Goodreads 

First Person • NonFiction • 128 Pages

About the Book (Backcover Blurb):

There are 8 key attitude and action shifts that every great leader makes.

From entitlement to honor. From passive to passionate. From unreliable to consistent. Are you willing to make these shifts (and more) and be ready when the “next up” call comes?

The Millennial generation is poised to do something. We can either learn, grow, ask for help, and lead honorably into the future, or we can passively wait, feeling entitled for the keys to eventually be given to us. We can do better than that! Let’s take the initiative and rise to the challenge.

The future will be filled with leadership transitions at not only the highest levels in businesses, churches, and organizations all over the world, but also at regular, everyday places. Who will be ready to lead existing movements, groups, and causes? Or who will be ready to start the new ones?

Using practical, biblical, and contemporary examples and lessons, this book will help existing and burgeoning leaders pinpoint the areas of their lives where they still need to make the shift and learn to lead more effectively.

Why I Choose this Book: 

Because it sounded like a great book. (And happily it was.)

What I Thought about this Book:

The whole time I was reading the book I kept thinking of other people who I wanted to share the book with. I thought of my teenage cousins, especially one who have shown fantastic leadership qualities already. I thought about various parents. I thought about people my own age. All this to say, that although this book mainly geared toward young people, it applies to pretty much everyone. For some reason though, I kept thinking it would resonate extremely well with young guys. This could possibly be because the author wrote in such a personable, friendly way, that I kinda felt like I was sitting there listening to him in person. I don’t know how to explain his style exactly, but I was pretty impressed by it. In fact, I could almost imagine him saying things like “Dude” and “Bro” although in reality, he was eloquent. I know, confusing, right? Okay, let me put it this way: I think “cool” teens and proper parents would both be able to connect with this book and the author. And that’s a hard balance to master.

The purpose of the book is to help the Millennial generation start preparing now to be the leaders that our world needs when it’s time for us to take over the reins. That sounds rather overwhelming, but the author wrote the book in such a way that it felt encouraging instead of impossible. The 8 Shifts the author shared were spot-on and so incredibly needed and helpful for everyone – not just those who one day want to be leaders of a church, country, or business. (Which makes sense, because in reality, most of us are leaders in one capacity or another.)

Next Up was a breeze to read through, although obviously there is so much good information within the pages that need to be studied out and re-read and applied to everyday life. The book made me think that not only could it be read by someone alone, but it’s also one of those books that would be great to read in a group to promote discussions.