Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“When we are young, we have visions, dreams of the life we want to lead, or blazing a trail in our desired profession… It is absolutely possible to achieve your dreams.”

I’ll admit, I’m not a sporty person. However, when I was in school, I loved to play hockey, tennis and netball, even football when I was brave enough! This book is such a breath of fresh air, promoting the act of slowing down to get ahead whilst using plenty of sport-related anecdotes from industry renowned trainer, Matt Little himself. I’m absolutely thrilled to be on the book tour today for The Way of the Tortoise – do check out the other reviews from these brilliant book bloggers/bookstagrammers!

Taking inspiration from Aesop’s well-known fable of the Hare and the Tortoise, internationally renowned trainer Matt Little recognizes that there is no fast path to success. By focusing on immediate results, we can gloss over process in the race to get ahead, skipping over the lessons and experiences that we all need to build solid foundations for our future achievements.

Matt shows that taking the slow lane can not only help you reach your goals more effectively, it can make your successes more sustainable by increasing your motivation, energy and resilience. Packed full of examples from the highly adaptable worlds of sport and business, as well as Matt’s own remarkable career, The Way of the Tortoise reveals, through practical exercises and techniques, the essential strategies we can all use to achieve extraordinary results.

Introduction

I didn’t expect the introduction to this book to be so informative and so uplifting – but it was! After realising that I am a close match to what Matt Little describes as a ‘Tortoise’ in this book, I became so engaged in his words and found the experience to be such a positive one right from the start. As well as defining people as either a Tortoise or Hare, Little also explains the traits of these kinds of people, and how these traits can help or hinder their experiences and journey through life when it comes to achieving ones dreams. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading about his past and how he’d taken the long road to get where he wanted to be, instead of rushing and running the risk of making some detrimental mistakes in his career. Already, I found some great lessons in his words, many of which I’d certainly keep with me for a lifetime. I was really excited to get stuck into the book and see how much more I could learn and take on board from this guy!

Part One: Tortoise Beats Hare

The first part of the book covers so much about why people with the Tortoise personality traits and mentality will win the race of life, why successful Hares are so rare and how to spot them, and also how to become that winning Tortoise. Again, there is so much positivity surrounding these chapters, and the detail the book goes into is truly mind-blowing. I found myself agreeing with an awful lot, but I also had multiple lightbulb moments in my mind which really transformed that reading experience. Every section was so interesting to read and it was already clear just how much different people would get out of the book. My only minor gripe so far was that there seemed to be a lot of repetition, or that the same information was regurgitated in a different way. However, I suppose if you’re trying to get a reader to think a certain way, this needs to be done to an extent for a reader to get in the right frame of mind and retain the information given.

One of the highlights of this section in the book was the Tortoise test, where readers can answer questions to determine the type of Tortoise they are. I took part in this test with a weird sense of excitement, and my results after the test showed that I was a Tyro Tortoise, a “Tortoise in training”. It seems I still have a bit more work to do to get into full Tortoise mode! The book recommends that you keep your test scores somewhere safe and retest yourself within four to six weeks to see how/if things have changed in that time. It would be very interesting to see whether I’m subconsciously taking the book’s information on board! The answers you give to the test are then broken down so thoroughly in the What’s The Score? section which was really helpful. I really enjoyed the experience, it was a very fun one!

Part Two: Tortoise Goes To Boot Camp

In the second part of the book, the author places focus on getting into the right mindset and perfecting those skills needed to be a successful Tortoise. I found this section to be so so important and I knew I needed to take all this information on board, and with another exercise to take part in, it became just as enjoyable as part one! I loved how interactive the book was and just how the reader is encouraged to take part in practical exercises to further understand themselves and to help them grow. This section also has a range of true stories which relate to certain points in the Tortoise journey, from experiencing failure to pushing for the next goal, and these were super interesting to read. I found the sections about managing change and conflict to be particularly useful for me, and I just knew I’d take so many of these points with me through life!

As I read more and more of this book, I realised that it wasn’t the kind of book you’d read page to page. It’s more like a book you can dip in and out of at your leisure and it’s really quite a relaxing yet fun read in parts. The second part of the book is jam-packed with that essential knowledge you’ll need to change your way of thinking or even to keep you on the right path to a slow but steady journey to success. I absolutely MUST mention one of my favourite parts in the entire book now – The Tortoise Bootcamp. Boot Camps are known for being particularly difficult, but I believed I could do what the author was asking here. Tough, but doable! Making a plan and forcing myself to carry out certain tasks was a little daunting at first, but I’ve definitely warmed to the idea the more I’ve thought about it. I just need to make the time to do it properly!

Conclusion

I really appreciated the tone the author took with the book’s conclusion, showing that all things come to those who wait and put in the work. The encouragement readers receive from the author here is pretty incomparable to many other self-help books, and he really does cater for every type of person with those crucial Tortoise traits. I feel anyone wanting to better themselves in any aspect of life will get something valuable out of this book, and I found it incredibly useful, enjoyable and informative. The way the book is written and how friendly the author comes across through his words makes it feel like you’re speaking face to face, or that the information included in the book is tailored to you and how you need to grow and adapt. It really is quite spectacular! Whether you’re interested in Matt Little’s success and how he got there, or you’re keen to take a refreshing direction in your own life with proven strategies, this book is the perfect one for your shelf!

A huge thank you to the author, Matt Little, and Love Books Tours for my copy of this book and my place on the book tour! You can purchase your own copy of The Way of the Tortoise right now over on Amazon, available on Kindle and audiobook, as well as in paperback and hardback. Make sure you’re following the author over on Twitter and Instagram for updates!

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