Where the Light Gets In: Simple, playful and profound perspective shifts to change your life

by Ben Crowe

This book will change your perspective on life - forever.

'A masterclass in wisely defining success and what it means to live a successful life' - ANDRE AGASSI

'If knowledge is power, understanding yourself might just be the biggest superpower of all ... I am so excited for the world to read this book. I absolutely loved it and the world will be in a much better place having learned from him.' ASH BARTY

'Ben Crowe reminds us to play as if our well-being depends on it. It does' - ESTHER PEREL


Ben Crowe is one of the world's most in-demand mindset coaches. In this book, he reveals nine simple-yet-profound perspective shifts that will change the way you see the world and yourself.

Showing how these nine perspective shifts are relevant to every human being, Ben demonstrates how self-compassion, imagination and appreciation can turn adversity into possibility, remove pressure and help us find that elusive balance between confidence and happiness, achievement and fulfillment.

Move from fearful to playful, from human doing to human being, and from fitting in to truly belonging. Even small perspective shifts can lead to massive breakthroughs, creating the freedom to redefine what it means to live a life true to yourself. Because that's where the light gets in.

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Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Personal Development, Psychology

Audible Audio

Published January 28, 2026

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben could publish his grocery list and I would read it!! This man is the king of ah-ha moments and this book is full of them. This is one of those books, that as soon as you finish it, you want to immediately start it over again with a pen in hand! Could not recommend this book more highly if you are on any sort of personal journey for self improvement.

[Adam Niksic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve followed Ben and his mindset coaching since 2020, when COVID had us locked down and podcasts were a daily occurrence. He provided snippets of his expertise through others podcasts and now, fast forward 6 years the time has come. He has parted all his wisdom in one spot. Finally!

Ben helped us thru some dark times and even provided some greater insight into being better humans and having purpose.

His book is a timely reminder that we get to choose how we behave and respond.

There is so much content, I feel it needs to be read a few times to fully appreciate the learnings.

Ben and his approach to tackling life changed us. I hope it does the same for so many others. An incredible read.

[Rachel Coutinho · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many practical tips on how to shift your mindset and live your best life

[Alison Humble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for my sporty kids, especially my teen who massively gets in his head during games.
I found some helpful tips but do feel this book is aimed at athletes which I am not 😅

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
How can I bottle up all the wisdom that Ben Crowe has to share?!

[ML O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book challenges some of our most entrenched assumptions, particularly the pressure we place on ourselves and others through expectation. Ben Crowe’s reframing around goals, self-compassion and play is especially relevant for educators, parents and leaders. Thoughtful, accessible and quietly confronting in the best way.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, but it feels rather targeted towards elite athletes and not teachers...can you tell me more about how to do all of this when dealing with stinky 14 year olds?

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good advice but a lot of similar advice to other books. Lots of sporting references.

[Anna Loder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I had’ve had this in my 20s!!! Such great simple advice…like turn it into play, breathe deep, tell your story…things that I know now really make all the difference. It was also just a great reminder of a book; such a good read a couple of pages in the morning and put them into play through the day because you know how detrimental negative self talk is but humming do you can focus…so clever
Loved it

[Lyndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read your Brené Brown and watched even a couple of episodes of Ted Lasso then I doubt that anything you see in here will blow your socks off, but Ben Crowe has worked with some amazing people and has some wonderful stories to tell (with a beautiful Australian flavour). Why not create a little more inspiration in the world?

[Wendy Giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisdom distilled to apply and uplift. A book to revisit.

[Luke McQuade · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5. Had me in the first half but wasn’t a strong finish. Some great life stories told and valuable lessons to take away. Ben has done some wonderful work in his life so far, I have a feeling his next book will be a 5⭐️

[Jordan Josephine Stunkel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes. The word that kept coming up over and over in my mind as I read this was shallow.

While I did find a few useful nuggets (in the last 43 pages mostly), I felt the majority of this book was poorly written and came off more as a sales pitch for his company (is there a record for number of name drops is a 350 page book? If not, we have a winner!)

I found the author unlikable often- when he spoke about “bikinis” and when we proudly compared the time honored tradition of tribal storytelling to Nike’s marketing campaigns (which seem to be his largest catalyst). I thought that was in poor taste at best and appropriating at worst.

I felt like he told us so much storyline of the TV show Ted Lasso, that it would be a better move to just watch that than read this. Ted Lasso *is* good- inspiring, uplifting- this book just told us how TL was good not a unique perspective.

There was advice in here that exactly opposes advice I’ve received from licensed therapists: living for other people and making you life in their service is one main one. That is something “Crowey” would commend you on and something my therapist warns of. But as my therapist would say, it’s probably a man thing because IN GENERAL men to be reminded to think of others, to be kind, to think of the tribe, and women IN GENERAL are trained from birth to be human givers, we already do that to our detriment. So, nah, I’ll be focusing on how to live my live for me, not for others.

I thought of the movie, A Bug’s Life often while reading this. It is in the best interest of the chosen few to remind the masses that a lot of “this” is out of your control so just accept it and make the best of what you’ve got. When a lot of “this” isn’t acceptable for anyone but the few calling the shots. When I remember that, it makes sense that a man collecting paychecks from big names like Nike wants to tell you, dear reader, to just *accept it* instead of doing anything about it.

Please think critically and remember that the small outnumber the mighty and we don’t have to accept how bullshit things are.

TL:DR I thought this take had privilege written all over it: whiteness, maleness, financial privilege, you name it. There were a few helpful nuggets in the last ~40 pages.

[Hew Parham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I love Ben and in many ways enjoyed this book but I wonder if there was another draft to go a bit deeper in one of two directions. In some ways I enjoyed that the book was more anecdotal and less self-help but I wonder if breaking down the exercises and clarifying them might serve the reader more in illiciting change. Or if it is more of an anecdotal book I wonder if there is another layer deeper in Ben himself that I wanted to know, certainly there are some personal and difficult stories, maybe I wanted to know a bit more where Ben learnt these techniques or what some of his hero journey moments were that lead to these epiphanies. I enjoy sport and the many people Ben works with but I found I wanted to know more about him than all those he's inspired. But it's still a very entertaining solid read and there are some excellent reminders in there.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I got past the "sports team this, sports team that...I work with important rich people" and found the nitty gritty underneath I really loved this book.
It offers really great advice without being condescending, without nullifying people's experiences.
I definitely made some notes that I will be using to shift my perspective.

Well written, and easy to read - after the first chapter or two. I think it could have had a better introduction to the ideas, but that's probably just because I'm not a sports person.

[Dom :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“While our identity is as a human being, in reality we are still human doings. Were not just blobs floating in passive existence, and this isnt an argument to sit in stillness forever.
Were on this planet to create, build, play, love and serve.
The point isn't to reject doing, but to uncouple doing from proving. Then the fun bit is figuring out what our gifts are, so we can spend the limited time we have here giving them away.”

[Augustin Erba · Rating 2 out of 5]

The longest humblebrag I've read in quite a while.
All the stories, riddled with quotes from thinkers he does not seem to have read, are basically stories of him in front of an impressed crowd.
I am happy that he is making a living; good on him.
If I understand the Acknowledgments section correctly, he had a collaborative writer. She must have had an impossible journey with this self-absorbed guy who quotes Ted Lasso as if he were Seneca, and Seneca as if he were Ted Lasso.

[Sally Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given this book at a work training day and it is not something I would normally read. It was a bit self indulgent, maybe better enjoyed by elite athletes and could be summarised as 'watch Ted Lasso'. As Ben says himself "I don't have a client who's not obsessed with winning"; and it comes across in the stories he tells in this book. I did like the quotes of some great thinkers and orators he references.

[CHANTELLE · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for someone who wants to gain an understanding of everyday psychology/philosophy. As someone who is neurodivergent and non-sporty, I couldn’t strongly resonate with parts of the book. I enjoyed the audiobook over the paperback, Ben has a great voice to narrate everything from his perspective. It also felt a bit too long. It is the type of book you can pick up at any chapter though for the key messages.

[Hayden Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautifully written book. Anyone that is a fellow human, should spend time to delve deep into its pages. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own little bubbles, and after reading this, it has opened up my mind to what it truly means to be alive. That life ever so short, can be prolonged with play, purpose and potential. That self-love and courage can bring our insecurities to its knees. We are in control of who we are and who we want to be. It’s up to you, to take the wheel!

[Pip]

Loved the story telling element of this book and the range of high profile stars Ben has helped along the way. It definitely had some key takeaways to store for self use - wasn't the most ground breaking book I've read but there were a few gems in the midst of the pages. Very geared towards professional athlete performance models and thought patterns.

[Colin Ibbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars - not so much for the writing, but the power of the messages within. I know there are many books and people providing professional insights into one’s mindset and changing one’s perspective in a positive direction. But this book must surely be a GREAT PLACE TO START! Clearly described, simple principles blended with real, high performing peoples’ experiences

[Alison Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I just read Ted Lasso’s book?

Good content, nothing really new but certainly powerful ideas on how to shift one’s perspective.
Little slow at time
But I really enjoyed all the sporting and australian references.
I am sure I will revisit this book.

[Jess Spencer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not relate to all the sports references, and didn’t understand what half of it meant. All of the name drops (half of whom I have no idea who they are) were unnecessary and this whole book seemed like a glorified resume, I did not learn a thing.

[Kelsie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I prob could have dnf but I did leave with some highlights- all from other people and not the author himself. Maybe im the problem or ill never take advice from someone who worked with the broncos lol

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️ 1/2
So so so many sports anecdotes. They really did not engage me, even being a sports coach on and off. The audiobook didn’t have chapters, and I couldn’t easily skip the first chapter. There were some interesting parts, but they were not in depth enough for me to actually take on.

[Noah Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Constant perspective shifts, full of motivation and inspiration

[Bianca Stackpole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is another (one of very few) that meets you at your level and relates to you, rather than instruct you. Interesting points on living to thrive on life, not to perform for it!

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Ben Crowe !!

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars