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The Soul Solution: A Guide for Brilliant, Overwhelmed Women to Quiet the Noise, Find Their Superpower, and (Finally) Feel Satisfied

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Are you so busy fulfilling everyone else’s expectations that you’ve lost touch with yourself? Do you find yourself filling up your “free” hours with mundane tasks, soaking up podcasts to improve yourself, and rushing around, never getting it all done? For many women, it’s the same kind of story—we hustle to overachieve at work and at home, all in the hopes that we can “crush it” until we finally feel fulfilled.

Vanessa Loder invites you to consider this question: “What if the point isn't to crush it in life, but to savor it?”

With The Soul Solution, this sought-after women’s leadership expert shares a powerful and practical guide to help women who feel overwhelmed and exhausted to recover our true selves—and our joy in living. Here she presents a road map for coming home to yourself, including:

• The Whispers of Your Soul—the three key steps for tuning out the noise and accessing authenticity
• Your Energetic Bread Crumbs—how the universe signals to you when you’re on the right path
• Discover Your Superpower—why you’ve been ignoring your most valuable gifts, and how to reclaim them
• From Tunnel Vision to Visionary—ways to break out of the “shame cycle” of patriarchal culture and own your destiny
• Quieting the Inner Critic—how to retrain your inner voices to encourage and support you
• The Upward Spiral—using the SAT method (Surrender, Allow, Trust) to get more of what you want with ease

Filled with practical guidance and inspiring personal stories, The Soul Solution is a nonstrategic, nonlinear—but entirely effective—guide to help you reclaim your feminine, intuitive soul power to fulfill your most meaningful and satisfying desires.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published October 4, 2022

35 people are currently reading
137 people want to read

About the author

Vanessa Loder

6 books1 follower

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
51 reviews6 followers
August 20, 2022
I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this beautiful book. There are so many resources to help get out of your own way, stop playing someone’s else’s game and start (to use the authors words) savoring life. This is for anyone who feels like there could be something more for them in life. Strongly recommend!
Profile Image for Renata.
30 reviews2 followers
June 6, 2022
This book is a perfect read for women who feel conflict between true self(what gives energy and meaning) and ego(the need to please others).
Many practices and tips are included in the book, which are easy and helpful.
The most, I enjoyed reading advices how to notice what gives you energy and how to turn inner critic to inner coach, but there are more other topics, which are interesting as well.

🙏 #netgalley #vanessaloder #thesoulsolution
2 reviews2 followers
September 3, 2022
This is a great read for any woman who has struggled with muti-tasking and managing other people's needs above her own. It really helped me refocus, reset my priorities, and find myself.
Profile Image for Carrie Brown-Wolf.
295 reviews3 followers
January 30, 2023
a good take on the patterns the patriarchy has instilled in women- and how to break them
Profile Image for Aymeric.
109 reviews1 follower
May 16, 2023
Nice to read. Lots of “deja vu” concepts though from different sources.

Some extracts I liked:

What if the point in life isn’t to crush it back to savour it?
The soul speaks to us in whispers doing little slivers of silence we create in our minds. The ego, in contrast, shouts at us constantly.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
208 reviews8 followers
June 5, 2022
The strength of this book is the questions and soul searching prompts the author gives the reader. There is also a lot of really good advice. It was a little too out there and postmodern for my tastes, but despite that, I walked away with solid information and advice.
Profile Image for Robbie.
Author 6 books82 followers
September 29, 2022
I was able to access an advanced copy of this excellent book.

Loder, an ex-investment banker, Stanford GSB alum and all-around overachiever, shares her journey to reconnect with herself and, as she says in the title "find her superpower and (finally) feel satisfied.

She provides specific tips, for example noticing what she calls "energetic breadcrumbs," those little and big events that happen in one's day that are inspiring, natural, powerful--and then trying to have more of those. That's a wonderful and low-risk way to begin exploring what the soul wants. It was helpful for me to see BOTH the "jump in with both feet" approach of Loder, who quite her banking job to find deeper meaning AND the more measured approach of small, incremental changes.

Every chapter has exercises, and while I'd love to do those exercises in a group with a guide (maybe Loder herself) they are totally manageable on my own.

I have already recommended this book to several friends. If you are looking for ways to connect more with the work you're doing and the way you spend your days, this book is for you.
64 reviews
September 21, 2023
I was inspired to read Vanessa Loder's book because I have benefited from her 'Surrender, Allow and Trust' meditation available through the Insight Timer app.

This book is very readable, fun, and shares very real experiences from real people.

I enjoyed the sections on discovering and following your energetic bread crumbs, grounding yourself in clarifying your core values (similar exercise in Brene Brown's Dare to Lead), and quieting the inner critic and connecting with your future self (Tara Mohr's Playing Big). I also liked the reference to Matthew McConaughey's Greenlights because that book was just pure fun and highlighted the value of humor in life. Vanessa also recommended StrengthsFinder 2.0 - a great tool that we have used at work for many years.

There were aspects of this book that did not resonate with me - the soul symbols were a bit too out there for me. Overall, Vanessa shared valuable tools, insights and resources and this book was comprehensive and provided a tactical approach to reset and reconnect with yourself.
11 reviews
November 30, 2022
I enjoyed reading Vanessa's book. She has an effective way of weaving insights and practical advice into relatable personal stories. She nudges you to implement her solution and advice right away with confidence. While reading the book, I sometimes felt Vanessa was speaking my mind! Initially, I was shocked. Then I realized that's because how I felt is nothing unique to me: Vanessa has seen it again and again, in herself and other women she coaches. The awareness and sense of belonging quiet my mind and open me to trying out the solutions provided in the book.
Everyone can learn something from the book regardless of their situation in their professional and personal lives. My two biggest learnings are how I can better appreciate my immigrant background in figuring out my "zone of genius" and how I can cultivate self-compassion by viewing my life as an 'upward spiral'.
I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to be more satisfied with life.
1 review
September 21, 2022
I've been fortunate to learn from Vanessa for over a decade and her book beautifully encapsulates her most powerful teachings. The process and activities in this book will help you clarify your values and goals, create a vision for your life, and overhaul how you spend your time. As a full-time leader at a startup with two kids at home, I constantly felt overwhelmed and unclear about what I wanted in life. The frameworks that Vanessa covers are the most powerful tools I've used to clarify my purpose and my priorities. And believe me, I am so much happier now! Vanessa's stories are so relatable and her lessons make it easy to take action. I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels like they are "searching for something more" but just don't know how to get there. Okay, now back to following my energetic breadcrumbs :)...
1 review1 follower
December 16, 2022
Aligning with our deepest truth:
I have been applying Vanessa's wise insights for the past 8 years. I couldn't be more grateful for the beautiful unconventional, intuitive way she brings spirituality, transformation into our life, with practical tools useful every single day, both professionally and personally. She has inspired me to rise up stronger after a burnout, to create my own well-being business, to create deeper authentic relationships, to trust my intuition with confidence, to allow with more ease instead of pushing, to say no to what no longer serves, to live a life of meaning, the positive list goes on and on. Now she has kindly collected part of this treasure in a book for us. How amazing this is! I highly recommend it. I am from another part of the world than she is. Yet, she is the coach I have felt who is the closest to me. Thank you so much Vanessa!
3 reviews
October 4, 2022
Vanessa Loder provides a thoughtful, practical, inspirational, and science-backed approach to personal growth in this book. Her tone is encouraging and refreshingly honest as she weaves her own journey throughout. One of my favorite parts is about following your ‘energetic breadcrumbs’ - an idea that has made me slow down and reflect on what that is to me. This technique has helped me to shift my focus towards consciously allocating my time on things that lift me up even if I can’t exactly explain or describe exactly why rather than just rotely checking off the boxes on what I feel I ‘should’ be doing. This is just one of the many powerful techniques she includes in the book. There are many many more! Definitely will be recommending this book to friends.
1 review
October 4, 2022
Empowering read
The most practical and helpful guide for finding yourself, trusting yourself, and creating a life of true joy (on your terms!). You can apply these tools and lessons at home, work, in your community - basically everywhere. Where this book is better than many others in the genre is that it guides you through “Flip the Switch” exercises to tease out what "your soul" really wants to say and then to identify what is holding you back, and how to move past that. After reading I feel like I have the tools to get out of my rut and have started to make changes that empower me to live a more fulfilling, soul-based life. I have given away five copies after reading it - that should say enough!
Profile Image for Kadie Clark.
44 reviews
December 14, 2022
Honestly really loved this book! Soooo many topics covered that are hard to just carry out in the moment, so I will definitely be revisiting this. I think it might be interesting to read this over the course of a year, one chapter per month, so that you really give yourself time to absorb the ideas Loder puts forth and practice the tools she outlines/use the guided meditations from her website.

All in all, takeaway from the first read is that solitude is a beautiful (and effective) way to get to know yourself and your power -- it's important to make time to invest in your relationship with yourself 😌
1 review
September 21, 2022
From the very first pages I was completely drawn in!! It really did feel like Vanessa was speaking to my soul and knew what I could barely admit to myself! As women, we can forget to prioritize ourselves with our careers and families seeming to always get our attention first. This book helped remind me how important it is to connect with and listen to myself and how that can radiate out change in my life in all the good, juicy, exciting, and healthy ways. You must read this book. It will change your perspective and it has real life solutions to help you change your life!!
2 reviews
September 30, 2022
I've been lucky enough to learn directly from Vanessa in the past, and to have recently received an advanced copy of the book. Vanessa’s writing is a powerful combination of wise and practical, and always authentic. She clearly articulates the ways in which we lose ourselves, and yet offers insightful tools to move beyond your current limitations, self doubt, criticism, fear...
Being able to combine inspiration with practical real-world tools to take action is not easy, but Vanessa does it. I've already bought this book for so many women in my life -- it's a MUST READ!
Profile Image for Avantika Prabhakara.
1 review
October 4, 2022
As a mom of three who has been full-time at tech startups for more than 15 years, I thought I was doing all the right things. Then the pandemic hit, and I began to question how I wanted to define success personally. I was lucky to take Vanessa’s class and get an early copy of her book, and highly recommend both. The Soul Solution gives you practical, actionable tips on how to pause, get in touch with yourself, and then move forward with PURPOSE and PASSION. I’ve finally learned that taking time for yourself is not selfish, it’s the opposite. Enjoy this read -- it's a great one!
1 review
October 4, 2022
Vanessa's book is a MUST READ for women struggling to succeed, but are burning out in the process! Her book is a roadmap for overworked women who want a more fulfilling and joyful life. The topics in this book are so universal for women struggling to with the pressures of work and family and life . She taught me practical tools to stop doing what everyone else expects of me, and learn to access and trust my own inner knowing instead. Highly recommend this book. Start savoring life today!! https://vanessaloder.com/soul-solution
1 review2 followers
October 4, 2022
I highly recommend this book. This is a book that asks the reader to examine long held feelings and beliefs about herself, and about what it means to be a “successful” woman, mother or partner in life and society. Unlike many other books for women, this book encourages us to search for our inner wisdom with effective tools and guidance to turn inward for our unique “soul solutions” and stability instead of following a rulebook that was developed by someone else for someone else. This book is a must read!
1 review
Read
September 13, 2022
This book takes you on a journey of self discovery by clearly and concisely paving a path toward recognizing and defining your core values, purpose and priorities. Reading the personal challenges women experience and using the practical suggestions and tools provided, you can not only clarify what you want, but understand and learn how to pursue your goals. The book is a journey toward self-fulfillment and creating a meaningful life.
1 review
September 28, 2022
This book has helped me develop self awareness in decision making and career development that I could just not have accessed via other methods. The practical tools Vanessa offers, support making connections that in turn make sense of confusingly mismatched goals and experiences. I've made choices more aligned with my soul and the difference is huge. I'm so grateful for those changes, they have positively impacted family, friends and affected every area of life.
Profile Image for Bridgette.
2 reviews
October 4, 2022
Vanessa Loder has a way with words. She states the truth in such an authentic, vulnerable and humorous way that I couldn't help but smile while I was reading it. Her tips on juggling the chaos of this life I am trying to keep up with, felt like she truly gets me. I would recommend this to all my striving, beautiful, intelligent friends who are tired and ready to chart a new path.
76 reviews10 followers
October 6, 2022
Fulfillment is so important but more importantly learning how to trust yourself to identify and follow your true callings, stop people pleasing and give yourself permission to rest, take care of YOU and find small moments of satisfaction every day. I love Vanessa and enjoyed her book very much! Highly recommend!
2 reviews
September 9, 2022
I loved this book and was really honored to have early access, what a treat!

I felt really encouraged by Vanessa's way of offering a new version of what a successful life can look like. As she she says, rather than "crushing it" we can savor our life...

She is part of a paradigm that is shifting our perception of success away from domination and control and opening up to the unknown mystery of soul.

One of my favorite teachings is from chapter 3, about following "energetic bread crumbs". I love the metaphor of nudges from the universe that are encouraging you on your path home, back to your True Self.

I appreciate when books can be opened to any page and reveal treasure and something that might help me along my day, this is one of those books. There's wisdom and insight tucked into each chapter, no need to follow the prescribed order, you can just open it up and find something to take with you as you go.
1 review
September 26, 2022
I want to give this book to every women I know who is stuck in a rut with work and looking to make a career change that brings them happiness, regardless of age. This book inspired me with every page!
Profile Image for Kim Ross.
201 reviews8 followers
December 31, 2024
This is one of the books, that, as I read it, I knew I would want more. So I put it on my 'buy for me please' list and now own It. So, looking forward to reading it again without library deadlines:)
Profile Image for Siomara Caballero.
40 reviews1 follower
January 1, 2025
Vanessa provee de recursos a lo largo del libro para poder salir del "camino usual" que las mujeres deben cumplir/seguir tanto en el ámbito profesional, cómo personal.
Sin embargo, puede parecer repetitivo o muy extendido para lo que realmente debe ser.
2 reviews
October 4, 2022
Wow! This book is a must read for all women who feel like they are over-worked, over-give and who have a knowing that there has to be a better way. Vanessa offers so many profound insights and tips, but she does it in a down to earth, fun and relatable way. I love the way she explains our internal dialogue as a "nutso inner roommate" or the inner call to do something, can be like "a tiny splinter in your fourth toe." Each chapter offers juicy tips and exercises to create real shifts. This is so much more than a self-help book. When you buy the book, you also get access to a resource vault with all kinds of meditations and guided visualizations. You can feel the energy shifts happening as you practice with these tools.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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