Welp, before I jump into a bingo card, I should PROBABLY get caught up on my review backlog. <sigh> Here we go!
I initially heard McManus at a conference, and he is a powerful and dynamic speaker. Then a couple friends suggested this as a book club option. I had read (and enjoyed) a couple of his other books, but this one fell a bit flat for me.
The basic premise is to encourage people to not give up on their dreams, passions, and goals. Don’t settle for a generic, bland life – you could be travelling the world, having amazing experiences fall into your lap, etc. You just need to take more risks, pursue your destiny, never settle for mediocrity, and never stop hustling.
Go! Be relentless! No regrets! Don’t stop! Risk more! Go! Go! Go!
To be honest? This book let me feeling exhausted and guilty. He comes at this perspective from a Christian viewpoint, and while that IS the belief system that I’m a part of, I found that he used scripture to make his point, sometimes taking it out of context. His implication is that a BIG life is the goal – that you need to be in the spotlight, doing amazing things that are worthy of a biography being written about you. Big dreams, big goals, big plans, big results. It made me feel lazy and guilty for being content with my small, quiet life. Not to say that this wouldn’t be inspiring for some (my book club was divided pretty much down the middle on whether this was THE. BEST. BOOK. EVER., or whether it was just Meh), but for me, someone with no ambition for fame, it was a miss.
I will say that McManus is an excellent storyteller, and the anecdotes that he sprinkles throughout are entertaining and well written. His own story is amazing, and I enjoy reading it… I just don’t want that life trajectory prescribed for me. 🙂