The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level―A Transformative Guide to Overcoming Fears and False Beliefs for Personal Growth and Success

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks is one of the most useful personal development books I’ve ever read, especially for people who are ambitious, growth-oriented, and serious about creating a bigger life. Hendricks introduces the concept of the “Upper Limit Problem”—the unconscious ways we sabotage ourselves when things start going too well. More success, more love, more money, more ease… and suddenly we create drama, procrastinate, pick fights, or fall back into old patterns. This book explains that phenomenon so clearly that it feels like someone finally turned the lights on. What I appreciate is how simple and actionable the ideas are. The writing is easy to follow, but the insights go deep. It’s not just about mindset—it’s about identity, worthiness, and the hidden guilt and fear that can keep people playing small even when they’re capable of so much more. If you’ve ever felt like you’re right on the edge of a breakthrough but keep getting in your own way, this book is absolutely worth reading.

Sometimes, you pick up a book and just can't put it down. Something grabs you right away and pulls you along. It's like the author is speaking directly to you. That was the case with this one. There were a number of themes in this book that resonated with me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is all about understanding limiting beliefs, discovering from where they are derived, and learning how to bust through your self-imposed upper limit to realize your full potential. We learn about the four hidden barriers that many of us impose on ourselves that may limit us. It may be one particular item that's limiting us or a combination of a couple. The hidden barriers are as follows: 1 • Feeling Fundamentally Flawed 2 • Disloyalty and Abandonment 3 • Believing That More Success Brings a Bigger Burden 4 • The Crime of Outshining The author does a good job of detailing each of the hidden beliefs. Many times, it's deep-rooted from our early years and we may not even recognize that we have these hidden beliefs. The author speaks of working in different "zones." There's the Zone of Incompetence, the Zone of Competence, the Zone of Excellence, and the Zone of Genius, the ultimate Zone where we should play. The book is filled with all kinds of great suggestions for finding your way past your upper limit and finding your way into the Zone of Genius. The biggest takeaway for me was the Ultimate Success Mantra. This is something you say to yourself when you meditate. It's something you say aloud to yourself. It's something you program into your neural pathways so you never forget and I happen to like it word for word. The Ultimate Success Mantra is, "I expand in abundance, success, and love every day and I inspire others around me to do the same." The only language I've added to it is, "so I may serve more people" and I've inserted this right after the word "day." This book was published in 2010. It garners a 4.7 rating after 505 reviews on Amazon and a 4.06 on Goodreads with 3,062 ratings and 253 reviews. I actually gave it a 5-star rating and I'm inspired to check out more by Gay Hendricks.

The Big Leap is a great book with a mundane title. It’s in the vein of Think and Grow rich and other books which encourage you to align your inner self with a conscious invitation to more. This book reads like an essay of the authors personal reflections, but I have conviction that there is science and research to back up the Upper Limit theory simply because it matches attachment theory and other findings that we carry behaviors and childhood lessons into the future no matter how harmful they are. The guidance for working through the Upper Limit problem is a series of meditations; which may prove helpful but that needs to be measured on a time scale different than the book. For the time period awareness is helpful—it would be helpful if this worked through some challenges when upper limit problems surface in interpersonal challenges; or further how to disarm an argument. But there are other books that treat that as the aim.

The whole experience was great.

Over time I've read plenty of self help books - and I believe there are many because each of us resonate with different words, stories and ideas - because often the underlying ideas are the same. What stood out for me - my big aha - in the Big Leap is that Gay names the hidden barriers that mostly unconsciously are in the way of each of us stepping up to create passionate work we love and thrive in - our zone of genius. His words help me understand the pieces of the puzzle and how they can be put into place and we can more easily thrive. And this is all stated so simply - that it's almost hard to believe it can work. The four barriers (which are well explained with examples) are: Feeling Fundamentally Flawed Disloyalty and Abandonment Believing that More Success Brings a Bigger Burden The Crime of Outshining Some how having Gay name these brought consciousness to myself (and I'm sure many others)- to be aware when you're no longer comfortable (with your success and achievement) and begin the unconscious pattern of self sabotage (to keep yourself right where you are comfortable). Another piece that powerfully stands out is the mantra - and trust me I've said quite a few over time. "I expand in abundance, success and love every day, as I inspire those around me to do the same." I've been saying this for the past three+ weeks since reading the book. Amazingly or not for the doubters - I've had 3 newer clients send written testimonials without asking, 3 past clients come back and say they want to work (and it's been more than a year for a couple of them), 1 new one out of the blue, 2 people that I've always wanted to collaborate with but would dismiss the idea out of my own discomfort aka self sabotage so I wouldn't shine too much - contact me and ask to connect. The aha and realization that I've settled in my zone of comfort and zone of excellence for so long (because I keep bumping into my own upper limit problems but not recognizing it as self sabotage - my thermostat needed to stay at 68) that I've been unconscious to the possibility of daring to ask for and own having more. I'm in the process of setting up the support I need to allow me to step or is it leap into my own zone of genius. It will take asking for help and being vulnerable instead of having all the answers to allow myself to speak my truth - what I really want - so that I can really shine. As this year closes, I know that I've already expanded and I can hardly wait for all the possibility of 2010. If you're ready to take your own big leap - do read and do take action. It can be magical.

First time I read this is was a "must read" for a group I am in for my business. I checked it out of the library and forced my self to get through it - quickly. I read it with that frame of mind - get this done. Months later everyone is still talking about this book so I figured I needed to delve in again. Bought the digital version and decided I would read with intent this time - and WOW! I took notes, highlighted - interacted with each question. This book is so very powerful at helping you unravel "your story" - why you think and react the way to do and helps you identify areas of your life that are holding you back from achieving in your life. I had so many truths revealed to me as I pondered the questions that Gay poses. Learn to live in the ZONE of GENIUS -- get out of the Zone of excellence or zone of competence where most of us stay. Your Zone of Genius is the set of activities you are uniquely suited to do. This book will help you DEFINE them. The Four barriers that hold us back: 1. Believing we are fundamentally flawed somehow 2 False belief that by succeeding we are being disloyal to people in our past 3. False belief we are a burden in the world. 4. False belief that we must dim our own "light" so we won't outshine someone in our past. Learn how to identify your "Upper Limit Problem" - the thoughts and actions that HOLD YOU DOWN. I encourage you to use this as a text- take notes, highlight..etc. very powerful read. I loved the digital format because now I can go back to the list of my notes and highlights and read through them easily - what a gem!

The introduction to the "upper limit problem" was a new concept for me and very enlightening, possibly even life-changing. I also greatly appreciated his explanation that there are not only one, but four reasons people have an upper-limit problem - it was insightful, and easy to find yourself in one of the four "types". However, I feel the book lacked real follow-through on how to break through the upper limit (other than "just do it.") While there was some good advice sprinkled in there, I felt the author kind of lost his way after laying out the problem. For example, the book would have benefited from offering specific advice for each of the four types, as the solution isn't "one size fits all." In addition, some of the chapters (like the one on time-management) felt like space fillers: interesting, but not really addressing the issue at hand. Nevertheless, I'm glad I read it, as it laid out a premise that was original and helpful to recognize.

A few months ago, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks was recommended to me by my web team. Obediently (because they know more about this stuff than I do) I added it to my kindle, intending to poke at it in small bits while on the treadmill or waiting out hockey practices. Once I opened the book that plan flew out the window. The Big Leap is a fascinating book! It's a fast and enjoyable read, even counting the required moments of introspection. I suppose The Big Leap is classified as a self-help book, but it wasn't just another collection of the trite, `you can do it' cheerleading. The Big Leap is well written and grounded in the experience and expertise of the author. It's full of tangible insight and advice that I easily applied to my own circumstances. In short, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks is all about accepting our strengths and accepting ourselves, while expanding to embrace all the good stuff life offers. Many people fall into the trap of fear that you can be successful, but only at the expense of your personal relationships. Or that you can have love and happiness, if you're willing to sacrifice your career. We all have responsibilities and passions that require or call on our time, respectively. But Gay Hendricks assures his readers that a healthy, happy balance is within reach. In The Big Leap, Hendricks has compiled pointed questions to help you nail down what matters most to you and what may have held you back in the past. Through plenty of real world examples, Hendricks makes his points clearly, with good humor and kindness. "Learning from the mistakes of others" isn't quite the right adage, but the book is written so readers can sympathize and relate to the struggles and then celebrate the subsequent triumphs of others. The Big Leap really is world building for your life!

Must read, will give new perspective about your life.

This is my second time reading this book and I've thoroughly enjoyed it. As usual, I've discovered little nuggets of wisdom that I missed the first time. I'm re-reading a lot of books in order to create a reading list for soul led entrepreneurs and this one HAS to be in that list. One of the reasons many of us suffer from unhappiness, even depression, is feeling like we aren't doing work that is valued or that matters. We get stuck in jobs and careers that we think will make us happy. Yet, more often than not, these jobs are more in line with what other people expect from us. We don't feel happy at all! And then, should we be lucky enough to start a business or find a job we truly love, often we self sabotage it! Why do we do that? Read this book and all will become clear. We all have blocks to our success and this book explains clearly why we are blocked and where the blocks come from, along with some simple tips to help you overcome them. It's a wonderful book and I highly recommend it, especially if you're just considering starting a business as it may help you to refine your offers and make sure you're working in your zone of genius.

Tolle Ansichten/Gedanken und interessante Tools zum Überwinden von Barrieren. Der Autor geht auf verschiedene Lebensbereiche ein und irgendwie ist jedes Kapitel eine kleine Überraschung. Sicherlich kann man es immer wieder lesen und entdeckt etwas tolles Neues. Ich finde seine Schritte zum Auflösen von Sorgen einfach nur klasse und es hat mich - wie gesagt - auch anderweitig überrascht. Ich habe schon einige Bücher gelesen aber dieses Buch hatte nochmal neue Gedanken.

The “sold by Amazon” edition of this book is a crappy Amazon published copy. Even the picture on the front is super blurry.

Je recommande ce livre, que j'ai acheté deux fois, un pour moi, et puis après lecture, un pour offrir. Je l'ai découvert par une blogueuse canadienne Melissa Maker de Clean my Space. Le livre vous parle d'un mécanisme d'auto sabotage quand tout va bien: quand tout va très bien, vous faites quelque chose pour tout ruiner parce que cet état de trop bien vous incommode, parce que vous n'avez pas l'habitude d'être bien trop longtemps. Il vous parle de la limite du haut pour faire du mot à mot: limite quand vous être trop haut: "ah je suis bien là...c'est vachement bien..mais c'est bizarre...il y a un truc qui doit cloche,bah voilà je le savais quelque chose ne va pas!" . Il parle de cette limite là et explique comment les dissoudre, pas les dépasser, pas les repousser, les enlever complètement. Il est très positif, pragmatique, simple à lire et plein de bon sens. J'adhère à 95% du livre je pense, il doit y avoir 5 pages de spriritualité vers la fin, je suis moins fan. Il y a aussi à la fin, la question de la gestion du temps ce qui est très très utile pour ceux qui ont le syndrome du lapin d'Alice (je n'ai pas le temps...où va le temps...je n'ai pas le temps). J'aimerais l'avoir en français pour pouvoir l'offrir à plus de gens. C'est 12e bien dépensé, et un cadeau avec beaucoup d'impact et de bienveillance. Bonne lecture.