How often have you been told that you need to take a big leap? It is a phrase I have heard numerous times so when I came across The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks I thought it would be worth a read.

 

Early on in the book, Gay outlines 4 different zones:

• The Zone of Incompetence
• The Zone of Competence
• The Zone of Excellence
• The Zone of Genius

The book encourages you to think about how much time you are spending in each zone, with the ultimate goal being to spend as much time in your Zone of Genius as possible.

Whilst the Zone of Incompetence and Zone of Competence are pretty self-explanatory and most people can easily identify moving through those zones. However, the lines between Zone of Excellence and Zone of Genius are subtle. For Gay, Zone of Excellence is where you are doing activities “you do extremely well” and Zone of Genius is where “the set of activities you are uniquely suited to do”.

For some people knowing “the set of activities you are uniquely suited to do” can be extremely daunting. This makes it very easy for people to say in the Zone of Excellence forever. The Big Leap is designed specifically to help you move into the Zone of Genius with ease.

 

Another core concept of the book is that we all have an Upper Limit Problem. The Upper Limit Problem revolves around the idea that we all have a self-imposed upper limit of the “success” we are allowed and if we exceed that upper limit is usually temporary.

 

Gay highlights four hidden barriers which are very common:

No 1: Feeling Fundamentally Flawed

No 2: Disloyalty and Abandonment

No 3: Believing That More Success Brings A Bigger Burden

No 4: The Crime of Outshining

 

I really enjoyed reading about these hidden barriers. I could really resonate with No 2 and No 3 and could recognise No 1 and No 4 in other people I know.

When it comes to sabotaging ourselves, Gay sums up activities to be focused around: punishment, prevention and protection.

The aim of The Big Leap is to help you to spend as much time as possible in your Zone of Genius. Spending the majority of your time isn’t easy and to make that transition you are going to have to say ‘No’ to lots of things. However, as the book says, “Each time you say an Enlightened No to something that does not serve your genius, you build a stronger foundation for yourself in the zone.”.

As part of that journey of moving from Excellence to Genius, Gay suggests an ultimate success mantra that you should say

“I expand abundance, success, and love every day,
as I inspire those around me to do the same” 

 

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I really enjoyed The Big Leap. It was a book that I had on my to-read list for a while and choosing to read it as I headed into a new year was perfect for me.

I found the book easy to read and there were enough concepts and angles to keep you interested, but also feel very actionable.

I read this book as part of PropelHer’s Book Club – the ultimate book club for ambitious women committed to their personal development and professional success. If you wouldn’t like to find out more about PropelHer’s Book Club click here.

Like the sound of The Big Leap? Why not buy a copy for yourself?