2 minute read
Book Review - The Big Leap
Take the Leap - Operate in your genius zone!
by: Shellisa Multrie
Do you ever wonder if you were meant for more? Are you still trying to figure out what you want to be when you “grow up”? Are you busy with lots of things that you are just good at but not great at? Well, me too! Even though the pandemic may have amplified those feelings for me, if I am honest, I was starting to think about my life’s work even before the world went on one big timeout. Most of us are good at lots of things, but we often struggle with prioritizing where our time and commitment truly belongs. We are often overwhelmed with balancing our passion and purpose with other commitments and responsibilities. The truth is, even “superwomen” have their moments when they need to recalibrate. I recently read The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks. This short read really provided some great strategies for evaluating what you are on Earth to do and moving you to operating in your so-called “genius zone.”
There are several key messages in this book, but what I found to be most important was how you feel about yourself and your life. One of the early reflections in the book centers around your willingness and desire to feel good about your life. There are several thought-provoking questions throughout the book that challenge you to evaluate how you think about your life and what you really believe you deserve. For example, it is common to experience disappointment, sickness or negative emotions in the periods following great triumph or happiness in your life. Hendricks explains that he believes that this often has everything to do with whether or not we feel like we deserve the happiness or success we achieve. It seems that sometimes we can sabotage our own success because of our beliefs and fears.
The author further argues that there is great reason to begin to operate more in your “zone of genius.” According to Gay, there are four zones including the zones of incompetence, competence, excellence and zone of genius that we tend to move in and out of from day to day. He explains that we would do well to identify our zone of genius and increase our commitment and involvement in things within which we are uniquely suited. I found this to be very accurate in my own life and I have worked hard since reading to truly lean into what I am gifted to do. It doesn’t mean that everything else goes away, instead it means that I focus my energy and time into my genius and right-size my attention and commitments to things that I am not good at or just as good at as anyone else.
Another great highlight is the author’s description of “Einstein time” and how you can manage your time better once you fully understand where it comes from. For everyone who feels like there are not enough hours in the day for all of the things you want and need to do, this chapter will be enlightening.
This book was a great pick me up and I think it is a great add to your “must read” list!
