Book Review: The Shift

Posted on March 2, 2010 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Book,Review

Today is the release of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s new book: The Shift: Taking Your Life from Ambition to Meaning. A book designed to help us move from ego-centered living to living with a better purpose, it is a small book packed with information.

Don’t let the size of the book deceive you: at a little over a hundred pages, this is by no means an easy read for someone looking to understand the full extent of Dr. Dyer’s meaning. Yet it is eloquently written, with quotes pulled from many cultures sprinkled throughout. The book has four chapters: From, Ambition, To, and Meaning.

Chapter 1: From

In this chapter, Dr. Dyer talks about his theory of where we all come from. I’ll be honest: it was a difficult chapter to read. I was not convinced by his “support” of his theory of what we are before being; I feel that just because many people write to support the same opinion, it doesn’t make it true. But Dr. Dyer is certainly knowledgeable, and this gives it enough credence to build the rest of the book.

Chapter 2: Ambition

The chapter on Ambition is not about the blind drive entirely. Dr. Dyer talks about how we are trained, by society, at birth, to achieve great things. Yet more possessions, more status, better opinions and such don’t necessarily lead to happiness.

Chapter 3: To

At some point in our lives we will hopefully realize that life is not about being selfish. In the chapter To, Dr. Dyer talks about this transition point.

Chapter 4: Meaning

In this final chapter, Dr. Dyer discusses what else there is out there, and how a life of service connects us with each other and our source.

Summary

I liked this book, because it does focus on a way to get more meaning out of life. After spending hours struggling through that first chapter, though, I think I would have been better off seeing the movie.

I agreed to review the book on the basis of its title, thinking that this might help the readers of the blog in a practical way. However, unless you are looking for a way to make rather large changes in your life, this isn’t the book for you. This book talks about big things in a big way.