Wide Awake: The Future Is Waiting Within You

by Erwin Raphael McManus

The alarm sounds. Your feet hit the floor and carry you into another day. But what does that day hold for you? Will you be punching your card at work, catching up on TV at home, and crashing into bed before you rinse and repeat the next day? Or will you dare to dig deep and discover the incredible potential lying dormant within us all?

In Wide Awake, renowned speaker and church visionary Erwin Raphael McManus challenges us to put an end to all the sleepwalking and settling, for each of us was created by God for a reason. He has called you to live as Jesus did—a heroic life, void of monotony, teeming with danger, adventure, and the unknown. Living wide awake is about realizing that the world desperately needs you to live up to your potential.

There is a future that needs to be created, and it is waiting for us all to wake up and get out of bed. The alarm has sounded, and it is time to shake off the slumber.

It’s time to live, to create, to imagine, to dream . . . Wide Awake.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity, Personal Development, Spirituality, Inspirational

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Erwin Raphael McManus is an iconoclast known as a cultural pioneer for his integration of creativity and spirituality. He is an artist, entrepreneur, and cultural thought leader who is also the founder of MOSAIC, a community of faith in Los Angeles California. Known for their innovation, creativity, and artistry, MOSAIC has been named one of the most influential and innovative churches in America.

Engaging such issues as culture, creativity, change, and leadership, Erwin is widely known as a thought-provoking communicator, poet, and wordsmith. His travels have taken him to over 50 countries and he has spoken to over a million people from a wide variety of audiences, from professional sports, Wall Street investors, universities, film studios, and conferences across the world.

McManus is the author of Soul Cravings, Chasing Daylight, and other leading books on spirituality and creativity. His newest book is The Artisan Soul: Crafting your Life into a Work of Art.

Erwin Raphael McManus sees the imagination as the principle vehicle through which we create a better self, a better world, and a better future. He argues that creativity is both uniquely human and the essence of human uniqueness. Creativity, McManus contends, is a natural expression of our spirituality. When we are most fully alive we create out of love all that is good and beautiful and true.

Erwin has a BA in psychology from UNC Chapel Hill, a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Southeastern University.

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are approximately seven billion people on the face of planet earth; with each person holding immense, untapped potential. "Wide Awake" encourages readers to be the best version of themselves, "dreamers" , and to stop living complacent lives. The book flows in a step-by-step chapter process; with each chapter informing you with tools to help you eventually be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be. According to McManus, "You can't just sit back and hope that the life you long for will simply come to you" (5)

Personally, I enjoyed this book very much and I would recommend "Wide Awake" to anyone not satisfied with the life that they are living. Each chapter in this book guides you step-by-step into living a life with meaning and purpose. When I finished reading this book, I felt inspiration in a way that I usually didn't get from reading a book; Wide Awake changed the way I view life and inspired me to strive to be the best version of myself that I can be. "Sometimes the life God dreams for us takes a lifetime to pass. Great lives that are born out of great dreams often come through great sacrifice and great suffering" (12)

[Diana Nagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked up this book I planned on selling it not reading it. When i started reading the first page I continued on to the next then the next and the next and the next..,I couldn't stop it was so great! I heartily give this book a 5 star rating. It's a book I could read over and over again and enjoy anew each time. The information contained within is not only informative it is entertaining and even more: extremely motivating. It changed my day and in fact my week around. I even took the advice of another book by Julia Cameron and took up her advice to begin my morning pages. Four days later I'm still doing them! And I think it all started by reading this book! So go ahead don't waste your time looking for a book. Go to Amazon and read the first few pages of the inside of the book and try to NOT want to order it. Please read it. It's very important and essential to your having a great future!

[Analie · Rating 4 out of 5]

McManus is a great motivational writer. Using the analogy of good skiing, he encourages people to approach life and its challenges in the same vein - "lean forward, don't shrink back." I felt energized by his writing style and would recommend this book for anyone feeling stuck, distracted, or wanting to recover their joy and purpose.

[Dan]

Great book. Insights galore. Very timely.

[Izzy Corbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific inspirational read! I definitely want to reread this book to reflect on some of the passages. I can definitely relate to many of the stories that Mr. McManus presents.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I usually like very few of the inspirational Christian authors, mostly because of Simon Chan's observation that much of Christian devotional literature is theologically weak (while much theological literature is also devotionally weak). Many books are filled with platitudes, meager exegesis, and tepid insights, all the while slathered with generous helpings of pop psychology that makes them little more than self-help manuals.

For some reason--and I can't quite put my finger on it--I connect with McManus more than with most others in this genre. Perhaps it's more his selected topics than his actual writing style that intrigues me. (Especially in this book, I found some of his attempts at maintaining a "conversational" tone to his writing rather annoying.) However, I came away with an odd dozen or so REALLY pithy phrases and quotes that were, all things considered, profound.

I suppose what I liked most about this book is its unique anthropological assumptions. Most Christian books about "living your dream" are undercut by the premise of innate human rottenness (thank you, John Calvin). As such, the human role in the world is reduced to passive spectator of divine action. In McManus' calculus of dream-fulfillment, human choice and action are REAL factors, alongside divine grace and providence. This book is as much a call to human responsibility as to human submission to God's will for us.

Perhaps for some, the book's claims will be too generic. At points, it seems that it could be a book for budding entrepreneurs as much as for beginning Christians. Perhaps this is intentional: I think McManus would be THRILLED if a person's journey into the Christian faith inspired them to launch a new business enterprise. However, for me, this played as part of the book's strength, not a glaring weakness.

I also am aware that many other will probably give this book a much lower rating than I have. Part of the reason that I enjoyed this work by McManus is probably because it's been a good while (several years) since I read the last book by McManus. And in between, I've finished a doctoral thesis. Part of my enjoyment of this book, then, is clearly that it presented me a nice break from the much heavier reading I've been doing in the past year or so.

With all those provisos on the table, though, this is still a good book, filled with good Scripturally-based insights and clear challenges to be our best "imaginary" selves for the service of God's Kingdom!

[Laura Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started a new book "Wide Awake" by Erwin McManus and it's helping me bring clarity to what God has put in our hearts. He says our lives will always be limited by the size of our dreams and that sometimes the limitations we are willing to accept establish the boundaries of our existence. I feel to often we let people define our dreams for us in that we allow them to resize them for us by pointing out their perceived view of our circumstances, limitations and abilities. We also listen to the voice inside that will tell us we can't do it because we're not worthy, too old, not talented, etc. If God has given you a dream, go for it, there is nothing more devasting to a human spirit than to quit dreaming.

We all know the story of Joseph and how it took him decades to see the fulfillment of his dreams. I always thought he spoke out of school by telling his dreams to his brothers. This only caused them to resent him and consequently sell him into slavery. We have, as a whole, just assumed that was God's plan all along in order to achieve the outcome. But what if it wasn't that it took that long to fulfill the dreams but that it took that long to make the dreamer, to make him the man God intended him to be. I know Joseph told the brothers that what they meant for evil God meant it for good, but we know that God can use things meant for evil to His advantage. Romans 8:28

"When God gives you a dream, he raises the bar." He wants you to expand your horizons. [side note, the last show I worked on was "Raising The Bar" :-) ironic.] We are going for the dream we believe God has placed in our hearts and in spite of all the obstacles, I'm excited. I know it can only succeed if He is in it and I know that I know that this is of Him. How?, only He knows.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring. The first third of the book was the most challenging for me. His points about being satisfied with a good life, instead of sacrificing for the sake of God's best for you are something I think the church (myself included) could stand to learn and risk for. Unfortunately it does fall victim, like many books created from series of lectures, to a tendency to repeat the same things over and again. If you took out any phrases involving "awakening the hero within you", I think the book's length would be halved. Not to be nit-picky, but I even found a few obvious typos where it looks like an editor relied a bit too much on spellchecker. Ouch.

[Natalya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of us live in a context of comfort, and it has become easy for us to settle for safe rather than to disturb the status quo. If you are living a life you dont want to live, the great danger is to accept boredom and monotony as normal. If you're not living the life of your dreams, if you wake up with that little bit of sadness in the mornings because you know you're underachieving, living a life of mediocrity, and choosing average, it's easy to blame everyone else for your condition. Especially when your condition is really good, but not the dream God has for you. You're not called to settle for the good life; you are called to a life of greatness.

[Linda Koski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this about 4 years ago. It's an excellent read (and I won't go into its mechanics etc.). The moment I finished it, I was ready to change the world, so I started by changing my world. Since then I have left a profession that was wilting my spirit, and have embraced my creativity in its entirety. Entrepreneurship has also followed. I am still working on letting go more social conformities/expectations and selfish desires to bring me to fully trusting in my Lord God for provisions, and so far he's promised and delivered. It's only me that stands in the way for the rest!

Let this book be YOUR spring board, your wake up tool!

[Ritchie Pruehs · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the interest of full disclosure, I listened to the entire sermon series of this title; I have not read the book. The sermon series was one of the best series I've ever listened to by Erwin (and I listen to his podcast every week). It helped me consider that God might have a dream for me that is bigger than I've ever dared to think about. But more importantly, this series helped me realize that in order to pursue that dream, I must be totally caught up in it. If this book is one quarter as good as the sermon series, it's fantastic!!!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. It is important to thoughtfully consider how God uniquely designed you, and if you are living the dreams that God had for you. This will make your life extraordinary and full of passion. It is up to all of us to make the world a better place. Imagine what the world would be like if we all realized our unique gifts and put them into action. I saw the author speak not too long ago, and he was amazing! Enjoy!

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Particularly the chapter entitled 'Invest' which is about relational intelligence and the importance of investing in people. McManus has a way of cutting through religiosity and getting to the core of an issue or idea. He is not afraid to think outside the lines of traditional evangelical Christianity... something which I appreciate. I'm not sure that 'Wide Awake' was my favorite of his books... but it was certainly worth reading.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Wide Awake for some simple reasons. First, if you have ever heard the author Erwin McManus speak and enjoyed with the great visions he casts, this book would open your thoughts and entertain you with like type stories. Second, Erwin has a artistic creative side both in his life and stories that bring deep meanings that I rarely find in other authors. And last, Erwin is funny and the stories he tells are great stories. You probably need to wake up so this is a great place to start.

[Brian]

Last two chapters were especially good...At times I thought Christians would disagree with him on dreams, but I don't...I think I'm going to have to read the whole book again there was plenty for the mind to digest. Made me think and imagine again i don't think there is much more you can ask of a book

[Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book offers some good thoughts and some excellent encouragement. but the one thing i took away from this more than any other was the idea that in order to bring one beautiful dream to life, you may have to put 1000 other just as beautiful dreams to death. that's simply the cost of really going after something.

[Warren Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book calls people to wake up and realize their need to recognize their surroundings, the call of God, and act. He focuses on 8 verbs dream, discover, adapt, expect, focus, create, enjoy, and invest. He isn't very expository in his writing. This book is aimed towards young Christians who are not yet involved in ministry or who have a narrow and limited view of their ministry.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far this is a great book about reaching the potential that God gives each of us. My only complaint so far is that I've found many typos. Other than that the book is great and is really helping me :-)

[Sheri-lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

In case anyone is wondering why I switched my rating...
I thought about giving it 3 stars initially but was in a more generous mood and gave it 4--but upon further consideration I don't think it ranks in with the other books that I "really like". Just FYI. Nothing serious.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is challenging and yet very easy to read. If you have ever heard Erwin McManus speak then you can hear his passion, sarcasm, and easy story telling ability throughout this book based in scripture but not so "churchy" you can't recommend to all!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit I was skeptical about this one at first (it seems a little new-agey from the description), but the more I got into the book, the more I enjoyed it and the more sense it made. I'm looking forward to delving into it in more depth with my Bible Study group!

[Curtis Stephens]

Erwin McManus encourages us to pursue the greatness that's within us through dreaming, imagining, exploring, by reinventing ourselves, facing our challenges, focusing, creating, enjoying life, and investing in others. Discover the potential you have.

[Francis M. Prensa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a few years back, it feels amazing to read this book again, it will always be my go to book, as a reminder that it's ok to have bold dreams, pray bold prayers, and it's ok to pursue this dreams! Dream wide awake!

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book by McManus. I must re-read it again. It did not grab like some of his others.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love McManus and the first chapter does not disappoint.

[Kristyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

McManus helped teach me how to live and dream again. I liked it very much for that. He writes like the visionary he is, so if you like things all linear, you may not care for McManus' books.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dream big.

[Jessica]

this book is changing my life right now.

[Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

very inspiring! it's one book i would love to re-read and re-read. it's amazing how the book author pierces awaken your deepest dreams and stirs you to pursue them with passion.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Erwin McManus about living the life of your dreams. Not only the life of your dreams but the life you are destined to live.