The Big Leap book review

Kyla Denanyoh
3 days ago
3 min read

Ten minutes a day, thirty days, life changed.

No exaggeration. Life changed.

I'm writing about the book The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. It's a nonfiction book about success, business, and what it takes to reach your full potential.

If you've ever heard someone ask, "What's your zone of genius?" or "Have you found your zone of genius?" that idea comes from this book. It's full of so many great concepts, and while the Zone of Genius is what most people remember, the part that completely changed things for me was meditation.

Gay Hendricks is a therapist and psychologist, and he talks about taking ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes at night to still his mind, sit quietly, and let his thoughts settle.

The most amazing thing, and the reason I started meditating, is because he says your mind will wander. Your mind is supposed to wander. Your mind isn't a file cabinet where you put something away and expect to keep thinking about it eight hours later or even eight minutes later.

"Your mind is supposed to wander."

The beauty of meditation is bringing your mind back to your thought.

Mind blowing.

I decided to start meditating, and let me tell you, it was hard. As a mom, an employee, and a boss, I kept wondering, Do I deserve ten minutes to myself? Can I really take this time? Aren't I too busy doing all the things?

I am busy, but I do have ten minutes.

To be fair, I started with seven minutes because I didn't think I could do ten. I used affirmation cards. I'd pull a card, read it, and let that become my focus for the next seven minutes.

Let's say the affirmation was, I create time.

I'd sit there repeating it.

I create time. I create time.

What does it mean to create? To create is to invent out of nothing. I create time. I am inventing time out of nothing.

I would just keep returning to that thought.

Eventually, seven minutes became ten. Then my alarm would go off and I wouldn't even hear it because I'd been sitting there for fourteen minutes.

I've been meditating for thirty days now, and I love it.

Another thing Gay Hendricks mentions is using affirmations during meditation. Your mind is vast. It wants to wander. You close your eyes and suddenly you're thinking about food, hearing the cars outside, or noticing every little thing happening around you.

Your mind is constantly observing and interacting with everything.

The practice is bringing your attention back to your intention or your affirmation.

"Bring your mind back to your intention."

My life is fantastic because of meditation.

I take about fourteen minutes every day, and I genuinely look forward to it. I'd even say I crave it.

It's not something I do at exactly the same time every day. My life isn't scheduled that perfectly.

But at the end of the day, I'll get a reminder on my phone that says, "Meditate," and I'll think, Oh! I haven't done that yet. Then I go do it.

I even remember one day when work was overwhelming. I had all these clients, emails to write, and things to finish. I thought I could listen to a five-minute meditation while working.

I couldn't.

I had to stop typing, put my hands down, and actually listen.

I forced myself to take those five minutes, even though I felt like I didn't have them.

Which sounds crazy, because of course I had five minutes.

But why meditate when you could read a book, text a friend, eat something, or watch TV?

You have to make it a discipline. It's a practice.

Have you ever meditated?

Because it will blow your mind.

If you can't tell, I would absolutely reread The Big Leap. There are so many ideas packed into this book that I had to make three separate book reviews because I couldn't fit everything into one.

This book is phenomenal.

I'm definitely going to pick up more books by Gay Hendricks.

I'm a big fan of trying things for thirty days, and meditation is something I'm sticking with. I'll have to give an update after forty-five days... maybe even after a year.