Episode 112: Shine Revised: What Changed, What Didn't, and Why It Matters

Summary

Shed and Shine: Episode 112 — Shine Revised: What Changed, What Didn’t, and Why It Matters

Date: April 29, 2026
Hosts: Gino Wickman & Rob Dube

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Rob Dube and Gino Wickman discuss the recent revision of their book Shine. They dive deep into why they made significant changes, what’s fundamentally different in the revised version, and how their intention evolved from focusing solely on entrepreneurs to embracing a broader audience — driven people of all backgrounds. They also reflect on the nuanced decision to include references to God, their process for reordering the book’s content, and their dedication to refining the overall flow and energy of the manuscript.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. Expanding the Audience: From Entrepreneurs to All Driven People

[00:00–04:29]

• Gino reflects on his career serving “driven entrepreneurs” and his desire to expand the book’s reach:

  “That’s my thing. That’s been my life for 35 years. But I want to impact as many people as we can and I don’t want it to be limiting. So I want to invite all wild and crazy, traumatized, driven people.” (A, 00:00; 01:52)

• Rob explains the subtitle change and the intent to serve a broader group — “high performers” and all driven people, not just entrepreneurs.
• The decision was a direct response to reader feedback:

  “We were listening... we just kept hearing, hearing it over and over again... It was almost like, well, what are we going to do? Oh, well, wish we knew beforehand.” (B, 03:47)

• Gino adds:

  “We want to make an impact on the world. And... for me, it’s like, driven entrepreneurs... But I want to impact as many people as we can, and I don’t want it to be limiting.” (A, 01:52)

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2. Key Structural Changes to the Book

[04:29–09:55]

• Gino outlines three major changes in the revision:
  • Change #1: Audience (see above)
  • Change #2: Book Structure — Parts One and Two Flipped
  • Change #3: “Smoothed out the content”
  • Change #4: Inclusion of God
• Flipping Parts One and Two:
  • Previously, the book started with “Three Discoveries,” including heavy personal stories.
  • Now, it opens with the “10 Disciplines” — a softer, more accessible entry point.

  “We were getting feedback that the way it was originally written was a little bit of a punch in the face... page two, hey, I’ve been sexually abused and so was Rob. You know, it’s like that, you know, it’s like, okay, where the fuck are we going with this book?” (A, 08:06)

  • Gino explains how difficult this decision was during the initial drafting and how hindsight and reader feedback affirmed the new order:

    “In hindsight, I’m like, what the fuck was I thinking? I think we made the right decision and I think it’s a better book.” (A, 09:55)

• Rob notes an energetic difference when comparing the two versions physically:

  “When I held both of them, I'd be curious if you try it, if you notice that at all.” (B, 10:08)

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3. Integrating God into the Content

[04:35–07:42]

• Gino candidly shares how including references to God was a back-and-forth decision:

  “I felt bad leaving him out of the original version. And he was in. He was out. He was in. He was out in my mental process when we published the first time. ” (A, 04:46)

• He emphasizes his personal spirituality:

  “I believe in God. I’m a more spiritual guy than I’m a religious guy. But the good news is nothing’s being pushed about that in this book.” (A, 05:41)

• The inclusive intent:

  “This book is for atheists and spiritual people and devout religious people... God shows up seven times in this book, okay? ...I wanted to make sure. Do you find this offensive? Does this concern you? Just, I wanted to hear everybody’s personality perspective on it.” (A, 06:19)

• Gino describes a careful review with a diverse group to hit a “common thread that runs through all ancient teachings.”
• Rob affirms clarity around this sensitive change.

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4. Refining the Flow and Energy

[09:55–12:33]

• Gino meticulously revised the manuscript for smoother reading:

  “I was not going to give up until I read from page one to page 200 and whatever where it just flowed without a single bump.” (A, 11:15)

• Some stories were removed if they disrupted flow — including making tough calls to friends whose stories were cut.
• Complex chapters (e.g., “all decisions are made out of love or fear”) were simplified, sometimes reducing overall content by 20% for clarity.
• The revision was a “six month process... a deep dive.” (A, 11:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Listening to Readers:

  “Maybe it’s an E-Leap actually. And that is to listen to your customers.” (B, 03:28)

• On the Topic of God:

  “I just believe there’s this common thread that runs through all ancient teachings. And that’s the line I tried to hit.” (A, 07:30)

• On the Book’s Energy:

  “The energy in that rewrite and revision was off the charts, you know, so I just trusted that.” (A, 10:16)

• On Creative Doubt:

  “So, I think I was making shit up in my head... I think we made the right decision and I think it’s a better book.” (A, 09:51)

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Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–01:52 | Why shift the audience focus? | | 03:28–04:29 | Listening to reader feedback | | 04:30–07:42 | Including references to God | | 08:06–09:55 | Flipping the book's structure | | 10:08–11:10 | The revision process & co-author dynamic | | 11:15–12:33 | Flow improvements & content updates |

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Summary Style and Tone

The dialogue is open, candid, and reflective, with both Gino and Rob drawing on personal experiences and lessons learned from their community. There is a sense of humility and humor — especially with Gino’s willingness to admit mistakes and “make shit up in my head.” They keep the energy supportive and inclusive, making it clear the changes were always in service of helping more people unlock their true selves and “shine.”

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For newcomers to Shed and Shine or the Shine book, this episode provides an authentic behind-the-scenes look at why and how the book evolved — making its message about energy, impact, and inner peace accessible to anyone who considers themselves driven, not just entrepreneurs.

Transcript

[A]

Driven entrepreneurs. That's like, that's my thing. That's been my life for 35 years. But I want to impact as many people as we can and I don't want it to be limiting. And so I want to invite all wild and crazy, traumatized, driven people.

[B]

Hello, everyone. My name is Rob Dube and I am here with Gino Wickman. Gino, good to see you today.

[A]

You as well, my friend.

[B]

So we're going to talk today about Shine, our book and the fact that we did a revision to it.

[A]

Yes, that's right, we did.

[B]

So, big news. We revised Shine. It's been out three months now and we're going to talk about why we did it. Not from a self serving perspective standpoint, but we just want to share some lessons learned. So I'm going to share a few things. Gino, kind of cue you up.

[A]

Yeah, that's great.

[B]

So first of all, I just want to talk about the old subtitle, which was how looking inward is the key to unlocking true entrepreneurial freedom. And the new one is how driven people can live a life of exceptional success and profound purpose. Now, one thing that hasn't changed is both focus on the 10 disciplines for maximizing your energy, impact and inner peace, in addition to the three discoveries to free your true self. So obviously initially we focused solely on entrepreneurs, but we shifted and now the book is written for driven people, high performers. Of course entrepreneurs are in that category. Why did we do that, Gito? Why the shift?

[A]

Why in the hell did we do that? So I'm gonna, I'll zoom out for a second and then zoom back in because I always like to share. You know, there's three major changes in this revision. Okay. And you're hitting on number one. So number one is we change the target market. I'm come right back to your question. Number two is we flipped parts one and part two. I'm sure that's going to come up in our conversation. And then number three is, I like to describe it as we smoothed out the content. There's just, it just flipped flows better and we updated some content. This, this subject is ever evolving and growing and changing. And then I always lovingly like to say there is a fourth thing. We put a little God in it. And we could talk about that certainly as well. But you're, you're talking about, you know, revision number one. And so why do we do it? So I look forward to going back and forth because for me, the first thing that comes up is the number of people that Said, hey, I'm not a driven entrepreneur. And I'm listening to your podcast. I read the book, and this is for me, too, please. And so we just listen to people. And so my biggest concern maybe was that it would turn off. You know, we want to make an impact on the world. And certainly. And maybe this isn't fair for you to say, but I'll say it for me, it's like, driven entrepreneurs. That's like, that's my thing. That's been my life for 35 years. But I want to impact as many people as we can, and I don't want it to be limiting. And so I want to invite all wild and crazy, traumatized, driven people. So there. I. That's. That's what comes up for me.

[B]

Yeah, no, it's great. I mean, I. I had a note here, so you always hit on my notes, which I love, but I was thinking back to something you probably wrote in traction or you teach all the time. Maybe it's an E leap, actually. And that is to listen to your customers.

[A]

Yes, that's.

[B]

And we were listening and you mentioned that. And so we just kept hearing, hearing it over and over and over again. And then we'd have these conversations, and it was almost like, well, what are we going to do? Oh, well, wish we knew beforehand. But then we had the courage, I guess you could say, to go back and a supportive publisher and knowing that this would be a lot of work to do a revision. But we felt like it was worth it because, as you mentioned, we want to impact a great deal of people. A million, to be specific. In terms of the 10 disciplines, goes so and truly, it just applies. This content applies to driven people. All kinds.

[A]

All kinds.

[B]

All right, so I want to jump to the fourth thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which was God.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

We put God into it. Is that how you say put a little guy. We put a little God.

[A]

Put a little God in it.

[B]

What's that all about?

[A]

Well, that is a couple of things. Okay. So I felt bad leaving him out of the original version. And he was in. He was out. He was in. He was out. He was in. He was out in my mental process when we published the first time. Okay. And so again, I felt bad leaving him out. And so again, for me, feel bad is kind of a weird set of words, but it's. It's like I was just called that. It just feels like God should be mentioned in this book. And so the process is going to be quite crazy when I share this with you. And the in out thing is if you go to, you know, just kind of the standard publishing world, the leaning is leave it out. So you're not going there and you're not offending some people, and you're not. And it's such a. Such a complex topic. It's like you can never describe it one way that applies to all, because this book is for atheists and spiritual people and devout religious people. And so anyway, so that's the first point where it's just a tricky, tricky subject. Okay. And I just don't feel good leaving it out. I believe in God. I'm a more spiritual guy than I'm a religious guy. But the good news is nothing's being pushed about that in this book. But this kind of content he has to come up. It's like he can't not. And I. So I just didn't feel good about that. So what I did is. So God shows up seven times in this book, okay? There's no science to that. It's just that's how many times after the process I went through. And so the process I went through is whenever it came up for me, as I went back through this revision, I put it in, and it might have been, you know, 12 times, nine times. And then I just went through a thought process. But what I did in my office, I think there were seven of us. So I sat in my office with some Christians, some spiritual people, certainly myself, and I. And I went through each of those additions exactly how it's written, and we actually had a conversation and I wanted to make sure. Do you find this offensive? Does this concern you? Just, I wanted to hear everybody's personality perspective on it. And I really enjoyed the process. And so I did my best to just find a happy medium so that God is in this book in the appropriate context and I repeat, not to push anything. So if you're an atheist, it'll make sense. If you're devoutly religious, it'll make sense. If you're spiritual, makes sense. I just believe there's this common thread that runs through all ancient teachings. And that's the line I tried to hit. So long answer to your question. But hopefully that made sense.

[B]

Yeah, and I hope that makes sense to the listeners. I think it was clear to me for sure. And I had one last thing about the flow of the book. So what we did is we moved the 10 disciplines to the beginning. We moved the three discoveries to the end. Now, originally, we had the three discoveries at the beginning because we wanted to start. Start at the end. But what Happened.

[A]

Yeah, well, and that's number two change. Because the number three change is flow. Number two is, I just call it flipping part one and part two.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so where that came from, a couple different things. First, we were getting feedback that the way it was originally written was a little bit of a punch in the face. Like, it, like it just came on too strong, you know. Page two, hey, I've been sexually abused and so was Rob. You know, it's like that, you know, it's like, okay, where the fuck are we going with this book? So that was heavy. It's just a heavy start to the book and in the writing process. And I'm confident you remember this, when we wrote the first version, I mean, that one, I went back and forth in my head 15 times. It was gonna be part one, part two, part two, part one, back and forth, back and forth. So again, it was just another one of those things that sat with me. And then when we had so many readers read it and the feedback we got, it was just validation that, ah, you know what, we need to flip it. So that was the first reason. And then the second reason, when I couldn't make up my mind the first time around, I just rationalized that let's begin at the end, you know, let's begin at the end. And that wasn't the right approach. Let's begin at the beginning. So, so I think I was making shit up in my head. And so we now we're beginning at the beginning. And so now, so beautifully, you have this foundation that the first half of the book sets in place for you to have this amazing conversation with yourself about these three discoveries that are now magical because they sit upon a foundation. So it's like, in hindsight, I'm like, what the fuck was I thinking? I think we made the right decision and I think it's a better book.

[B]

I noticed that when I held both books. I'm holding the new version, the revised version. The energy of the revised version feels more clear to me. Yeah, I did it. I was just curious.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

When I held both of them, I'd be curious if you try it, if you notice that at all. So. All right, let me try now. Go ahead.

[A]

You know, so as I write though, you know, it's, it's. I did everything in my power with this revision because, you know, you wrote the first version, you know, so again, our, the, the co author processes, we would do these calls. I would convey the vision and the content and then you would write it, send it back to Me, I would edit it. And we go back and forth, you know, with this one, what we agreed is I'm just going to take this thing because it's written and I'm just going to have at it. And so I just, just wrote from my soul in all of that revision and then certainly sent it to you for all of your input. So we like flipped it, which was kind of cool. So when you talk about the energy thing, my energyometer might be turned off right now because I'm not feeling anything, but I don't think that's any reflection on the book. But, but the energy in that rewrite and revision was off the charts, you know, so I just trusted that. And that was, that was a six month process.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

It was, was a deep dive.

[B]

It was. What else? Am I missing anything?

[A]

No, I, I, but I just think flow, you know. So the, the third thing again is we smoothed out the content and updated some things and, and pulled some stories out that was like. So when I would read through it again, when I say flow, this comes back to this energy thing. I was not going to give up until I read from page one to page 200 and whatever where it just flowed without a single bump. I read through so many times. And so whenever there was a story that was just like a little too much of a bump, so we pulled some stories out where I had to make a phone call and say, hey, buddy, I'm sorry to say this, but your story's gone. And it was like heartbreaking for some people and then some content and then some new content. And so there was. It's, it's like with Discovery Number two, all decisions are made out of love or fear. It was a bit of a bumpy chapter, you know, and it's because it's so heady and it's such a deep dive. It's a very complex chapter, so it's really hard to simplify it, but I think it's much more simplified. I lopped off, I want to say, 20% of that chapter so that it flowed and then updated some stuff there. So that's what I would add.

[B]

All right, good stuff. Well, it's out now. As I mentioned a few months ago, it came out. And as always, thank you, Gino, and thank you all for joining us. And we will see you next time. And in the meantime, stay focused and much love.

[A]

Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to speak with us and please tune in for the next episode. Until then, we wish you all the best in freeing your true self. Stay focused and much love.