Read to Lead: Book Reviews for Success - What if YOU Are the ANSWER?
- linnearader
- Mar 26
- 8 min read
Introduction
Ever wondered which books truly make a difference in leadership or life? Let's dive into the ones that do. Welcome to Read to Lead, a blog series where I dive into the best leadership, business, and self-help books.
As a passionate reader and leader, I’m always looking for fresh insights to fuel both Lead with Linnea and my own personal growth. In this series, I’ll share my honest, no-holds-barred reviews of the books I’m reading, highlighting the gems that can help you level up in both your career and life. Whether you’re a leader, entrepreneur, or simply looking for ways to grow, this series will help you find the best books to add to your reading list. Let’s read, learn, and lead together!
Today's Book Review
Today’s book review is What if YOU Are the Answer? By Rachel Hollis.
Why I Chose Rachel Hollis’ “What if YOU Are the Answer?
I chose to read this book for one reason…because Rachel Hollis wrote it. To say I’m a fan of Rachel Hollis would be an understatement of massive proportion. If you were to say that I am a fan girl over her, that would likely be a far more accurate statement.
Why am I so obsessed with Rachel Hollis? Have YOU read her books? Have you listened to her podcast? Have you checked out her website? If not, DO IT! You won’t be sorry. Rachel is a real person, she’s not telling her readers/listeners that she’s perfect, she’s far from it, which means…. she’s like me! She shows she’s like me and every other person; it makes everything she talks about real.
From Girl Wash Your Face to Girl, Stop Apologizing, and now What if YOU Are the Answer? All have been amazing and meaningful. And guess what? I missed one, Didn’t See That Coming. While I might have missed it, I just bought it and it’s in my stack to read soon. I would venture to say quite confidently that you’ll see reviews of all four of her books some day on this blog.
Getting back to why I chose this book. I listen to Rachel’s podcast religiously. Again, a little fan girl, I didn’t start listening until somewhat recently, so I have a back log to listen to, and plan to listen to each and every one of them…all 760 (as of the date I’m typing this anyways, there’s more all the time). Rachel was promoting this new book on her blog, and I COULD NOT WAIT for it to come out. I pre-ordered. I got the pre-order extra special giveaways (and used them). When the book came, I was all in!
So, What if YOU Are the Answer?
The full title of this book is What if YOU Are the Answer? And 26 Other Questions That Just Might CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Whew, that’s a mouth full. This book is aptly named. The book is just as it’s titled, questions that make you ponder and real-life stories from Rachel to make them all toss around and simmer in your brain.
This book is amazing. If you haven’t read it, please, do yourself the favor of a lifetime and read it. I really wanted to sit down and read this book in a day, but I didn’t. Then, I wanted to read this book in a chapter a day, but I didn’t. I couldn’t do either so I kind of met myself in the middle.
Reading Rachel’s books is an easy task, they flow. Reading Rachel’s words is like sitting on the couch talking to a friend…one you can’t quite talk back to…but you get the idea. You feel like she’s telling you stories about her life like you do with your best friend. So, did I want to sit down and read the book in one sitting? Absolutely yes. But introduction and question one (What Who are you waiting for?) down I realized if I wanted to get all that I could from this book, I would have to slow down.
When I said the questions made me ponder, tossed around and simmering in my brain, I was not kidding. You might take a day per question. Or even a week. That would give you that time to truly unpack each question and dig deep for your own meaning on each one. I have the patience of a small toddler, so I ended up reading a few questions a day with some pondering time between questions. I will be reading it again.
Reading Approach: Taking Time to Ponder
As I was reading, I would put little sticky flags on the sections that I wanted to be able to reference regularly without re-reading from start to finish. And then the sections that blew my mind completely would tag in a similar way, but those tabs stick out the top of the book, not the side. P.S. This book is full of flags, I’ll make sure to add a picture so you can see them.
Key Questions That Resonated
I would never dream of spoiling the true intensity that comes from this book and understanding how each of these questions resonates in your life. I’ll just share a FEW of the MANY points that just hit home for me.
“…I really wanted to go, and it literally never occurred to me that I could go to something on my own.” Wait, what? Could I do that? I could actually go to an event, BY. MY. SELF. Same Rach, same. For full context, please read the book, but the gist…you don’t need to hold yourself back by not going and doing something just because someone won’t go with you. You have the power to be you and do you!
The ENTIRE chapter What are you attracting? This chapter has 8 of my little flags for myself if that tells you how much it meant to me. If you’ve ever heard the term “manifesting” and wanted to know more, here’s your opportunity. I finished this chapter understanding how much control over my outlook on life; if I want to live a life full of meaning, there’s one person responsible for that, ME.
“Your excuses are real, but so is your potential.” “What’s bigger: my excuse or my dream?” THIS. What do you dream of? What hopes do you have, how do you want to grow? What is holding you back? Is it you? This whole concept is real, and Rachel just explains it using examples that will make you really understand that YOU are your answer.
How do you talk to yourself? There’s a question in the book about self-sabotage that you will likely find yourself contemplating, I know I did. “Change the conversation you have with yourself, and you will change the story you buy into.” I am not always very kind to myself. If someone talked to me the way I talk to myself at times…it wouldn’t be pretty. What about the way I treat myself? Hello, junk food, lack of sleep, running in a million directions all at once, examples are plenty!
I could really cite Rachel Hollis for hours and days. The last question that I’ll share with you is What’s Working? This is one that has the tab out of the top of the book. Rachel writes “My career success happened when I flowed with opportunity instead of trying to force it to appear.” How much do we do that in life? We work so hard to MAKE something happen. We force it. I know when I’ve forced things like that, they haven’t turned out to be as successful as situations that present themselves, and I grow with. Rachel has a road map in the book that just hits home to stop forcing and start living your career/life success.
Applications for Leaders
Rachel's question-based approach in "What if YOU Are the Answer?" offers several powerful applications for those in leadership positions both at work and at home:
Self-awareness as a leadership foundation: The questions Rachel poses about self-talk and personal limitations can directly impact your leadership effectiveness. When you understand your own patterns of self-sabotage, you can better recognize when members of your team are struggling themselves and help guide them through these challenges.
From forcing to flowing: Rachel's insight into flowing with opportunity rather than forcing outcomes applies beautifully to life and leadership. Any time we rigidly adhere to plans despite changing circumstances it often creates unnecessary friction. Instead, remain adaptable while maintaining vision—creating an environment where you and others can respond organically to new opportunities.
Leading by example in self-care: The book's emphasis on how we treat ourselves connects to sustainable leadership. When leaders demonstrate healthy boundaries and self-respect, they implicitly give permission for team members to do the same. This creates a culture of sustainability rather than burnout.
Creating question-driven team development: Consider implementing Rachel's question-based approach in your team meetings. What if your next team development session began with "What are we attracting?" or "What's working?" These powerful questions can shift team dynamics from problem-focused to possibility-focused conversations and create a far more positive environment.
Manifesting team success: The principles of manifestation Rachel discusses can be adapted to team goal setting. When leaders help teams clearly articulate what success looks like and maintain focus on those outcomes, teams naturally begin aligning their actions toward those goals.
By applying these concepts from What if YOU Are the Answer? leaders can create environments where both they and their team members recognize their power to shape outcomes rather than feeling constrained by circumstances.
Final Thoughts and Recommendation
If you want to read a book that helps you think through life, how you live, how you treat yourself, what works and doesn’t, this is it. This book will help you contemplate life as a whole and help you see things in a totally different light. I thank Rachel so much for this book (and her other books). They really provide so much insight into my real world and my “capital-T truths” as Rachel says.
Get the book now!
Now that you’ve seen my review of What if YOU Are the Answer by Rachel Hollis, pick up the book and read it! Pick it up at your local library or follow this link if you’d like to purchase the book. Full disclosure, I do get a commission if you buy from this link.
Your Turn: Share Your Opinion
Did you find the review helpful? Once you read the book, share your thoughts. Continue the conversation and keep on sharing! Tell me what you liked (or didn't) when you read the book. Your insights can share insight with others!
Recommend Your Leadership Reads
What’s a book that changed the way you lead or think? Share it, and I might feature it next! Include the book title and author name in the comments as well as why you think I should read it next. The most intriguing books will be read to be featured in future posts."
Books shape minds, and kindness shapes the world—let’s keep leading with both! As always, carry social kindness with you everywhere you go. The world needs you and your positive mindset!
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