In my home state of Georgia, Stacey Abrams is a household name. She has quite a few titles in her history: State Representative, Minority Leader, Gubernatorial Candidate, Voting Rights Activist, and Lawyer. But the one most intriguing to me is Entrepreneur. Against all odds, Abrams has started and run several businesses with mixed results. Her ability to start over and move forward with her goals is magnetic.
Lead From the Outside is Abrams first foray into non-fictional writing and is filled with memories and advice from her storied careers. Abrams signature positivity and inspirational quips fill these pages in a way that leaves readers feeling armed and ready to attack their own goals. The end of each chapter recounting different moments of her career, Abrams includes purposeful activities and questions to help the reader put to practice what has been discussed in the previous pages.
I give Lead From the Outside 5 out of 5 stars. This will only be the second self-development read to have achieved this high mark since starting our blog, and only the second to earn a spot on my shelf of self-development and business books I will keep. I highlighted the advice and comments that hit home for me on each page and realized after finishing that over 30% of the book is highlighted! I appreciated that Abrams did not shy away from what may be deemed failures and walked the reader through how even those depressing moments can be used to motivate progress to your goal.
While originally written for people of minority classifications, I feel this book would be a great read for any reader. With that said, this book should be mandatory reading for any female entrepreneur or politician, as well as people of color. While there is discussions of her time in politics, the writer does not go into great detail or try to push the read to believe the same way – it is mostly about how to resolve conflicts and work together towards a common goal. It would be a great read regardless of political stance.
I had chosen Lead From the Outside as my September self-development read. This book has been on my shelf for over a year – it was received in a subscription box for working women. Given that it was written during Abrams run for the Governor’s office, I held off on reading it – I did not want to be swayed by her writing during the campaign. Unfortunately, time got away from me and I’m just not finding the opportunity to pick it up. Again, regardless of politics, I think you will enjoy this book if you have any interest in leadership or entrepreneurship in the future!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Triptych, Karen Slaughter
- Current audio book: On a Night of a Thousand Stars, Andrea Yaryura Clark
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Book Lovers, Emily Henry
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