A Good Read - “Mind Shift ~ You Don’t Have To Be A Genius To Think Like One”
By Erwin Raphael McManus


Jess and I are passionate about and deeply committed to personal growth and mindset management and are voracious consumers of all media types covering the subject. We recently came across a gem covering that subject that made a deep impression on both of us.
In “Mind Shift ~ You Don’t Have To Be A Genius To Think Like One” Erwin McManus draws upon his 30 plus years as a mind, life, and cultural architect and an award-winning author and artist to identify 13 key Mind Shifts the reader should implement to destroy their internal limitations and reach their true potential, regardless of where they may be along their own journey at their time of reading through this concise, yet content-rich 158 pages of lovingly crafted, real-life examples of each of the 13 Mind Shifts. The book is a unique view into the human heart and spirit. McManus immediately piques the curiosity of the reader by beginning with Mind Shift #0 “Change Your Mind” and skillfully draws the readers through all 13 culminating with Mind Shift #12 “There’s No Such Thing as Too Much of A Good Thing”. Rest assured, all 13 “Mind Shifts” pack an equally powerful punch that have incredibly transformative potential once implemented.

If you are a growth minded person in a leadership position professionally (we all are) or an individual human determined to unlock the potential in yourself or those you love, we highly recommend “Mind Shift ~ You Don’t Have To Be A Genius To Think Like One” by Erwin McManus.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is a book everyone should read because it offers perspective as well as nuggets on how to succeed. It tackles the old question on how one can succeed as well as how to stay successful. Erwin shares his wisdom in twelve mental frameworks . My favorite takeaway is that who you are is not what you do when people are watching but what you do when the world isn't watching Everyone should read this book!

"Mind Shift" by Erwin Raphael McManus is a compelling and transformative work that beckons the reader to embark on a journey of personal evolution. The book is the culmination of McManus' personal journey and marks a significant pivot from his private work to a broader public audience. His life's work, deeply rooted in his experiences as a social entrepreneur, community developer, and faith leader, has revolved around aiding others in overcoming internal limitations and achieving their full potential.

McManus, through his profound insights, invites readers to challenge their internal constructs, which he argues are often the largest obstacles to their success and personal growth. He emphasizes the power of the mind in shaping our reality, asserting that mental structures can either confine us to failure or unlock untapped potential and capability. This theme is woven throughout the book as McManus offers twelve "mind shifts" – transformative ideas and perspectives meant to help readers identify and dismantle self-limiting beliefs and construct a framework for success.

What makes "Mind Shift" stand out is its balance of theoretical insight and practical wisdom. McManus draws on his diverse experiences, from working with people in extreme poverty to advising high-capacity entrepreneurs, to offer a nuanced understanding of human potential and transformation. His message is clear: change begins from within, and reshaping one's mindset is pivotal to unlocking personal and professional fulfillment.

The book is particularly recommended for those who find themselves at a crossroads, whether in their personal lives or professional careers. It speaks to the entrepreneur, the dreamer, the innovator, and anyone who aspires to transcend their current circumstances. McManus’ narrative is both a call to action and a guide, urging readers to harness their imagination as a tool for creating their future, rather than being ensnared by the illusions of their current realities.

McManus tells stories. That's his writing style in this book. This is a book for readers who are encouraged most effectively by reading stories of the success of others. While he does identify 12 mind shifts needed to break through limiting beliefs, he writes about them in a very conversational way.

This is not a book containing bullet points nor strategic steps to success nor reflective or stimulating questions to answer. McManus writes of his own success and the success of others having no plan at all for that success. He just did not let the lack of experience or expertise stop him. He is very encouraging but mapping out the journey will be up to the reader to figure out.

This is a book for readers who are ready to make changes in beliefs and already have a strategy figured out. This book will be an encouragement for the self disciplined and self directed.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

I had no idea what this book was about when I launched into it.

I was expecting it to be a business book, to be honest. This book turned out to be completely different. It was written by someone who has such varied experiences including running a church and consulting for Fortune 500 companies.

This was a short book (under 100 pages) written in a clean and concise style. The author shares a few tips and anecdotes and asks us to reframe our thinking in a few ways. I liked the writing style.

I received a free copy of this from NetGalley. This doesn't impact my opinion in any way.

"TRANSFORM YOUR THINKING. TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE."

This is not your typical leadership or business book. You won't find handy productivity hacks, managerial advice, or tips on influencing people. But it will change your life, and you'll be a better leader, entrepreneur, communicator, and person because of it.

Erwin does a spectacular job at convincing even the hardest self-critic that they were built for more. More success. More impact. More courage. More meaningful relationships. More self-worth. More character.

This book is a call to greatness. A rallying cry for those tired of living a life of mediocrity. A tool to break through the "ceiling" in your life. A way to "destroy your internal limitations." And it all begins with a Mind Shift.

This book is written by a public facing person who openly shares the inner compass that brought him into all of our lives, even I, would gate-keep. In a day where sacred things are overlooked and the mundane are amplified. This book is treasure.

MIND SHIFT by Erwin Raphael McManus was an unexpected delight. Straightforward and wonderfully written, McManus shares insights and expertise gained the hard way as leader of Mosaic church and in life. As a guide, he is compassionate, self-deprecating in the right way, and authoritative regarding what works and the hard yet foundational work that is required to live a clear, purposeful, and meaningful life. The chapter of contents alone lays out the simple and tough road, but the stories and examples bring to life what could feel righteous and pedantic, but instead feels immediately actionable and personal. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

A small book which contains examples and mind shift focus areas. It has had a faith element running through it. Not for me - it didn’t contain enough depth in the areas of focus suggested. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy

"Mindshift" flips the optics of thought through a paradoxical front aerial! "You don't need to know what to see nearly as much as you need how to see." That's from futurist and cultural icon Erwin Raphael McManus who shares his genius level game in simple tenets. From "Talent is a Hallucinogen," to "No One Knows What They Are Doing," McManus excavates hidden wisdom and casts light through his six decades of life experience.
What can you learn from running through a glass window on a Hollywood movie shoot? How about dealing with drug dealers and gang bangers? Or designing clothing for the first time? McManus works to decimate the condition of "almost." He says, "We almost risk for love. We almost pursue our dreams. We almost overcome our fears. We almost live the life we long for." Then, 13 chapters later, he leaves you with pure poetry--to radically upend your mindset for one of unlimited potential. Screen shots of the last pages will stay on my phone from this day forward!

This is an excellent book about the power we give our thoughts. We often give others power over us by allowing them to control how we feel. This book tells you how to write your own story. Highly recommend.

I've read a few books written earlier by McManus. This one seemed a bit of a departure from the others. This one was more ego centric in my opinion. For someone who is usually not this way, this one seemed to be a bit too much of a humble brag for my taste. The principles all center around the author's opinions passed on as facts. While that is ok for a book, it's just not what I have come to expect from this author. Some of the principles are solid and some seem to be a stretch. The book is worth the read even if you don't agree with everything the author writes.

This is quick book with plenty to say. Twelve mindshifts are presented that can apply to any readers that are looking for some motivation and ideas for perseverance.

The book explores the power of the mind. Your life journey begins with your thinking and the understanding what makes life meaningful. It’s up to you if you want to settle in your life or if you want your life to be fulfilling journey. It takes courage to create what you dream about. Thus, you need to surround yourself with people who will cheer you on as you risk and grow.

What makes your life memorable? It’s the people you encounter. Life is about experiences, not accumulating things. Some people will come into your life and then leave. That’s part of the journey. “If you choose a life of continuous progress, you will lose more people from your life than you will keep.”

The book explores the mind sets that you need to understand in order to thrive in your life.

What you wish for is what you need to become first. If you crave adventure, then you need to get on the road and you’ll meet like-minded people.

There are some limitations that you put on yourself or others put on you. For example, you’re not good enough for this or that. Many proved those limitations wrong. You need to break the shackles of such limitations and take responsibility for your actions.

Some of us were born with a talent, but that doesn’t guarantee success. It’s the drive, discipline and work we put into it.

When it comes to an idea to do something, just do it even if you don’t have a clear vision. It will eventually lead you to somewhere. The main point is you don’t need some kind of structured vision from the start to succeed at something.

Traumatic experiences can have two results, for one it can lead to bitterness, for another it can create internal structure for success. It is up to you how you respond.

The book explores those mind sets and more with supporting experiences of others. How they changed or progressed in their lives as their thinking changed. It is written engagingly with good flow. It’s a fast and fascinating read that can have a positive impact on many.

Are we limiting ourselves from our true potential? In a difficult, drudgery, and sometimes discouraging world, we need inspiration to drive us forward. The author begins with a pessimistic question, "Are people simply structured for failure?" He then questions this very statement with a more optimistic angle, that perhaps, the problem is not the question but more about how we push back against such skepticism. While that is one big emphasis, author McManus's reason for writing this book is to promote" Mental health, mental clarity, mental toughness, and mental agility." In a surprising twist in his reflection on the popular Zombie series of movies, he notes that while most people see the zombies as the real problem, the uninfected ones fleeing or battling the zombies might be the ones who are "consumed by fear, hate, greed, and power." Violence inflicted by humans might even be worse than the zombies. Just like how the issue flips from zombies to humans, readers need to do a mind flip as well. This sets the stage for readers to journey through the 12 mind shifts. What does it take to make a mind shift? McManus shows us the way. In a book about the mind, he begins with the mind. In a world infatuated with achievements, materialism, and success, the first shift reminds us that people should be a priority. Success means nothing if we lose our friends. Learn to treasure our relationships more than using them as a means to our ends. The second shift has to do with fame or the downsides of pursuing fame. Just learn to show up for people you care for, without the pressure of needing fame to fan that desire. The third shift is not to let ourselves be defined by the number of people following us. Losing people is part and parcel of all forms of leadership. Our inner circle of people will always be faithful supporters. The fourth shift deals with the need to demonstrate what we teach, practice what we preach, and do what we say. Most people won't be able to concretize what we say until they see the principle demonstrated in our lives. Moving along, the fifth shift is about self-limitations. Our mental toughness is related to this. The ceiling in our lives is not about what others place on us, but what we place upon ourselves. Sometimes the way to overcome any form of ceiling is to learn to take one step at a time, one floor at a time, and one building at a time. The sixth shift deals with seeing talent as a "hallucinogen." Far too many people fall prey to the belief that only the talented can succeed in life. This is something quite crippling to anyone because definitions of talent can differ so widely. Shift from such a mindset to one of character. The seventh shift is not to assume successful people all had a strategy or plan to begin with. It is simply to learn and adapt to opportunities as they open to us. many of the so-called successful people had absolutely no idea what they were going to do. The key here is to learn to shift from a crippling form of idealistic presumption that prevents us from doing what we could do. The eighth shift is to accept rather than avoid. We cannot continue to live simply by avoiding hurts. Problems are part and parcel of life. McManus then draws on the subject of forgiveness, showing us that unforgiveness is probably one of the most limiting things we can ever do to ourselves. Nine, we are encouraged to shift from being discouraged by incompetence to being inspired by competent people around us. He urges us not to expect others to be different first. Place that expectation on ourselves first. The tenth shift takes us back to our regular educational environment to remind us of the importance of focus. We tend to be average in most things but once we find out our core skills, we can focus on developing that. More importantly, be great in the things that really matter to us. For everything else, don't be too stressed over them when we cannot achieve greatness in them. The last two shifts are essentially attempts to summarize many of the concepts dealt with in the previous chapters. Like some life lessons that the author has learned, they highlight the importance of character, family, generosity, integrity, teachability, etc.

My Thoughts
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Books like this are nothing new. The topic of self-actualization and achieving our dreams is an evergreen one. Philosophers like Abraham Maslow have given us a pyramid that maps out our hierarchy of needs. Motivational speakers like Tony Robbins, Chris Gardner, and many others teach us how to get the best out of ourselves. The Catholic writer, Matthew Kelly writes his bestselling books of different titles to simply this single message: "Becoming the Best of Yourself." Even evangelicals like John Ortberg also preach the same message to help us be "The Me I want to be." This ubiquitous need summarizes the reasons why so many people continue to give seminars or write books about it. What is there to stop another one from jumping on this bandwagon? Nothing. In fact, the world cries out for more such resources. Thus, the key reason why people would buy this book is precisely because of this: Motivational. However, the purpose of writing this book is more than motivational. It is about improving our mental resilience. From IQ to EQ, the key phrase now is MQ (Mental Quotient). In a post-covid era, books about mental health will continue to be welcomed. For that matter, there is definitely a place for this book to help build some form of mental toughness in an increasingly tough economic and spiritual climate.

I must admit. One of my first musings about this book is how "Christian" it is. Not all of the twelve shifts are explicitly Christian, but some of them do show us traits of Christlikeness. Such as the Golden Rule to do to others what we want others to do to us. Another is the need to build character and the beauty of generosity. In fact, the desire to do well in life dovetails into the Christian teaching of stewarding our talents diligently and faithfully. McManus knows what it means about the futility of success. As a popular public speaker, he has experienced the difficulty of building his platform, and also the futility of worldly success. That said, he provides pretty insightful teachings about life in general. Teachings such as success are not the pinnacle of life but the magnifier of what is already in us. He teaches us to question even the most widely accepted premises, and not to swallow them all lock, stock, and barrel. There are a lot more interesting nuggets that one can gain when reading this book.

In summary, this book is a collection of personal learning by the author. If you are a fan of McManus, buying this book is a no brainer. If not, maybe, one or more of the mind shifts could get you thinking. If you just want to challenge yourself to the next level, this book should help you do just that.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Convergent Books (an Imprint of Random House) via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

I received a copy of this book for review. As always it is an excellent book by Erwin McManus.

Not a difficult read, but loaded with content to make even the best take a second look.

The book explores 12 mindsets McManus feels are essential if you plan to be successful— as a human being. McManus Is a business man, film director, mentor and coach, and pastor. He knows the terrain.

Very highly recommended.

Excellent. I thought this short book might be considered self help, but this has a different flavor, and might be more like great philosophy that can be applied. I knew nothing about this author, and I'm very impressed. There's nothing new here, but it is presented in an effective, conversational way. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free copy for review!!

★★★★★ The publisher provided a copy for review
Erwin R. McManus is hardly new on the coaching or pastoral scene. He's know for his passionate pursuit of creative communication and encouraging others. He's done a lot of things already - movies, church, fashion, etc.

In this latest book, he reviews internal-mental shifts that lead to success and a full happy life of service. They include a focus on people, integrity, knowing that even the best relationships may be seasonal, the importance of hard work, and much more.

It's hardly ground-breaking or cutting edge new information. Rather, it is an essential summary of 12 core values that are often ignored in current culture.

I listened to it twice, and that's the first book I've done that with in years - because I didn't want to miss the lessons. I took notes. I'm going to pass it on to the people I mentor and share it with my mentors.

Erwin Raphael McManus' profile terms him a mind, life and cultural architect. A well acclaimed author as well as the founder of and lead pastor in Mosaic, a global spiritual movement, McManus has risen from a humble beginning as an immigrant from El Salvador to a leading humanitarian figure and a creative mind whose clients include the NFL and the Pentagon.

In his latest book -the size of the work makes it more a tract than a book - McManus demonstrates to his readers the unlimited potential and possibilities which an individual can experience if he/she takes some small and incremental steps to bring about a "MindShift". Hence it comes as no surprise that McManus' work is titled "Mind Shift."

McManus sets out a dozen "mental structures" that would usher in a physical, spiritual and mental change in the reader and act as a harbinger of good tidings. McManus lays down the terrain by placing people at the very first mental structure. "Its All About People" has at its nub the need to preserve, maintain and cherish precious relationships. Accumulation of physical and material wealth at the cost of losing people who matter the most, is no achievement.

With real life examples and an easy-on-the-eye narration, McManus devotes, at the maximum, just 5-6 pages per mental structure. "You Can't Take Everyone With You" takes recourse to the author's own life experience to illustrate how hard it is to please everyone and why such an endeavour should not even be attempted. When McManus decided to change the location of his Church Mosaic, to Hollywood Boulevard from Los Angeles, families that otherwise had sworn allegiance to the Church refrained from moving. but ultimately the benefits in terms of empowerment outweighed the costs of loyalties lost.

Conviction, confidence and character form the bedrock of the Mindshift/mental structure titled "You are Your Own Ceiling". Even in the face of the harshest limitations imposed by the world upon one's aspirations, if one was to continue in an unrelenting fashion no success would remain just a dream. As a migrant from El Salvador, McManus was on more occasions than one deemed to be genetically inferior and incapable of demonstrating leadership abilities since he was a "Latino". But he shrugged away all those remarks like a duck shrugging water off its back. He is now a much vaunted and wanted public speaker who has toured more than seventy countries.

"Mind Shift" is an encouraging primer to get one's priorities, programmes and passions back on the right track and to accomplish one's desires. However, such accomplishments should never be at the cost of hurting or wounding the genuine sentiments or feelings of fellow human beings

"Mind Shift" by Erwin Raphael McManus is published by Convergent Books and would be available for purchase from the 3rd of October 2023 (tentatively)

It's fascinating to see the inner structure of gifted and prolific author, speaker, pastor and entrepreneur, Erwin McManus. Learn what makes this creative and generous man so successful and how to create your own brain thought foundation to serve you well, no matter what the specific life avenues you choose. It's an easy, yet profound read with many examples for application and clarity.

I received a complimentary copy of the book without obligation. This review is my opinion.