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Focus Forward: Life Lessons from Racing
Life comes at you fast when you’re traveling 180 miles per hour. For Ted Giovanis, it’s also where you can learn the most valuable lessons. In forty-eight accessible and inspiring chapters, he shares the experience he’s gained since starting an auto racing career at age forty-six, a ride of three decades that is still in overdrive. He shows you how the tools of racing and the teamwork within it are applicable to life and business. The veteran of Washington’s health care policy and regulatory battles has learned to navigate a very different course as a professional driver and team owner in the International Motor Sports Association. You may not know about Type 1 turns, outbraking, or be able to distinguish down force from dive planes, but by the time you reach the checkered flag of Focus Forward , you will have a better sense of how to live with more purpose and gratitude. Whether preparing in the garage, taking practice laps, or revving the engine for the start of the race, Giovanis puts you in the driver’s seat with him to make the most of every day.
264 pages, Hardcover
Published November 7, 2023
1295 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 28, 2023
I was provided an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
If you're a motorsports/racing fan, this book will be relatable, filled with great advice that applies both in racing and in life in general. I think alot of people will be put off with it's narrow focus but for people like me, it's perfect. The way Ted writes makes for easy reading and easy digestion of the point he's trying to make. I'm thankful the publisher let me read this book early, because otherwise I may not have had come up on my radar.
The short version is: if you enjoy motorsports, specifically racing, and even more specifically, endurance racing, you will love this book. If racing isn't your thing, I'd still say give it a shot because you may learn some new things and find a new sport to enjoy.
If you're a motorsports/racing fan, this book will be relatable, filled with great advice that applies both in racing and in life in general. I think alot of people will be put off with it's narrow focus but for people like me, it's perfect. The way Ted writes makes for easy reading and easy digestion of the point he's trying to make. I'm thankful the publisher let me read this book early, because otherwise I may not have had come up on my radar.
The short version is: if you enjoy motorsports, specifically racing, and even more specifically, endurance racing, you will love this book. If racing isn't your thing, I'd still say give it a shot because you may learn some new things and find a new sport to enjoy.
October 20, 2023
A self-help book using racing analogies, I'm sold.
I really liked the way the author used his real life racing experiences and connected it self help guidance. I think it was straight to the point and some of the stories didn't over power the self help points he wanted to give, until we got to the chapter of Aging while racing.
I could've done without the fatphobia or the analogy of being fat to a car that doesn't work. Bye. The exercise regimen at the end was just like too much for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really liked the way the author used his real life racing experiences and connected it self help guidance. I think it was straight to the point and some of the stories didn't over power the self help points he wanted to give, until we got to the chapter of Aging while racing.
I could've done without the fatphobia or the analogy of being fat to a car that doesn't work. Bye. The exercise regimen at the end was just like too much for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
November 9, 2023
First, I received a digital version prior to release for review. I was not asked to provide a positive or negative review of the book, I was just asked to provide a review. I did read the entirety of book.
Positive aspects of this book.
It was to the point, the chapters were short and quick and could be very beneficial for pickup and reading in short bursts.
The writing is descriptive and enjoyable, especially if you are a car racing fan. There are quite a few fantastic points that are described via vignettes of racing. These true applications are what makes this book good.
The conclusion does a nice job of summarizing all of the points that the author has.
Specific examples of aging and exercise were some of the more unique features of this book and I thought are very helpful to those seeking to better themselves.
I also enjoyed the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, though in the end they do trend towards fortune cookie.
The negative portions of this book.
Some of the explanations are a bit too shallow. Providing one example of a complex set of interactions as proof is certainly anecdotal. There's also a pretty large group of literature that explores a lot of the concepts that he speaks about, and I think a bit more in-depth research would have helped shore up his arguments. I think however that is likely not the point of this book and so while I count it as a negative, I don't think it was ever the intent of this book.
There were a couple of phrases or portions that were repeated a bit more often than they should have been in the book. Such as the top speed of 180 mph. And the discussion about racing at different times. This could be to allow the reader to pick up and read a chapter as a standalone chapter, but I believe in the introduction that was not the intent of the book.
I do not think that this book provides any Earth shattering additional insights on self-organization or self-actualization that does not already exist in other literature. That is not necessarily a bad thing, If I hadn't spent the last year of my life reading about complex systems, as well as systems theory, and organizational leadership I think this book would have been more revelatory.
Finally, the book covers so many different topics I think it would have been better for it to scope down and expand on perhaps for five different things versus everything. Which in my mind turns this book into more of a fortune cookie.
To be clear I still really liked it and I enjoyed reading it, it was not a difficult book to read and the more books that contain anecdotes about car racing the better.
Positive aspects of this book.
It was to the point, the chapters were short and quick and could be very beneficial for pickup and reading in short bursts.
The writing is descriptive and enjoyable, especially if you are a car racing fan. There are quite a few fantastic points that are described via vignettes of racing. These true applications are what makes this book good.
The conclusion does a nice job of summarizing all of the points that the author has.
Specific examples of aging and exercise were some of the more unique features of this book and I thought are very helpful to those seeking to better themselves.
I also enjoyed the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, though in the end they do trend towards fortune cookie.
The negative portions of this book.
Some of the explanations are a bit too shallow. Providing one example of a complex set of interactions as proof is certainly anecdotal. There's also a pretty large group of literature that explores a lot of the concepts that he speaks about, and I think a bit more in-depth research would have helped shore up his arguments. I think however that is likely not the point of this book and so while I count it as a negative, I don't think it was ever the intent of this book.
There were a couple of phrases or portions that were repeated a bit more often than they should have been in the book. Such as the top speed of 180 mph. And the discussion about racing at different times. This could be to allow the reader to pick up and read a chapter as a standalone chapter, but I believe in the introduction that was not the intent of the book.
I do not think that this book provides any Earth shattering additional insights on self-organization or self-actualization that does not already exist in other literature. That is not necessarily a bad thing, If I hadn't spent the last year of my life reading about complex systems, as well as systems theory, and organizational leadership I think this book would have been more revelatory.
Finally, the book covers so many different topics I think it would have been better for it to scope down and expand on perhaps for five different things versus everything. Which in my mind turns this book into more of a fortune cookie.
To be clear I still really liked it and I enjoyed reading it, it was not a difficult book to read and the more books that contain anecdotes about car racing the better.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews