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, 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.

[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.

[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?

[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.

[Wendy Giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[Tony Green]

Wonderful read.

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to love listening to Ben- because I have listened to so much of his back catalogue it didn’t feel like anything new was really addressed in this. That being said, I still enjoyed it.

[Paul Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncluttered and down to earth, this is a slice of wisdom from one of the world's truly decent individuals.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good. A bit of Brene and Oprah and a few other spiritual leaders put together.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Crowe educates through story telling, his own and of others or his work.
A must read for everyone, especially those in high performance environments.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brilliant, there are so many concepts that I will read it again to get the full benefit.

[Emma Mckie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you only read one book in your adulthood, make it this one. That’s all.