How To Live in the Genius Zone with Gay Hendricks

Meet Gay Hendricks

 

Gay Hendricks has been a leader in the fields of relationship transformation and body-mind transformation for more than 45 years. After earning his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1974, Gay served as a Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Colorado for 21 years. He has written over 40 books, including bestsellers such as Five Wishes, The Big Leap, Conscious Loving, and Conscious Loving Ever After, (the last two co-authored with his co-author and mate for more than 35 years, Dr. Kathlyn Hendricks). He is also a mystery novelist, with a series of five books featuring the Tibetan-Buddhist private detective, Tenzing Norbu, as well as a new mystery series featuring a Victorian-era London detective, Sir Errol Hyde. His book Conscious Luck reveals eight ways to change your fortune through the power of intention. Gay has appeared on more than 500 radio and television shows, including Oprah, CNN, CNBC, 48 HOURS, and others. His latest book is The Genius Zone.

 

Gay Hendricks has been a mentor from afar for years, and it was such a joy to interview him and share his incredible wisdom, stories, and magic. Get your earbuds, get out there on your walk or drive, and get ready to be wildly inspired. There were so many nuggets of wisdom and deep, honest sharing. I got you covered here with notes. 

 

 

Adding Magic To Your Life

Gay Hendricks grew up with his grandparents and mother, as his father tragically died before he was born. He grew up with a lot of anger and frustration that got pushed down with food, sweets, and smoking. Gay shared that the Universe is always teaching you a lesson; it’s just whether you’re listening or not. He got tapped on the shoulder by the Universe when he was 24 years old in 1969. Gay was living in NH in an apartment, in a relationship and life he didn’t like, and was carrying a good 150+ extra pounds. He fell on the ice and had a two-minute experience that changed his life. For the first time in his life, he could see all the levels of himself — all the emotional layers that he hadn’t felt, like anger, sadness, and eventually, in the middle was pure consciousness. He decided that day and committed to a new way of doing life. He made a declaration to himself and the Universe and committed to feeling this state of pure consciousness all the time, but without needing to fall down. He chose foods that fed pure consciousness (like blueberries instead of cheeseburgers, donuts, and blueberry pancakes) and committed to honoring his mind and body. Later that next day, he was invited to another event that also would change the course of his life. His friend took him to an event with a former Harvard professor who had gone to India and come back enlightened. He got to meet and hear Ram Dass in person and was turned on to meditation. This was just the beginning of the magic that has been a blessing in his life (like finding his wife Kathlyn) since he committed to being honest, taking responsibility, and honoring his creativity. 

 

 

Living in the Genius Zone

Here’s one of my favorites from Gay Hendricks in our conversation — he said that ‘Genius is contagious’. We are all meant to live in the genius zone. This is the zone where you are doing what you love without a sense of time lapsing while honoring your unique abilities. Gay Hendricks shared that within 20 years, he went from spending 10% of his time in the genius zone to 100% of his time in this zone, and because of this shift. And now, life feels like one continued blessing and gift. I realized that in this conversation, being your You-est You inherently means aligning and living in the genius zone. Some ways to discover your genius zone is to ask yourself what you love to do, where you lose a sense of time doing what you love, and what your specialized and unique abilities are. For example, thanks to Gay, I realized my genius zone is doing my podcast — both in interviewing guests, sharing my thoughts, and creating a show that changes lives. I’d love to hear what you think your genius zone is! We all have them! Share in the You-est You Facebook community, or send me an email. 

 

 

The Upper Limit Problem

Gay Hendricks goes into great depth about a ULP, the Upper Limit Problem. In sum, this is when you sabotage yourself when things go well. Gay teaches how to expand your capacity and override this pattern so that you learn how to experience greater lengths of joy and good. One of the ways to do this is to use what he calls the Ultra Success Mantra (USM), which I have on my desk and say daily. The USM is: “I expend in abundance, success, and love as I inspire others around me to do the same.” What’s important is that you are not only expanding the good within you but also creating opportunities to do the same for others. 

 

 

Change Your Relationship to Time

If you’re like me and you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired that there’s not enough time, ever, then listen up. Gay Hendricks talked about what he calls Einstein time versus Newtonian time. In Einstein time, you are the cause of your time. Think of it this way, if you sat on a hot stove, a minute would feel like an hour, but if you were hanging with your beloved, an hour would feel like a minute. We are more in charge of our time than we realize. Here’s the best way to change this bad habit of making time your enemy and yourself a victim (which never works out well). Stop talking about time as a victim, and stop blaming time for things you can’t do. You’ll never have enough time to do the things you don’t want to do. Take responsibility for yourself and your time, and commit to being conscious and mindful of what you say. And, stop making time the culprit and realize you are the cause of your time, your relationships, and your life. 

Final Thoughts

Gay Hendricks shares not only the importance of living in the genius zone so you can fully be present and live a life you fully enjoy but how to slow down time to truly savor it. Be sure to pick up a copy of The Genius Zone today. 

 

To learn more about Gay Hendricks’ incredible programs and work go to: http://www.hendricks.com. 

How To Become A Life Coach with Julie

If you are ready for greater support to overcome self-doubt and stop your own internal ‘not enough’ voice so you can step into your genius and design your best life, connect with Julie to see if she is the right fit to coach and mentor you. Julie does coaching for entrepreneurs, leaders, and ambitious creatives. To set up a time to chat further, email team@juliereisler.com.

Sacred Connection

As always, this community is a sacred, safe place built on love and acceptance. It was created to help you evolve and expand into your highest self. Please share your wisdom, comments, and thoughts. I love hearing from you and learning how you are being your truest, you-est you. Please join us in our Facebook group: The You-est You Podcast Community.

Join host Julie Reisler, author and multi-time TEDx speaker, each week to learn how you can tap into your best self and become your You-est You to achieve inner peace, happiness, and success at a deeper level! Tune in to hear powerful, inspirational stories and expert insights from entrepreneurs, industry thought leaders, and extraordinary human beings that will help to transform your life. Julie also shares a-ha moments that have shaped her life and career and discusses key concepts from her book Get a PhD in YOU.

Here’s to your being your you-est you!

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