This is the Thing: About Life, Joy, and Owning Your Purpose

by Shane Jackson

When it feels like there is something missing in life, it’s time to dig deep.

Maybe you are at a point in your life where you feel accomplished, but underneath it all, you know something is missing. Maybe you don’t feel fulfilled. Maybe you’re just going through the motions. Or maybe you are unsettled and in search of some meaning, some purpose, and ultimately, some joy.

In This Is the Thing, intention enthusiast Shane Jackson takes a deep dive into the answers that elude us to get at the heart of both why and how we can find purpose and experience joy. He delivers insights into every corner of our lives—from relationships to the choices we make to how we spend our time. Chapter by chapter, he offers experience, intuition, perspective, and reflection on specific slices of life, leaving the listener with gems that illuminate an actionable path to fulfillment.

Genres: Self Help

264 pages, Hardcover

Published January 28, 2025

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off thank you to Shane Jackson and Greenleaf audiobooks for giving me an advanced audio copy of This is the Thing. I was slightly reluctant to listen to this book just because self help books usually have a very monotone to them being read by someone other than the author. The fact Shane himself was the narrator was very intriguing to me because who better to read the tone of a book than the person who wrote it.

When it comes to self help books, this one may top my list of favorites I’ve read and the Body Keeps the Score has held that spot for me for well over a few years now. I truly love how though out the chapters he takes lessons he has learned throughout his years of listening to speakers, going to conventions and just LEARNING about life in general. What better way to teach others how to find their purpose than with trying to find your own in the mean time. Shane does not give a definitive answer on what the purpose of life is as much as he says life’s purpose is a combination of factors. What you do for others, how you impact people around you, how they impact you, friendships, relationships, self care, working, hobbies etc.

I truly appreciate when there is a lot of information put into a book that doesn’t feel like you’re just listing facts you found online, and I truly felt this book was able to do that in each chapter. Certain times it was lessons about finding your life motto or just questioning what you do on a daily basis that could be keeping you from even being able to see your potential.

I would absolutely recommend this audiobook to any and all my friends and family. I found myself talking about it and still bringing it up to others as I was finishing reading. Will 100% be grabbing a physical copy on release day!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In This the Thing, Shane Jackson discussed how we can discover our purpose and find joy in life. He begins the book by exploring the topic we all hate to think about and our afraid to discuss. This is death. We don’t like to go to funeral and we don’t care to be reminded of our sadness. In life, we are meant to pause and enjoy the rituals such as marriage, an achievement, or an event. He shared how a funeral is for the living. We are faced with the notion to take better care of ourselves, we need to call someone more often, pondering what people will say about us when we are gone, all of this causes us to ponder and reexamine our lives. We can instead choose to cherish every moment.


There is a chapter discussing mantra and exercises on how on have a clear statement on bringing decisions into your life. This takes readers through a journey on writing down your life, including stories, interviewing yourself, conducting a rule book, listing your strengths, exploring the different seasons, and lastly learning how to leave a legacy. This chapter was very beneficial in learning to make the most in your life and to discovering your mantra and to leave a legacy.


I would recommend this awesome book to anyone who is ready to live out their purpose and to go after a life they want to live. He encouraged readers not to settle for anything less than the best life has to offer. He wants to help us live in the moment and to focus on what truly matters in life.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I want to thank Shane Jackson, Greenleaf Book Group Press and Netgalley to let me listen this audio book in exchange of an honest review.

I always find myself having problems while reading Self-help books, as I disconect a lot and end up not finishing them, so I though listening an audio book would be my best solution, and it was! At least in my case, I was able to visualise situations and understand what was being communicated much easily.

A positive point in this book is that Shane explains every word and gives you an event or story to fully understand where is he coming from and how to apply his advices. Sadly, maybe the differences between myself and the author, made some of this situations difficult to connect.

Last but not least, I had to comment on the audio, I find some parts of the audio book super expresive and engaging while others were more cut at the end of the words and transmitted less emotion. I don't know if this robotic style was done on purpose and I understand that it is difficult for a narrator (that in this case was the author himself) to be able to mantain a super constant voice acting at the same time, but I thought it was worth commenting to take it into account for future projects.

To conclude, I want to thank Shane for writing this, although I realise that may not be "my" self-help book, I enjoyed the expirience and I am sure many people would resonate with you and found help in your words.

[Kristen Jauregui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge thanks to Shane Jackson and Greenleaf Audiobooks for the advanced audio copy of This Is the Thing. I was initially hesitant—many self-help audiobooks fall flat when narrated by someone other than the author. But hearing Shane read his own words made a huge difference—it felt genuine, engaging, and personal.

This might be one of my favorite self-help books to date—up there with The Body Keeps the Score. Shane weaves together life lessons from personal experiences, conventions, and years of learning, without ever pretending to have all the answers. Instead, he explores life’s purpose as something multifaceted rooted in connection, growth, service, and self-reflection.

The content never felt like recycled advice. Each chapter offered practical insights, from uncovering your life motto to rethinking daily habits that might be limiting your potential.

I’ve already recommended this to friends and family, and I’ll definitely be grabbing a physical copy on release day!

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was an interesting listen and I enjoyed the premise of this book. Having been listening to some within this genre of recent this one as an audiobook just didn’t quite express anything of any extraordinary significance or substance for me. This is one that may be better in a hard copy as at times it did feel there was a lack of emotion where some statements were rather curt and monotone making it a little difficult to engage with.

With that being said the information was still there and not lacking in the message being positive and forthcoming in positive mindset.

I appreciate the opportunity to listen to this ELC from NetGalley & Greenleaf Audiobooks in return for this review 🙏🏽📚🎧

[Hannah Strouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes so many of my favorite lessons and ties them together perfectly to talk about our purpose and how/why we choose to do the things that take us closer or further away.
Thanks for allowing me to ARC read.