven mentor to yell at them from the sidelines (along with several personal examples of her own journey to success), this book will speak volumes.
Whilst she is obviously a savvy marketer, she does emphasise staying ‘stubbornly humble’ (though even her humility is aggressive). There is a lot you can gain from having humility, being willing to listen and learn from others, and earning the right to express ideas and opinions at the table, which she says she learned from her various failures on her way to her own success.
If you were looking for a very specific formula to this personal and career success, you will be able to glean it from her numerous personal examples. Some may appreciate these (we all love a good tale or two), but it gave me a sense that perhaps this book would have been better classified as a motivational memoir, rather than a self-help book. Also, the writing style is very colloquial - perhaps to better engage the reader in her own voice. I personally would have loved to have read this in a more professional tone.
'Extreme You' has some inspiring stories and an outline for how you, too, can implement her strategies in your life. Was it groundbreaking? Not really, but I was reminded of how to look at a few situations differently and to take some mental notes for future reference.
This will be a good read for the more energetic and ambitious. I’ve discovered that sadly, for me perhaps, I am not inclined to this kind of extreme action. But I am pleased that there are extreme others!
I do believe that there is the right motivational/self-development book that is relevant to your situation and needs, and it will change your life. This wasn’t the one for me, but it can be a very engaging read for someone highly driven and determined to reach their personal pinnacle of greatness. – The Vibes, May 13, 2021
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You can purchase this title online at www.bookxcessonline.com. There will be a different promo code for each book reviewed, so do watch this space for more interesting titles featured fortnightly on The Vibes.
- Promotion:
- Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat. – May 13th 2021 (Thursday)
- Code: VIBES15OFF5
- Duration: 13th - 26th May 2021
- Mechanics:
- a. 15% off all non-fiction books on BXOS with a minimum spend of RM50 in a single transaction.
- b. Discount code is limited to one time use per customer only.
