The Genius Zone: The Breakthrough Process to End Negative Thinking and Live in True Creativity by Gay Hendricks

The Genius Zone: The Breakthrough Process to End Negative Thinking and Live in True Creativity Reviews

• 
  Shalyce

  The author is an interesting storyteller. Many of the concepts were basic. Some interesting ideas. Some unrealistic, like outsourcing everything you aren’t great at.
  
  The content was a bit all over the place for me. It went from breath and managing emotions to engaging with your creativity.
• 
  Arminda Lindsay

  Marvelous.
• 
  Janice Dimock

  Great ideas. I wasn't quite as blown away as I was by The Big Leap- but that was probably one of my first PD books. I still learned a lot and will apply the ideas from the book.
• 
  Kamila Mullen

  Just a bunch of blabbering and ideas that you can find in any book like this. Honestly it lost me in chapter 1 where he called Oprah an Angel…. yep, I am out!
• 
  Paul Bard

  TIP: notice when breath shifts up into chest = anger/fear. Also, belly muscles tighten = early warning sign.
  
  TIP: breathe with not against emotion.
  
  Primary insight is the Genius move, which is applying the Serenity Prayer or Epictetus' praxis.
  
  Of value is the insight that ANY unhappiness = trying to control the uncontrollable.
  
  Also, Gay's slimming question: "Will this feed my spirit?" is valuable.
• 
  Hope Decker

  What I found in this books was a delightful guide to letting go of negative thoughts and creating space for creative genius. This book is extremely accessible and can benefit readers no matter how committed they are to living a creative life.
  
  What sets this book apart from other self-improvement books with similar topics is how effective the hands-on activities are. In every chapter, there are at least a few moments where the author asks you to write something out, or to become aware of your breathing as you contemplate some of the big ideas that he presents. I found the activities to be very useful as I went through them on my own. Listing things that I absolutely cannot control in life is proving to be such a time & energy saver--I no longer need to spend any time worrying about things I cannot control! I'm sure that I will continue to add to this list, as I am a ace worrier and transformation can take some time.
  
  I also see potential for this book to be a great book club choice for any business organization that values creativity. This was a quick read, but it is filled with ideas that stick, and there are plenty of additional activities in the appendix for further exploration.
  
  Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
  
  
• 
  Wendy

  In “The Genius Zone: The Breakthrough Process to End Negative Thinking and Live in True Creativity" which I received through Goodreads Giveaways, Dr. Gay Hendricks offers concrete advice for identifying and breaking a pattern of negative thoughts. Each day he points out moments in his “Genius Move” of taking control and making your life the one you want to live by focusing on the positive not the negative. The remainder of the book is applying the principles to end negative thinking and expanding authentic creativity, to be able to live in the "Genius Zone".
  
  Well-developed Guy Hendricks uses personal insight and experience to make his point while using “hands-on activities” to make the principles explored a reality. At the end of the book Appendix A provides a “Genius Zone Workbook and Study Guide” while Appendix B provides a “Completions Checklist.”
  
  A great book to be followed either by yourself or in a workshop atmosphere, I highly recommend it as a guide for transforming your life; to stop worrying about things you can’t control.
• 
  Emily

  “How can I spend the majority of my time doing what I most love to do, while also making my greatest contribution to the world?”
  
  The Genius Zone was a quick and easy listen with a focus on self-reflection and self-development of your creative abilities. With simple advice, listeners can easily apply the discussion points to their day-to-day lives. While the hands-on exercises were likely beneficial, I felt that their meaning was lost through the audiobook format. Great starter book for those beginning on their self-development journey.
  
  Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Steve Brock

  This book was Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 7/4, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet and Stevo's Novel Ideas. Hendricks teaches us to reach our full potential by tapping into our own innate creativity. Though the book at times goes overboard with "genius" jargon, the techniques, many involving journaling, are effective at turning negative thinking into constructive action.
  
  Find more Business Books of the week on my Goodreads Listopia page at
  https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9..., and find many more recommended books on my Amazon Influencer page at
  https://www.amazon.com/shop/stevo4747 or by searching for me on Google.
• 
  Emily Davis

  The book was kind of meh for me.
  
  It felt like a lot of thoughts strung together with no connecting factor. It didn’t feel cohesive. The topic the book was titled after, the genius zone seemed like an after thought at the end.
  
  My takeaways from the book are that unhappiness comes from trying to control things you can’t control and the things you can’t control are the past, the future, and the actions and thoughts of others.
  
  And then there were also some parts about creativity that didn’t feel like they belonged in the same book as the previous take away.
  
  It was fine, but not a home run in my eyes.
• 
  Hussain Abbas

  It's a little difficult to give this any other rating than 5. Not because I think you should read it (I think it's very valuable), but it's filled with the intense feeling of change and transformation.
  
  I don't think you will find a lot of use for this book unless you are already convinced by The Big Leap. But if you want a more practical guide to what's described in The Big Leap, this is your workbook. Apart from containing the essential description of the Zone of Genius, it contains activities that bring it all in action.
• 
  Melissa Koesel

  Quick and easy read, and although I think many will find parts inside helpful, for me it just was what it was.
  
  I have read books and taken many therapy sessions and courses in both DBT and CBT, and I felt the hands-on experience given in any of those were far more helpful then those in this book. But… If somebody didn’t have access to that, or just needed quick help or a refresher, this book may benefit them.
• 
  Ashley

  Helpful follow-up to The Big Leap (and Martha Beck’s The Way of Integrity). Beware some cringey talk about his past struggle with food/weight/body image. Lots of reinforcement of other books I’ve read on intentional living and creativity.
  
  I appreciate Hendricks’ honesty about his past failings and learning experiences. Reading this book helped me confront and slay a major fear I’ve been carrying. I feel more well-equipped to keep pursuing and living in my genius zone.
• 
  Bethany Miller

  While I normally love books about cultivating your power and personal missions, sometimes the authors can come off inspirational rather than helpful. If you need a good dose of motivation and a decent pep talk, this book is for you. But if you’re looking for actionable information or a profound psychological read, you’re probably too advanced for this book.
  
  #books #bookstagram #reading #motivation #selfimprovement #thegeniuszone
• 
  Starry

  Listening to this book fresh from reading his earlier book The Big Leap helped reinforce the original messages and objectives while building on to the idea of living fully in one’s creativity. I’m really excited to put his exercises into action and see where this leads over the next 30-60-90 days. Feeling very inspired and optimistic.
• 
  Lia K Cook

  Liberate your creativity and reframe your negative thoughts with the lessons and wisdom in this book. Gay Hendricks introduced me to my upper limit (tolerance for how happy I am willing to let myself be) in The Big Leap. In Genius Zone he expands on our resistance to happiness by addressing the negative thoughts that keep us stuck in self-sabotaging patterns, and guides us to positive actions we can take to commit to our creativity. Get ready to embrace the power of wonder and all the joy that is waiting for you inside your genius zone.
• 
  John

  In a nutshell:
  
  1) Heed the Serenity Prayer
  2) The source of all suffering is attachment
  3) Breathe
  
  If you'd like to find out how an overweight guy named Gay, being raised by his addictive Mom and his grandma turned his miserable life around by behaving better, read the other 98% of the book.