N.Y. Times best-selling author Gay Hendricks on how to find your ‘Genius Zone’

Transforming your life beyond your own limits requires you to rethink, as we explored in the wildly successful book, The Big Leap. Since then the book’s author, Gay Hendricks, has released another best-seller that picks up on the work in The Big Leap, titled The Genius Zone. On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome the President of The Hendricks Institute and New York Times best-selling author, Gay Hendricks. Gay has appeared on more than 500 radio and television shows, including Oprah, CNN, CNBC, 48 Hours, and others.

Hendricks defines genius as when you’re doing what you most love to do and doing something that also makes a contribution to other people at the same time. In his view, we all have the capability to do it.

The big thing that holds people back is what Hendricks calls the upper limit problem. The upper limit problem is our own limiting beliefs that keep us trapped inside a certain level of expression of ourselves. When you have the upper limit problem, which most people do, you become more successful and it awakens fears in you. You start asking yourself questions, such as, do I deserve to be successful? Hendricks says the book shows you how to lift out from under those upper limit problems and function more in your genius.

Commitment is everything says Hendricks. No matter what field you’re in, you only get what you’re committed to getting. He says a lot of us go around trying to prove ourselves instead of focusing entirely on what we can do to make this moment better for ourselves and the people around us. Hendricks discovered that the real secret to happiness is learning how to focus on the things you have the power to change.

Fear is excitement without the breath, says Hendricks. He says there’s absolutely no fear that you can’t clear up. The next time you get scared, take a few easy deep breaths and watch what happens to that fear. The genius moment is when you find yourself stuck or not feeling good, ask yourself, what am I trying to control here that’s not within my power to control?

The key takeaways Hendricks wants everyone to know is your genius is within your power. Sometimes it’s just a breath away. He wants to you own that part of yourself and make a commitment to bring forth that genius more each day.

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