Falling somewhere between memoir and self help book, Illogical is an interesting exploration of Emmanuel Acho's life and times.

Thank you to Net Galley and Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Acho, a former NFL player, has carved out his post-football career as a podcaster, ESPN commentator and a writer. I really enjoyed his first book and this was good as well. He talked about the things that others may think are illogical - a bet in blackjack, breaking the 4 minute mile. He advises to take in the advice others give you but also follow your dreams/intuitions and some of the greatest achievements/discoveries are made by those that take the risk. He also suggests to find you "it". What are you good at and enjoy...his is communicating, and then developing it. I read and listened to the audiobook. As he's a great speaker, I also recommend the audiobook.

Life took an unexpected turn for Emmanuel Acho when his football career suddenly ended. He had to decide whether to pursue a future based on the logical thing to do or do something completely illogical. He opted for the latter and found that following an illogical path led him to his truest calling. An illogical path is one that dismisses the thoughts, beliefs and opinions held by the majority.

Throughout the book, Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits," Acho encourages readers to open their minds, find their skills and talents, develop and expand on them in order to the live the life they want. His goal is to inspire. Some of my favorite quotes in the book are: "You are as ready as you will be..." and "being illogical means having the courage to believe that you –- yes, you – have everything you've ever needed to do what you were put on this earth to do."

His chapters at times read like sermons. He starts with a story whether from his life, biblical, or historical and uses them as a means to develop his point about ways you can defy logic. He narrows in on the accomplishments of celebrities and historical figures reminding us that the iPhone, for example, was once a crazy idea.

If you need a pick-me-up or pep talk to get you going on your journey to develop the next great thing or just to motivate you this is a good book to read.

thanks to netgalley and Flatiron Books for providing this ARC.

after reading Uncomfortable Conversations, I knew I wanted to read this one as well! While I enjoyed it for the most part, the title was a bit misleading, IMO. I didn't feel like what he was talking about or the examples/stories he provided were "illogical" in any way. Rather, its more about changing your attitude and mindset in pressing situations and coming up with a different decision.

Not quite self help, not quite memoir, the book itself seemed confused as to what it was meant to be. A good read certainly, just not what I expected based on the marketing around the book.

The title of this book did not feel like the right one. What the author considered "illogical" behavior was actually logical and rational to me. I nodded my head quite a bit and connected with his perspective on reaching for the stars.

The author used illustrations from his own life to show how he was forced to deviate or adapt to new conditions when the aspirations and goals he was working towards no longer seemed attainable. He quotes the Bible and also shares stories about things that may have been considered failures, but he coped with them and realized new goals. Honestly, with the exception of personal stories, there is nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary about this main idea presented.

The basic theme that I got from this book is that we shouldn't be tied to one vision and consider our life a failure if we do not achieve that specific aim. We should think big, outside the box, take risks and be flexible with our aspirations. The message here was meant to encourage and inspire and the author achieved that. I believe the reader will feel energized and rejuvenated about the future. The ability to adapt is absolutely logical and necessary for survival. The title just rubbed me the wrong way as it seems like click-bait for marketing purposes.

This book is better than I could have imagined. I saw Emmanuel Acho in an interview talking about it and thought it sound intriguing, so I read it. Wow, it is inspiring, insightful, thought provoking, and so much more. There is something for everyone in this book.

Thanks to Flatiron books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Emmanuel Acho is a very engaging speaker--I love listening to him. The content of this book probably warranted three stars (there are some good examples and anecdotes but also a lot of ideas that are pretty common in motivational books), but LISTENING to him as the narrator on the audio version bumped it up to four stars for me. The energy and enthusiasm in the narration definitely made it fun and inspiring for me beyond what was written on the pages. I'm not 100-percent sold on the idea of being "illogical" (he seemed to offer some pretty logical tips for how to become illogical, and the overall idea seemed more about being unlimited than illogical), but it was really was an enjoyable book to listen to.

I listened to an audiobook provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I don't read much non-fiction, but I like Emmanuel Acho, so I was interested to see what he had to say in this book.

I can sum his whole point up in a few sentences. Bumblebees, by laws of science and logic, cannot fly. Bumblebees do not know they cannot fly, so they do it anyway. Ignore logic and be like a bumblebee in your life pursuits. Fly, bumblebee, fly. The end.

Kidding. There is more to this book, including a lot of insight into what a hard worker Acho really is. Success comes to those who strive and work and run after it, no doubt. He has worked and worked in his life to achieve all that he has. But, ultimately, he is not preaching hard work, but encouraging people to think outside the box, to take risks, to not have limits on their thinking.

There's not much ground breaking here, but it's short, easy to read, and uses stories and Biblical allegories to help prove points. It's inspiring and has valuable insight.
I liked it.