BOOK REVIEW

By Chris Wendel

When looking for books to review for this space, I have some rough guidelines. The book has to relate to the business world or personal growth for one’s profession. It hopefully was recently written. And the book has to be worth reading.

With this in mind, I recently ran across a “New York Times” bestseller with an unusual title: “Everything is Figureoutable.” Written by online sensation Marie Forleo, the title is derived from a phrase that Forleo’s mother coined. Forleo grew up in a household with limited money and resources. This didn’t stop her mother from being creative with coming up with solutions for everything from stretching a household budget to home repairs. When Forleo would be frustrated with a problem, her mother would use the saying: “Everything is figureoutable.”

Part self-improvement book, part autobiographical, “Everything is Figureoutable” takes the challenges that Forleo experienced, chronicled with how she worked through them. This is done by paying close attention to what feels right and fulfilling, a theme that is the backbone of the book.

What results is a series of chapters that hone in on identifying what readers’ true beliefs and dreams are. Corresponding chapters walk through barriers, such as excuses and fears that prevent us from being true to ourselves and living satisfying lives.

Early on Forleo uses her own experiences of struggling when out of college, with endless false starts to figure out her life’s calling. Moving from one job to another, her inner voice kept telling her that things weren’t quite right. She accumulated plenty of frustration and personal debt along the way. Her saving grace was her work ethic, relentless drive, and pursuit of alternative career paths until she found fulfillment.

At the end of each chapter, readers are highly encouraged to go through written exercises that provide a framework for applying that chapter’s message into a tangible lesson the reader can build from. The chapter “How to Deal with the Fear of Anything” takes readers through an explanation of why fear is something to embrace, take notice of, and relate to with positive outcomes. Thinking of a worst-case scenario, examining the odds of it coming to fruition, and strategizing how one would solve bad outcomes if it did go poorly, goes a long way toward minimizing that particular fear.

“Everything is Figureoutable” is a book that anyone along their career continuum can benefit from. Forleo provides a similar foundation that books from a generation prior centered on, such as “The Path of Least Resistance” by Robert Fritz and “The