Life is full of ups and downs. It seems like a fundamental law of life. When things are going well, something bad happens. And when things aren’t, they can’t get any worse. They can only get better, right?

What if there was a way to break this law? Would it be possible for one to experience an abundance of good things in life? Is it possible that we are at the root cause of the valleys in life because we don’t know how to handle or are afraid of achieving ever higher levels of success?

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.’

Hendricks’ thesis is centered around a concept dubbed the ‘Upper Limit Problem, ‘ or ULP. The ULP states that “we limit our success and love because we are afraid to let ourselves enjoy success and abundance out of fear.” Using examples from his coaching practice, he illustrates how one can be their own worst enemy. We wait to feel good until we have more money, better relationships, more creativity instead of finding and nurturing the capacity for positive feelings now. When something good happens in life, we expect something bad to happen which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of looking for and expecting more good things to occur, we create a bad situation. In other words, because we want the law of life to be true, we unknowingly will bad things into our life.

As I read The Big Leap, I found myself nodding consistently throughout. It’s a powerful thing when you realize that your contentment, your happiness, is not dependent on extraordinary events. It’s within you now, and it can grow when you let it. Thankfully, Hendricks points out the common pitfalls that hold us back one way or another, and he proposes solutions to overcome them. If you feel like your stuck in a rut, The Big Leap is worth reading. It will enlighten you, energize you, and challenge you to reach new heights.

I really liked The Big Leap and recommend it as one of my Must Reads. I’d also categorize it as a more advanced personal development book. If you haven’t already read some of the books from my personal development starter list, I’d recommend working through a few of those first to get yourself into the right frame of mind to tackle The Big Leap.