Choose to Matter: Being Courageously and Fabulously YOU

by Julie Foudy

Overview

In Choose to Matter, Julie Foudy, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and former captain of the US National team, takes you on a journey to discover your authentic self. This book is a roadmap to unleash that courageous YOU and have you singing your dreams out loud. Along with sharing stories from her playing days and personal experiences, Julie taps into the wisdom of other incredible female leaders including "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts, soccer stars Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan, and Facebook superwoman and Lean In founder Sheryl Sandberg. In her Leadership Academy, Julie encourages young women to find the leader that exists in all of them, whatever their personality or vocal chord strength might be. Complete with fun exercises and activities, Choose to Matter guides readers in all aspects of their lives. Julie believes every young woman has the power to be a leader who makes a positive impact. And it all starts by choosing to matter. So go ahead, start now. Because you can.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368009942
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	05/02/2017
Sold by:	DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE -EBKS
Format:	eBook
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Julie Foudy is a retired American professional soccer midfielder who played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 through 2004. Julie participated in four Women's World Cups and three Olympics for the USA Team. She is a two-time World Cup Champion and she is also a 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2000 Olympic Silver medalist and 2004 Olympic Gold medalist. She was inducted into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007. Julie's work off the field is even more important to her. She was the President of the Women's Sports Foundation from 2000-2002. She served on the Women's Sports Foundation Board of directors for seven years. Julie is the director and founder of the Julie Foudy Leadership Academy, a unique residential camp experience that uses sports as a vehicle to teach leadership skills for life. Julie also founded the Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation whose mission is: Building on a foundation of sports and fitness, we empower young women from all socioeconomic backgrounds to become leaders who positively impact their communities. Julie is currently a reporter and analyst for ABC/ESPN, contributor and writer for espnW, motivational speaker, and proud mother of two children.

Twitter: @juliefoudy
Instagram: @juliefoudy

Table of Contents

How this Book Happened 6

Section 1 Self 12

Chapter 1 Leadership Is Personal, Not Positional 16

Chapter 2 Finding the Confident You 34

Chapter 3 Doubt Will Never Define You 54

Chapter 4 The Non-Negotiable Chapter 66

Section 2 Team 84

Chapter 5 Good vs. Great 86

Chapter 6 Laughter Permitted 100

Chapter 7 Team Chemistry Is a VERB 114

Chapter 8 There Is No / in Team, But There Is a ME 126

Section 3 School 138

Chapter 9 Awkward is Awesome 140

Chapter 10 Dancing in the Rain 152

Chapter 11 Earmuffs 168

Chapter 12 Do Not Use Panic 178

Section 4 Community 188

Chapter 13 Choose to Matter 190

Chapter 14 Your Magic Wand: Action 198

Chapter 15 The F-Word 228

Chapter 16 Turn and Pull 244

Section 5 Life 252

Chapter 17 Own Your Awesome 254

Chapter 18 Be Interested > Be Interesting 264

Chapter 19 To Be or Not to Be … a Rat 276

Chapter 20 Because You Can 284

Bios 288

Acknowledgments 301

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2017
Foudy, a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and former captain of the U.S. Women’s National soccer team, offers a leadership-focused book aimed at teenage girls. Foudy divides the book into subsections that correspond with five concentric “EmpowerRINGS,” with “self” at the center, followed by “team,” “school,” “community,” and “life.” Excerpts from Foudy’s interviews with 10 women and girls from a range of backgrounds—including Good Morning America cohost Robin Roberts, Lean In founder Sheryl Sandberg, soccer stars Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan, and Afghan teenage activist Fahima Noori—appear throughout, along with activities, writing prompts, and profiles of young leaders. Despite the visually varied format, diverse voices represented, and approachable tone, the book can feel dense and repetitive. But motivated readers will find plenty of ideas for ways to take action in their lives. Ages 12–up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

12/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—Foudy, two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time World Cup champion, and former captain of the U.S. women's national soccer team, has written a guide to help young women determine their personal leadership style. Foudy gathered a diverse team of women she interviewed in casual conversations she dubbed "#socktalks." The group included Good Morning America cohost Robin Roberts, soccer star Mia Hamm, Irish scientist Sophie Healy-Thow, and Paralympic Games medalist Tatyana McFadden, among others. Chapters unfold with a conversational tone as Foudy leads the listener through developing a positive self-image and various leadership skills. Older teens will most likely roll their eyes at Foudy's corny sense of humor. VERDICT Although the book is intended to help young women find their own style, it skews strongly toward extroverts, and non-athletes may be put off by the abundance of sports analogies. Teams and clubs, though, could benefit from using the audio as a guide for developing confidence and character.—Lisa Hubler, Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, OH

School Library Journal

2017-03-06
Foudy, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in soccer, channels her connections and unfaltering positivity into a guide geared toward female athletes. With a breezy, conversational tone and lots of cheerful doodles and eye-catching changes in type, Foudy introduces her "empoweRINGs," a set of ideals represented as nested concentric circles. The core of these is "self," followed by "team," "school," "community," and, finally, the largest, outer ring of "life." Each of these areas is then further broken down into chapters, explored, and followed by a short activity for readers. Foudy calls upon an impressive list of successful and notable women, including Robin Roberts, Mia Hamm, and Sheryl Sandberg, and also some lesser-known but equally captivating figures such as teen scientist Sophie Healy-Thow and Taliban survivor Fahima Noori to share their stories, struggles, and personal insights. In addition, Foudy adds an abundant smattering of quotations, personal musings, and peppy slogans (like "So choose to Lead. Because you can" and "Bring it AND sing it") designed to inspire young girls. However, those not involved with sports may have a difficult time relating to both her optimism and anecdotes; for example her portion about school focuses largely on team dynamics in an athletic setting, only superficially examining such weighty issues as bullying, and offers little to help those grappling with other situations. Foudy's unrelenting sunniness may not illuminate everyone, but young athletes may find some empowerment here. (Nonfiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews