Oola for Women: Find Balance in an Unbalanced World-How to Balance the 7 Key Areas of Life

by Troy Amdahl

If you haven't heard of the 'Oola phenomenon' yet, it's time to catch up. First, though, you need to understand what it Oola is that state of awesomeness you experience when your life is balanced and growing in all the key areas of health and well-being. It can be a noun or a verb. It can be a destination or a feeling. It can be as complex as a life growing and balanced in fitness, finance, family, field, faith, friends, and fun (the 7 F's of Oola), or as simple as a sunset, a quiet book on the beach, or a special moment with a child. It is that place we all shoot for in life. That feeling we experience and that we celebrate in our successes along the way. In short, Oola is cool.  Since the first copy of the original book, Find balance in an Unbalanced World, rolled off the presses a few years ago, the Oola Lifestyle has become a literal phenomenon—a  dynamic movement. OolaPalooza live events have been routinely sold out since the day they were started, and the Oola message has been taken to countless cities across America and to every major city in the world via 700,000+ Oola fans on social media. In their 1970s VW Surf bus, authors Troy Amdahl and Dave Braun have taken their OolaDream tour on the road, from coast-to-coast, collecting dreams and goals for a balanced life from people who adorn their vehicle with colorful Oola stickers.  The OolaGuys know that women are the ultimate multitaskers. While a circus performer might spin seven plates in a single show, women spin seven plates—figuratively—every day. They not only juggle kids, family, and home life, they also juggle work responsibilities, customers and clients, make constant business decisions, handle professional events and so many related activities that it's truly mind-boggling how much a woman can pack into a 24-hour day. In this Oola especially for them, the book shows, through the experiences of 54 inspiring women, how to overcome unexpected hardships, and transform the juggling act of everyday life into a dream lifestyle of simplicity, tranquility, abundance, and opportunity. That's what 'living Oola' means—and it's not only an attainable goal, but a well-deserved reward.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Personal Growth

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 2, 2017

Reviews

[Vanessa Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it cheesy and a bit condescending. I confirmed it wasn't for me when they featured a quote from Marianne Williamson, I pushed through anyway, and was underwhelmed.

[Kathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Oola Guys have written an excellent book focused on helping women find balance in the 7 F's in their lives. There were some very practical solutions, as well as inspirational stories and clear language. Although a little heavy in the personal anecdotes. I would definitely recommend this book The any woman who feels out of balance in her life, and needs some advice about how to become more fulfilled.

[Lori Ben-ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It is so helpful in facilitating goal setting and providing clarity into how simple changes can have a large impact on your life. It's not just for women, but there is another book that is about the same process, but written in a gender neutral way. I highly recommend the book!

[Charmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Oola: Living a state of awesomeness in the 7 key areas and of life - fitness, family, finance, field, career, faith, friends, and fun.

2. Finance: Crush debt. Invest in financial growth. Be a joyful giver.

3. Family: highest priority needs to be your marriage.
- Adjust emotions to fit the event.
- Think through how relatives impact your core family members (eg taking care of aging parents).

4. Field

5. Faith: making ourselves better makes our marriages, family, and communities better.

6. Friends: old friends keep you connected to your original identity (before marriage and kids).
- invest in friends (lunch, girls weekend).

7. Fun: Women have lost track of their true desires because they are people-pleasing and securing their future..

8. Use notecards, carry them around to write down status of 7 key arenas and actions you need to take. Daily notecard, 3 actions steps to get closer to the Oola life.

[Jessica Hermanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a new book to read this summer order Oola for Women! I was part of the focus group and I can't say enough wonderful things about it. If you need inspiration, if you're looking for your purpose, or if you need a book full of heart, this is the book for you!! This book will touch and awaken your soul with stories of heart, love, loss, purpose and chasing dreams. You'll love those crazy Oola guys too! You won't regret getting this book! 💙 Pre-order on Amazon!

[Kristyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve never heard the Oola guys speak, you need to. If you haven’t read this book, you need to. This book is on its way to helping me find balance in my life.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically what you would expect from one of those self-help goal setting type books. It has a little bit of a Chicken Soup for the Soul feel to it as it has mini stories within it. You can save yourself time by just reading the first chapter that talks about the 7 F's and then reading the title of each chapter. Also I would like to point out that the chapter about "laziness" comes across as one of those interviews where you ask someone what their weakness is and they go. "I care too much, work to hard, and am too amazing." But I digress...

This one took awhile for me. I'm glad I finally finished it. Also... yes I did pick it up because it had a VW bus on the front.

Meeehhhh... it was okay.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING! It's filled with so many emotions; but the good kinds...the ones that make you cry and smile all at the same time. With each page and every story, I felt more and more empowered and motivated to find myself and follow my dreams. I think that EVERY woman should read it. Everyone deserves to know they are worth it. This book has personally given me a new outlook on life and a path to follow! I cannot thank the Oola guys enough for writing this book. I feel so honored that I was able to read this book (I was selected to read the book and provide feedback before the book was released). I am already making changes in my life to become more OOLA!

[Heather Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! Why? one because it's a super easy and fun read. Two, you also get to hear stories from real life women. Three, this book gives you hope and in my opinion hope is the beginning of great things!

[Tammy Newill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a life changing read.

This book is for those who are searching to find balance in this fast paced life. Fast and easy to read. I would recommend this to all those that I care about, we all can benefit from the #Oolalife!

[Heather Mattern · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book!!! So inspiring and life changing. My eyes were opened. The best book I've read all year!

[Kerry Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really I would give this 3.5 stars. I’ll just break it down into my Pros and Cons, simply.

Pros: Definitely has good reminders about how to live a life with purpose and reach the “Oola” life. I appreciated the real life stories from others; the one about the woman who lost her son to cancer had me in tears. I like the activities, too. I like when scenarios feel relatable, and let’s face it, relationship troubles and financial troubles are as real as they get.

Cons: I think a good portion of this really isn’t anything new. You can only reinvent the wheel so many times. I also thought the stories written by family members of the Oola guru and seeker felt biased. Then there was some hypocrisy of “believe in something bigger than you” with a reference to God. I understand religion enough to know the variations of it, but it still felt this “F” (faith) was pushed like an agenda.

Overall, it’s inspirational. That’s what makes it “self help” in its own way. But let’s face it: they’re making money off of people, too. There is a website included for a free trial of 21 days. And hey, not all money spent is money wasted. But again, it felt “forced” sometimes, even a story from a previous intern.

[T Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly do not believe there is any other ‘self-help’ book on the planet that has been written with such heart and drive to truly make a difference in the lives of everyone, as this. The stories are real. They resonate at a core level. The genuine compassion and kindness of the authors comes through loud and clear, heartfelt and soulful. If you are a woman, you need to read this book. If you are a man, you need to read this book. It doesn’t matter, you just get it. You get what is happening, you get that these are messages for the masses to help us grow as we learn others have. Then for some reason, you do. You just follow the plan and you grow. It’s really simple and yet, it’s easy to do. Read. Do. Grow. Voila - Oola - it’s yours for the taking. Please take - don’t let another moment pass when you aren’t Oolaing your life. Life is short, life is precious, and life can be Oola for all. Now go Oola.

[Kia (kiastillreadsandwrites) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me about 7 months to read this book, not because it isn’t good, but because I didn’t make it a priority. I don’t usually read self-help type books, but Oola doesn’t feel like like self-help. The tenets of finding Oola are interspersed with personal stories of women who used these tips to find balance in their own lives.

For me, finding balance in work and home, is a near constant struggle. I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, and by the end of the day, all I focus on is what I didn’t do or could have done better. This book addresses the things in our lives that keep us from finding balance and gives practical, doable suggestions for ways to find it.

It never comes across as judgmental or preachy, which I appreciate because so often that slips into these types of books, and I don’t feel that that is conducive to actually helping anyone. I think I will ultimately read this book again to focus on the suggestions and try to implement more of them in my own life.

[Rose Daugherty-rudd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d give this book a 3.5 but can’t quite get to a 4. Things I liked: the fact they talked about 7 different areas in your life to focus on, the fact it was doable, and the fact it was personalized. Things I didn’t like: how repetitive it was (the individual stories were nice at first but even those got old after a while), the repeated use of “Oola,” and the implication that if you aren’t religious your life isn’t balanced... there was a lot of “God” talk which tends to be a turn off in a book for me! To be fair, I don’t read a lot of self help books so maybe if I read more I’d feel differently. I did like it for the simplicity and am trying to transfer the idea that I should work on those separate areas of my life (minus faith) into the new year!

[Karen Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Oola for Women. Very insightful and helped me to realize that I'm not living the dream that I had for myself in several key areas. We often put ourselves on the back-burner while taking care of children, taking care of our spouses, working a full-time job, putting meals on the table, paying the bills, etc. and just forget that we once had a dream, too. And, then when the kids are self-sufficient or maybe on their own, we have to start caring for elderly parents. Oola for Women resonated me with on many different levels. I was able to journal my own thoughts at the end of almost every chapter.

[Elisha Blade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book slowly to truly try and do the work and take each step seriously. My goal(s) are a lot so i hope to continue them now that I’ve finished the book. It was better than any chicken noodle book imho, but i wanted a little more from it (why the four not 5 stars).

This book is comprised of other women’s stories and ways to help women meet goals. I’m not really one for self help books (other than parenting) so this was my first experience with one and i can’t really compare to others. I felt like it was gentle with the faith approach and can easily apply to anyone looking for a way to better themselves.

[Candi]

Felt a bit underwhelmed by this book. I should have read the subtitle "and 42 stories from inspiring women". I was on chapter 11 and most of what I heard were stories about how women changed their lives around and attending Oola festivals. I get that stories bring inspiration to take action but sometimes folks like a guide on how to achieve their goals. There's more to it than just writing it down and having the willpower to achieve it. Maybe I read so many of these types of books that this just wasn't enough for me to finish. If it works for you, that's great! Everyone enjoys their own cup of tea.

[Claire Saylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read other books in the self-dev/help genre, this one doesn't seem to share anything new. I thought the use of 'Oola' throughout the book sounded cult-ish, like you're trying to force your concept to stick when there are plenty of other english words to refer to what you're promoting. While some of the stories shared were relevant and good illustrations of the topic at hand, I found it strange that all of them were related to the 'founder' of the Oola concept. I wanted to like the book, but 'Oola Master'? Really?

[Donna Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book. Every time I read a book like this it really inspires me. I hope to jump on the bus so to speak and join the Oola movement. I think the one thing I can change now that will improve every area of my life is to become an Adult. For so long I have floated along and haven't been very good at being a responsible adult. I hope especially to work on by blocker for laziness. There I said it!

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a life changer. If you read it and start implementing it into your life, I can imagine your life will be changed in weeks or months. There is so much wisdom in this book. I have read the original Oola book and loved it. The Oola for Women is even better. I believe it is because of all the life changing stories it holds. It is a little bit more women specific but I also believe that this book is a great read for men. You can never have enough wisdom in your life.

[Maree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was inspirational. It listed areas of life to keep your life balanced, and although I found the practical steps to be vague, it did a great job of inspiring you to set goals. There was a little bit of swearing & some of the real-life example stories are more suitable for mature readers. Oola encourages you to set goals to achieve what you want and maintain a balance in the 7 areas of Faith, Field (career), Family, Fun, Friends, Finances, & Fitness.

[Ange · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book: it lays out a formula to focus and improve balance for women, with some highlights on things that can hold one back or propel one forward, helpful advice and some exercises to identify opportunities, challenges and goals. When you’re having a dark night of the soul, feeling stuck or stagnant, this book might help you out. I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned at this phase in my life!

[Maddy Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that if you are looking for a workbook kind of self help, you will be disappointed in this. If you enjoy reading 80% inspiring stories, and 20% encouragement for getting areas of your life together, then this is for you. I was able to read the meat of this book in like 30 minutes leading through before bed. This isn’t a system that would be effective for me. It simply isn’t specific enough to be helpful to me.

[D.C. Haroldsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic summer read!! This book is filled with stories from different women abut different situations they went through and how they followed the 7 F's from Oola. Some of the stories were really heartbreaking and reading how these women broke through the pain and continued to stay strong was absolutely inspiring!!

[Diona Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

No it's not a cult, yes these are all concepts that have been talked about before for many years however, the Oola way describes them and organizes these ideas in a way that is very simple to understand.
Each category also gives you stories to inspire and ideas on how to make this subject a reality for the reader.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A self-help book with a 1970's vibe. Filled with personal stories of every difficult situation you may encounter as a woman with resolution and advice to get you there. It seems to reiterate the problems women go through no matter what decade you live in. Definitely helpful even if it does seem a little dated. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kayla Barriger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I discovered Oola's Instagram page and loved seeing their encouragement posts. As a result, I wanted to read their book. However, I was really disappointed. It read much like a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book, filled mostly with short stories from individuals that support Oola's principles (which are positive). Maybe that's your type of book, but I prefer books with a little more substance.

[Hailey Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a random pick off of the Library shelves before they were temporarily closed due to the COVID restrictions. I ended up having this book for much longer than usual. It allowed me time to really look at each of the women's stories throughout and reflect upon them. The Oola Life is one that I intend on trying to live each day!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to have great idea’s. I I’m looking forward to making some of this apart of my everyday life. The only think I couldn’t get was the oola wheel because all of mine are low so I had no spikes. So I think I need to work on getting my numbers up in my answers. I would recommend this book if you are looking for something to help you achieve something more with your life.