I only review books that have blown my mind, helped me grow and taught me things I couldn’t possibly have figured out for myself.
My reviews are bulleted for easy consumption.
REASONS I ADORED THIS BOOK:
(Abby Wambachis a two-time Olympic gold medallist, FIFA World Cup champion and the highest all-time international goal scorer for male and female soccer players.
Abby packs a ton of wisdom and warmth into a very short book
It’s HUMAN. She’s in love with humanity and even more, she’s in love with sisterhood.
The story behind the title, Wolfpack, is gorgeous. I won’t spoil it if you don’t know it.
It’s an effective structure: each short chapter challenges an Old Rule and proposes a New Rule, with a Call to the Wolfpack at the end. Easy soundbites; bite-sized nuggets packed with wisdom.
Her POINT AND RUSH philosophy. If you score or have a huge triumph, POINT to everyone around you who contributed to that win. If the triumph belongs not to you but to someone else, RUSH towards them to celebrate with them.
In short, you’ll read it in an hour and I hope you come away feeling better about humanity and more excited about the opportunity we all have to hold each other up.
10 FAVOURITE QUOTES I TOOK AWAY:
If you don’t have time to read the book, enjoy these soundbites! If you do have time, my hope is that these quotes act as an inspiration and motivation to delve deeper.
“Women must stop following the Old Rules, which exist only to maintain the status quo. If we follow the rules we’ve always followed, the game will remain the same. Old ways of thinking will never help us build a new world. Out with the Old. In with the New.”
“Old Rule: Be grateful for what you have. New Rule: Be grateful for what you have AND demand what you deserve.”
“Women haven’t yet accessed the power of failure. When it comes, we panic, deny it, or reject it outright. Worst-case scenario, we view failure as proof that we were always unworthy imposters [my italics]. Men have been allowed to fail and keep playing forever.”
“Imperfect men have been empowered and permitted to run the world since the beginning of time. It’s time for imperfect women to grant themselves permission to join them. Perfection is not a prerequisite of leadership.”
“The world needs to see women take risks, fail big, and insist on their right to stick around and try again. And again. And again.”
“Championing each other can be difficult for women because for so long we have been pitted against each other for the token seat at the table. Maintaining the illusion of scarcity is how power keeps women competing for the singular seat at the old table, instead of uniting and building a new, bigger table.”
“Before that game, I had always tried to turn down my talent and dim my light to avoid outshining others. I thought it was the humble thing to do. I was afraid that my talent would be an affront to others and might drive a wedge between my teammates and me. So on the field, I operated at 75 percent.”
“That game marked the moment I stopped pretending to be less powerful than I know I am. What I learned is that the most inspiring thing on earth is a woman who believes in herself, who gives 100 percent, and who owns her greatness unapologetically.”
“Old Rule: Lead with dominance. Create Followers. New Rule: Lead with humanity. Cultivate Leaders.”
“Being a woman is a special kind of lonely. We are siloed into our little spaces, isolated from each other. Men have the old boys’ club. We need one. I want a Wolfpack for me, too.”