Review by Chantal 7 -- The Mindset by Ace Bowers

Chantal 7 · Post by **Chantal 7** » 16 Apr 2020, 07:58

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Mindset" by Ace Bowers.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Starting out his young adult life in debt and despair, The Mindset, by Ace Bowers, tells the story of how he made fundamental changes to his life and within five years became a millionaire. An inspiring ‘grit to glory’ memoir of how the author refused to repeat the cycle of poverty from his childhood in his own son’s life, instead he quit his bad habits, took a job as a janitor on minimum wage and through hard work and determination achieved success on multiple levels.

He takes the reader through the jagged valleys of his childhood family dysfunction and what it was like growing up in a home with alcohol abuse, high conflict and financial troubles. The pattern of this book rolls out the transformation of an introverted, self-conscious, and anxious young man determined to do better in life. Breaking out of his default setting of not being good enough, lacking drive, continually embarrassed by his economic status and constantly hiding the truth from his friends. With brutal honesty, and by finding meaning in life, he was able to turn his pain and shame into fuel and fire. This inner motivation coupled with God’s perfect timing, served as a powerful force to turn his life around.

What I liked most about this book was how the author conveys, in somewhat poetic clarity, what his childhood emotional pain felt like. “Flashbacks roll like movie clips, triggered by just about anything”, this book had me interested from the introduction and he does not hold back with his raw honesty. I enjoyed getting an inside glimpse of his mind and attitude growing up, what he truly valued in friendships and how he navigated his complicated relationship with his mother, father and brother.

There was nothing in this book that I did not like. The author talks about his love for football and how life threw him a curve ball, oddly enough this book strategically did just that, it was not at all what I was expecting it to be. It is definitely not a financial instruction book on how to get rich by a secret formula but rather a very courageous and personal account of his life.

I am rating this book 4 out of 4 stars as it is well written, professionally edited and easy to read, I devoured the pages from start to finish in one sitting. The authors powers of self-reflection and heading words of “never underestimate a person’s worth” and “how you treat someone matters” will stay with me as I take time to reflect on my own relationships and contemplate insightful conversations still to be had. This book would appeal to audiences who would like to tuck into an insightful journey about what success looks like once you have broken free from the paralysing grip of a victim mentality.

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The Mindset
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NatRose · Post by **NatRose** » 17 Apr 2020, 20:44

This sounds like a really good memoir, but I'm often scared to read this kind of book because I think it would just make me feel bad for not being as motivated and go-getting as the author was. Did you find this to be the case at all?

Chantal 7 · Post by **Chantal 7** » 23 Apr 2020, 08:27

Although inspirational it is not that kind of a book, it won't leave you feeling bad. It is a book about his inner thoughts and his closest relationships and how that impacted him in various areas of his life. it is more of a life story and it will leave you thinking about what resonates with you the most.

JKO · Post by **JKO** » 23 Apr 2020, 14:42

I wonder how painful the author's childhood really was. I look forward to finding out. I like to see how he related his pain with poetry. Great review.