I did end up reading this in audiobook format. Did it help me? Maybe.

I liked a lot of the analogies and how it connected real life struggles we all have and compared it to my favorite sport. Some of the suggestions I might take and I do strongly believe we always have to be looking forwards and what comes next than wallowing in the things we did wrong.

I did enjoy this a lot.

ARC Review:

He gives great advice on how to plan!!! I took notes during the entire part 1. I was expecting more soccer and less self-help, but realized I interpreted the title incorrectly. I also realized that I do some of these things already. He does mention how people get burnt out by doing too much but I did find some of the advice a little overwhelming and if someone followed it to a T, could end in being a little burnt-out. Overall, a great book I recommend to anyone who needs extra motivation or help getting started on how to organize their goals. I LOVE setting and achieving goals, so this topic of the book was my favorite. I found the soccer analogies in incredibly helpful! I was hoping that it would make me a better coach, but I still wrote down some key facts to tell my players. I also picture playing parts of this audiobook for them some time!

Favorite applicable quote to me: “Seeing a plan can remove stress.”

I was provided an ARC and an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. I found it helpful to have both formats available as there are some lists in the e-book and as I was listening along with the audiobook I always find it helpful to refer to the print version when lists are being read aloud. The author did a good job with the narration and explaining his points, giving examples, and giving us his perspective.

This was a great common sense approach to achieving goals and setting yourself up for success. The author uses soccer as an example for how elite professional soccer/football players around the world achieve their goals when it comes to training and living their dreams both on and off the field/pitch. Having played soccer through high school and for fun through my adult life, the comparisons made a lot of sense to me. His advice is common sense and straightforward, but sometimes you need to hear it to put it into action. I've been struggling to get back into an exercise routine since COVID, but his method of prioritizing your top three at work and at home and eating the frog really resonated with me. I found myself listening to this while I was getting some exercise, and thinking to myself "This isn't that hard, I can do this! I really need to eat that frog." Eating the frog refers to a concept of performing and prioritizing undesirable tasks, like exercise, first so you get them out of the way instead of putting them off until last so you never get them done.

My own kids want to be high achievers when it comes to sports and have high aspirations in their future careers. I think this book would be great for a new high school or college grad. The author speaks to breaking your day up into chunks to increase efficiency and prioritizing tasks, and most importantly turning off your phone to prevent internet distractions. The book is not very long but McArdle gets to the point and lays out his keys to success in an understandable way. If you are fan of soccer I think this will really hit home if you are struggling to prioritize or looking for some perspective on goal setting.

Within each of these strategies, there are dozens of lessons you can implement in your life―such as how to organize your time, how to ensure focus on the tasks that really matter, and how to use failure to your advantage. Ciaran has assembled all these ideas and brought them together in The Soccer of Success.