The Big Leap Book Exploration by Laurie Hawkins

1. THE BIG LEAP
by Gay Hendricks
BOOK EXPLORATION
By Laurie Hawkins

2. In The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks explores how we define the limits of our success. He
examines the actions and tricks our minds play to keep us in our comfort zone, or ‘Our
Zone of Excellence’ as he likes to call it. Above all, he proposes that we are capable of
enjoying ever-increasing levels of success and love in our life. He shows how we can
make the big leap into our ‘Zone of Genius.’
Throughout the book, Hendricks wrote about his struggle with the upper limit
problem but also used other individuals who he worked with as supporting examples.
Hendricks’ thesis is centered around a concept dubbed the ‘Upper Limit Problem’.
The Upper Limit Problem states that “we limit our success and love because we are
afraid to let ourselves enjoy success and abundance out of fear.”
Hendricks provided strategies for identifying when self-sabotaging behavior is
taking place. He also shared tactics for mitigating or eliminating the self-sabotaging
actions.

3. 4 MAIN OPERATING ZONES
THE ZONE OF INCOMPETENCE
You are bogged down doing tasks that you are not good at, that others can do much
better. The solution is to avoid doing them altogether.
THE ZONE OF COMPETENCE
You are competent at doing the activities but others can do them equally well. Delegate
and let others do those tasks and free up your time to do the things that make you
unique.
THE ZONE OF EXCELLENCE
You perform activities extremely well and make a great living, but you are capable of
much more. You are quite comfortable and may be tempted to take it easy. But there is
only one place that you will truly thrive and that’s in the next zone.
THE ZONE OF GENIUS
This is the zone where you liberate your true genius and it puts you on the ultimate
path of living a successful and satisfied life.

4. 4 BARRIERS THAT ARE HOLDING US BACK
HIDDEN BARRIER ONE: FEELING FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED
→ You feel that something is wrong with you. Perhaps you have feelings of undeservedness
and unworthiness. So, you think it’s impossible for you to live a successful and fulfilled life. In
the past, every time you experienced success, these thoughts infiltrated your mind and
somehow you sabotaged yourself.
HIDDEN BARRIER TWO: DISLOYALTY AND ABANDONMENT
“Did I break the family’s spoken or unspoken rule to get to where I am?”
“Even though I am successful, did I fail to meet the expectations my parents had for me?”
→ You refuse to expand and embrace true success because you feel that if you do, you will
have to leave your friends and family behind and you do not want to be alone. One way to
find out if you are facing this hidden barrier is to ask yourself two questions:

5. HIDDEN BARRIER THREE: BELIEVING THAT MORE SUCCESS BRINGS A BIGGER BURDEN
→ If you have feelings that somehow you are a burden to others, those feelings will immobilize
you and prevent you from rising to your true potential.
HIDDEN BARRIER FOUR: THE CRIME OF OUTSHINING
→ You believe that if you become too successful you will make others look bad. It appears that
Hidden Barrier Four is prevalent among gifted and talented children, and often continues to
play out in their adult lives. Gifted children are often blamed for taking the spotlight off other
family members. Look back to when you have experienced successful breakthroughs, were
you gripped by fear? Were you afraid of outshining someone from your past? Did you feel that
that person deserved the success more than you did? Be honest when answering these
questions.
4 BARRIERS THAT ARE HOLDING US BACK

6. 1. “In the face of so much evidence that life hurts and is fraught with adversity on all fronts,
having a willingness to feel good and have life go well all the time is genuinely a radical act.”
2. “The seductive comforts of success can lull us into accepting the status quo.”
3. “Discovering your Zone of Genius is your life’s Big Leap. Everything up until now has been
about hops, not leaps. Hopping, though it seems safe, is actually hazardous to your health. If
you confine yourself to hops, you run the risk of rusting from the inside out.”
4. “Fritz Perls, MD, psychiatrist, and founder of Gestalt therapy said, “Fear is excitement without
the breath.” This intriguing statement means that the very same mechanisms that produce
excitement, also produce fear, and fear can be transformed into excitement by fully breathing
into it.”
FOUR GREAT QUOTES