The idea that people can choose whether to become sheep or shepherds, regardless of corrals others have in mind for them is explored in the purposeful YES YOU CAN: It All Starts With You by Vivian Risi.
Born a girl within an Italian family hoping for a boy and told by educators she needn’t try hard in school since the role of wife and mother were likely to be her main job descriptions, author Risi nevertheless paved her own path and encourages readers to do the same. Unlike Rockefeller wishing for a world of workers rather than individual thinkers, Risi contends that standing out from the crowd is the only way to succeed. As someone who became a single parent of three without financial resources, the author went on to succeed in real estate until she owned an ever-expanding company and was enjoying moments with Oprah.
In YES YOU CAN: It All Starts With You! Risi shares what she’s learned along the way. The volume is filled with practical wisdom like: Valued mentor turns out to be a sexual predator? Escape, yet persevere in the field rather than disappear for this is how you “grow into your greatness.” Some readers may take issue with the stance that no credence should be given to circumstances potentially affecting outcome. In Risi’s opinion, if odds are stacked against you, you should still go for what you want…and to a degree this is true. Though statistics indicate societal inequities (sexism, racism, classism, etc.) generally make it harder for some folks to achieve than others, these kinds of barriers don’t necessarily always hold back the truly determined. The book can be a bit repetitive in places, for example when exploring in several chapters the same story of Risi’s need to improvise in front of a crowd of 5000 when main speaker Tony Robbins runs late. And certain words like find, first, goal are overused. But on the whole YES YOU CAN is an excellent primer for people aimed towards success learning how to become a cheering squad of one for themselves.
Part autobiography, part personal growth/inspiration/self-help/business book, YES YOU CAN: It All Starts With You reads like a friendly and instructional conversation over coffee with the author.
~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader