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Dare to Change Your Life
'Lawrence is an inspiration to me and, after reading his story, he'll become an inspiration to you.' Anthony Joshua'An inspirational and important role model' Guvna BDiscover the mindset that made Lawrence Okolie a champion...'Whatever your situation, I want to help you. I'm proud of the changes I've made to my life. While flipping burgers in McDonald's, I found my ambition and now I'm a boxing champion. I've changed how I look at myself. how I look at the world. and I've improved my lifestyle. If I can do this. I know you can too. Perhaps you're feeling scared. a bit hopeless or unsure about where you're heading in life and what to do next? Maybe you feel stuck and you can't see a way out? I want to help you to change your life.' Lawrence Okolie How anything is possibleWhy you don't need luck but you do need purpose and faithWhen fear and risks are good thingsWhy positive energy and kindness are essentialHow curiosity is powerThat you are not defined by your pastWhy you shouldn't fear failureThat you can control your futureAnd much more...
- GenresSelf Help
249 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 8, 2021
4 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 9, 2021
2.5/5
In an obvious comparison with Tony Bellew’s recent attempt at the autobiography/self-help genre - which I gave three stars to - Dare to Change Your Life does fall a little short.
Okolie comes across as a more likeable and relatable figure than Bellew, and I also find his story more inspiring, however the concept is a lot less well developed here. Short chapters consist of quite basic advice, gleamed from Okolie’s experiences and rise to championship status, which are then repeated in a summary at the end of each chapter.
Ultimately, a proper autobiography would have been more satisfying. The reader could learn about Okolie’s impressive life in more depth, and absorb the right lessons from it naturally.
In an obvious comparison with Tony Bellew’s recent attempt at the autobiography/self-help genre - which I gave three stars to - Dare to Change Your Life does fall a little short.
Okolie comes across as a more likeable and relatable figure than Bellew, and I also find his story more inspiring, however the concept is a lot less well developed here. Short chapters consist of quite basic advice, gleamed from Okolie’s experiences and rise to championship status, which are then repeated in a summary at the end of each chapter.
Ultimately, a proper autobiography would have been more satisfying. The reader could learn about Okolie’s impressive life in more depth, and absorb the right lessons from it naturally.
November 14, 2021
I started reading Lawrence Okolie’s memoir for research for an upcoming work project and I instantly became immersed in his story. The book is an easy three hour listen and consists of short chapters of advice from Okolie’s life in chronological order - from finding inspiration watching Anthony Joshua fight on TV during his shift at McDonald’s, to quitting his job and committing his life to a competitive sport, to making it as a championship boxer, all in the space of four years. I found this a really inspirational read from an athlete who came across humble, grounded and hard-working. Lawrence doesn’t reveal any ‘secrets’ to his success, instead, he credits his success to his fearlessness, discipline and want of a better, greater life.
May 19, 2024
Enjoyed the book as a positive and true to life story of how to maintain progress in an easy to read format.
The style of ending the chapters with a recap of the main points was very beneficial as a takeaway to remember for the future.
The style of ending the chapters with a recap of the main points was very beneficial as a takeaway to remember for the future.
October 7, 2022
What a legend. Good on you Lawrence for turning your life upside down to great effect, and for putting your story out there to inspire others.
May 15, 2023
Reads like one long pep talk….in a good way!!
Common sense advice. Punch (pardon the pun) prose. Easy to read and digest.
Common sense advice. Punch (pardon the pun) prose. Easy to read and digest.
August 5, 2023
Dare to Change Your Life is not a lot of a book. Over the 244 pages (including acknowledgements) many are simply short quotes blown up to take a whole page. Each chapter has a short summary in bulletpoints. Without a gallery of triumphant photos (more about this in a moment) the publisher had to pad it somewhat, so it wouldn't look like an expanded interview or a novella. I picked it, because I've read Okolie's Guardian essay – which is more of an excerpt – and there was something special about it.
Okolie doesn't pose.
This book didn't do very well, and I am not surprised. It's neither a collection of war stories, nor the "if I can become a world champion, so can you, lazy ass." (Sure, there are some suggestions that are not going to be feasible to many people, but Okolie is a boxer, not a therapist.) That cover picture hardly punches you with awe. Once you get to the actual text, Okolie shares things that worked for him, and there are quite a few I did not expect. "When someone calls you lucky, it devalues all the hard work and sacrifice that have gone into you achieving your dreams" is one I'm going to take to heart. "As soon as the photographer has got their picture, I'll immediately stop looking at my opponent [...] The reason I don't try to out-stare my opponent is that it's nonsense" is not something Mayweather or McGregor would say, and this is why they are household names, while I found out about Okolie from the Guardian article.
A BBC article huffs "Okolie [has] been criticised in the past for his awkward and far from fan-friendly style, often grappling his way to victory." (I hope the loser was very entertaining and fan-friendly, for BBC's commentator's sake.) The book's the same. Is it "entertaining and "fan-friendly?" Not really. Is it bragging, chest-puffing, and flashy? Also not. In the beginning I mentioned "padding" – adding stuff for the sake of having more pages, so you feel like you bought more of a book for your buck. Big blank pages with a blown-up sentence or not, there's nothing unnecessary in Dare to Change Your Life.
The man's down to Earth. He knows what he wants, what he's doing, what he sometimes isn't doing. He's not condescending, even when he essentially dispenses advice, often emphasising "this is what worked for me." It's not a self-help book, or a memoir. It feels like I'm getting a bit of training at a bargain price. The fact that I am mostly interested in boxers due to, um, aesthetics is irrelevant here, because where McGregor is a persona, Okolie is a person. I can imagine spending some time (possibly under-entertained) with Okolie. I'd rather have my teeth cleaned than share a drink with McGregor.
I have dared to change my life quite a few times. When those around me told me, often with best of intentions, that it wasn't possible, I didn't listen. Sometimes I failed. (Ironically, Okolie's 19-0 winning streak ended a few weeks after I bought the book. I'm almost certain it's not my fault…) But what I think the real message of this book is that you will never win if you're too afraid to lose to try.
My ratings:
5* = this book changed my life
4* = very good
3* = good
2* = I probably DNFed it, so I don't give 2* ratings
1* = actively hostile towards the reader
Okolie doesn't pose.
This book didn't do very well, and I am not surprised. It's neither a collection of war stories, nor the "if I can become a world champion, so can you, lazy ass." (Sure, there are some suggestions that are not going to be feasible to many people, but Okolie is a boxer, not a therapist.) That cover picture hardly punches you with awe. Once you get to the actual text, Okolie shares things that worked for him, and there are quite a few I did not expect. "When someone calls you lucky, it devalues all the hard work and sacrifice that have gone into you achieving your dreams" is one I'm going to take to heart. "As soon as the photographer has got their picture, I'll immediately stop looking at my opponent [...] The reason I don't try to out-stare my opponent is that it's nonsense" is not something Mayweather or McGregor would say, and this is why they are household names, while I found out about Okolie from the Guardian article.
A BBC article huffs "Okolie [has] been criticised in the past for his awkward and far from fan-friendly style, often grappling his way to victory." (I hope the loser was very entertaining and fan-friendly, for BBC's commentator's sake.) The book's the same. Is it "entertaining and "fan-friendly?" Not really. Is it bragging, chest-puffing, and flashy? Also not. In the beginning I mentioned "padding" – adding stuff for the sake of having more pages, so you feel like you bought more of a book for your buck. Big blank pages with a blown-up sentence or not, there's nothing unnecessary in Dare to Change Your Life.
The man's down to Earth. He knows what he wants, what he's doing, what he sometimes isn't doing. He's not condescending, even when he essentially dispenses advice, often emphasising "this is what worked for me." It's not a self-help book, or a memoir. It feels like I'm getting a bit of training at a bargain price. The fact that I am mostly interested in boxers due to, um, aesthetics is irrelevant here, because where McGregor is a persona, Okolie is a person. I can imagine spending some time (possibly under-entertained) with Okolie. I'd rather have my teeth cleaned than share a drink with McGregor.
I have dared to change my life quite a few times. When those around me told me, often with best of intentions, that it wasn't possible, I didn't listen. Sometimes I failed. (Ironically, Okolie's 19-0 winning streak ended a few weeks after I bought the book. I'm almost certain it's not my fault…) But what I think the real message of this book is that you will never win if you're too afraid to lose to try.
My ratings:
5* = this book changed my life
4* = very good
3* = good
2* = I probably DNFed it, so I don't give 2* ratings
1* = actively hostile towards the reader
June 24, 2024
This book tells you nothing. The only modicum of interest is how well Lawrence and his parents have done. Lawrence is now very wealthy.He then spoils it all by playing the race card and claiming black people don't have the same opportunity but cannot state any opportunity he has missed out on because of his colour, because there isn't any. A book written for the sake of writing a book.
August 16, 2022
Fantastic book, so inspirational. Really loved it. I loved listening to the motivation behind his goals and the fact that he was just real and honest about his struggles and how it doesn’t just come easy to him.
Great book.
Great book.
December 5, 2022
A bit slow to be honest. It’s dry but so down to earth as a person. The fact he repeats his quotes is irritating
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews