The Big Leap Book Summary - The Big Leap Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

The Big Leap summary

Gay Hendricks

Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level

4.3 (138 ratings)
15 mins
Table of Contents

    The Big Leap
    Summary of 7 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 7

    People often resist happiness, but controlled breathing can help us overcome this fear.

    No one said life would be easy, and sometimes it can really feel like an endless swamp of problems, but ask yourself this: Are you really prepared for a life of happiness? Can you even imagine an entire day without having something to complain about?

    Everyone has their own inner resistance to happiness, an oddly human trait that deserves some close scrutiny.

    Despite spending a lot of time and energy striving for happiness, human beings aren’t especially comfortable or skilled at feeling good or being at peace. School teaches us a lot of things, but there are no high school classes on how to deal with success and happiness.

    If you were to take the time to look within and uncover why you resist happiness, the answer would likely be related to fear – a fear of achieving your full potential. Because here’s the thing: when you become the best you can be, that means there’s no more excuse for why you aren’t making your dreams come true.

    This is a fear that must be conquered if you truly want success and happiness. Taking the big leap into a life of happiness requires a great deal of confidence.

    So let’s explore the ways you can learn to overcome this fear and start taking the right kinds of risks.

    The first technique for breaking the fear barrier is breathing.

    Back in the mid-1900s, psychiatrist Fritz Perls developed Gestalt therapy, which recognized that fear is, essentially, a sort of breathless excitement. With some focused breathing, you can transform that fear into a positive and powerful excitement that can be used to make great things happen.

    Let’s say you’re about to take the stage for a performance or to give a speech. The common reaction to a scary situation like this is for our breath to become constricted, which only makes the fear stronger. But if you take a moment to breathe deeply, you can take control and transform the fear into the powerful energy that lets you take the stage and captivate your audience.

    Want to see all full key ideas from The Big Leap?

    Key ideas in The Big Leap

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is The Big Leap about?

    The Big Leap (2009) is a treasure trove of valuable insights on how to overcome the fears and tendencies that stand in the way of lasting success. Hendricks shows us the many ways we can self-sabotage our own dreams and offers practical ways of avoiding these all-too-common pitfalls.

    Best quote from The Big Leap

    If you say yes to the big leap, you have done the hardest part.

    —Gay Hendricks
    example alt text

    Who should read The Big Leap?

    • Husbands and wives struggling to balance their lives
    • Students of psychology and behavioral science
    • Ambitious people from all walks of life

    About the Author

    Gay Hendricks is a psychologist who has long specialized in couple’s therapy and promoting the use of conscious breathing as a tool to save relationships. He’s also the best-selling author of many self-help books, including Five Wishes and Conscious Living.

    Categories with The Big Leap

    Books like The Big Leap

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    28 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial