The Big Leap

There's an incredibly special treat for you in today’s episode… The hilariously charming Kevin Nealon! You've laughed at his comedy for years, and now you're about to fall in love with his art. You’re going to love this one! Mike and Gay dove deep into the evolution of an artist - exploring how Kevin constantly reinvents himself, from his comedic roots to his newly discovered artistic prowess. The episode covers a ton, but keep your ears sharp for Kevin's 'Big Leap' stories. The leaps he made in his comedy career and the creative leaps into the world of art will give you a profound insight into his evolution as an artist and a human being. And wait ‘till you hear the tale of how he met his wife. It’s laugh-out-loud funny! If you're an artist, a comedian, or just a human being trying to evolve, Kevin's words will strike a chord with you. His experiences remind us that evolution isn't just natural; it's necessary - especially in the areas we love the most. Get ready for an exciting ride with Kevin Nealon. You’re not going to want to miss this one! Key Takeaways Additional Resources Kevin’s BOOK on AmazonKevin’s WEBSITE @kevinnealon @kevinnealonartwork @sukiyeagleyThe Big Leap Experience!

If you're looking for a dose of wonder and inspiration, you're in the right place. In today’s episode, Gay and Mike are diving deep into the art of staying open and how wondering can lead to infinite creativity. Gay shares the details about how he stays open and keeps that space of pure consciousness alive and working for him at ALL times. They'll also share their own personal stories, including a hilarious tale of Gay's experience in the Zen monastery of an LA traffic jam, and a connection he made with Ram Dass himself. But what really stood out to Mike was Gay's discussion of the “third way of manifestation” where we tap into a space of pure openness without any content. A deliciously limitless space where intuition and creativity flow freely, and the universe has no choice but to reveal itself to us in all its glory. So if you're ready to tap into your infinite creative muse and experience the wonders of the universe, tune in to their latest episode of The Big Leap. And who knows, you might even discover some new ways to beat LA traffic or find the key to connecting with extraterrestrial beings! Stay open, friends. Key Takeaways Additional Resources Referral Party HERE!The Big Leap Experience!

Today, Mike and Gay are talking about a term that Gay invented to describe the slow leeching of joy from an activity or from life. 😳 It’s called “Rusting Out.” We all know what burnout is, but Rusting Out is a different beast entirely. It happens when you resist the call of your genius and go through the same motions day after day after day. That sounds like a slow, painful death to Mike. Gay shares some real-life stories about how rust out affects even the biggest artists who struggle to get on stage and sing the same song for 30, 40, or even 50 years. Can you imagine doing the same thing day in and day out for that long? But don't worry, this episode isn't just about the doom and gloom of rusting out. Mike and Gay also tell you how to avoid it and keep reinventing yourself. They'll share their best tips for breaking out of your routine and doing something new every day, even if it's as simple as brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand or taking a new route to work. So don't rust out, friends! Listen to this week’s episode and start busting out of your comfort zone. You never know where it might take you. Key Takeaways Additional Resources Referral Party HERE!The Big Leap Experience!

Reinventing Yourself at Any Age Lots of people go into midlife without opening up to find out what their real genius is for THIS stage of their life. One of Gay’s mentors said, “Every Breath You Take after 50 is a choice between creativity or stagnation” and that’s what today’s episode is all about. Mike and Gay are talking about Surfing the Leading Edge and why it’s so important when making big leaps in life. They'll tell you about a woman named Christine Marie, who has created a program based on the Big Leap principles and her own research to help women with issues like PMS and endometriosis (something she struggled with herself, but was able to find relief through her program). They'll also get into the challenges that people face as they get older, especially in the entertainment industry, where ageism is a real issue and share stories of actors and actresses who have overcome those challenges and found success later in life. Mike spent a little bit of time talking about a project that's really lit him up recently. He's been co-authoring a book with his 20-year-old son, Zack. They've found a really creative way to collaborate together and Mike says it’s been a lot of fun. This one is a really inspiring episode that Mike thinks you’re going to enjoy. Give it a listen and let him know what you think! Key Takeaways Additional Resources Referral Party HERE!The Big Leap Experience!

The Evolution of A Renaissance Man What do you get when you combine a comedian, a sprinter, a filmmaker, an archer, and an entrepreneur all in one? You get Steven Sashen, and this week, Gay and Mike had the pleasure of picking his brain. One of the things that Mike loves about Steven is that he is a first-principle thinker with a wild background and an absolutely fascinating story. Today they'll delve into Steven's mindset, how he approaches problem-solving, and his guiding principle for making a living and having as much fun as possible. They also talked about some of the Big Leaps he's made in his life, from being a professional stand-up comedian to running a software company to accidentally starting a footwear brand with his wife that has grown to over a million customers worldwide. The thing Mike found most impressive about Steven was his willingness to look at any situation with a clear-eyed perspective and seek the truth. His insights and perspectives are something we can all learn from, and Mike thinks you'll enjoy hearing them. Tune in to The Big Leap Podcast for an insightful and entertaining conversation with Steven Sashen. Key Takeaways Additional Resources XeroShoes.comReferral Party HERE!

From Beethoven to Bach… Do you ever have a hard time getting your creative juices flowing? It’s okay… It happens to the best of us. No worries. Mike and Gay have you covered! In today’s podcast, they're diving into the world of creativity and sharing their own personal examples of how they approach creativity every day. You'll walk away with a step-by-step recipe for accessing your creativity and some cool facts about the sources of creativity used by Beethoven and Bach. (Hint: It involves the number 60.) Plus, you'll also get to hear about Gay's 60 Bean Cup of Coffee Ritual and Mike's barista class in Costa Rica. So, get ready for some rapid-fire ideas, a little bit of caffeine, and a lot of inspiration. Tune in to the latest Big Leap podcast now and make more big leaps by inspiring your own creativity! Key Takeaways Additional Resources NEW, #1 SELLING BOOK, YOUR NEXT ACT!The Big Leap Experience!

We've just wrapped up a time of year that tends to be super busy and STRESSFUL for a lot of us. You’re probably feeling burnt out and in need of some rest and relaxation, right? Well, you're in luck because in today’s episode, Gay and Mike dive into the Art of Conscious Resting and Intentional Vacationing ...and it's not just about lounging on the beach with a cocktail (although they're all for that, too!) Gay shares his personal experience of discovering the power of deep rest on a trip to Maui, and how it changed the way he approaches vacationing. Mike and Gay also discuss the importance of finding balance and taking the time to recharge. They'll also delve into the concept of moving at the right speed for your essence and how it can improve your relationships and overall well-being. (A concept that has changed the way Mike is having conversations with his wife.) So, put down the to-do list and take a break to listen to this episode. Your mind (and body) will thank you. And you may even learn a thing or two about finding your own perfect way of Conscious Resting. Key Takeaways Additional Resources Fairmont Kea Lani https://www.fairmont.com/kea-lani-maui/Monkey Pod https://monkeypodkitchen.com/NEW, #1 SELLING BOOK, YOUR NEXT ACT! https://yournextact.mikekoenigs.com/NextActDownload/The Big Leap Experience! http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

This week, Gay and Mike discuss the T word… TIME. How do you manage your time? How do you define time? How are you saving time? Over the years, Gay and Mike have tried (and failed) many different time management techniques, and have figured out what works for them. For example, Mike has a hard and fast “No A-Hole’s” policy, and Gay has a “No Bad Energy Rule.” Similarly, they both hate scheduling and planning, and Mike absolutely can’t STAND doing “homework.” They'll reveal ways of getting around that stuff if you’re so inclined. Lastly, they'll give you the tips, tricks, and tools you need to find your perfect time management plan. Believe it or not, Mike ONLY uses the calendar app on his phone. Wouldn’t it be nice to get rid of all the other apps you have to plan and manage your time? Listen to the whole episode to find out how to become your best “you” by managing your time and energy. P.S. This is the perfect holiday episode because they'll tell you how to say NO to negative energy — maybe that odd cousin you have to see at Grandma’s house? Key Takeaways Additional Resources NEW, #1 SELLING BOOK, YOUR NEXT ACT!https://yournextact.mikekoenigs.com/NextActDownload/The Big Leap Experience!http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

Tell Us What Your Next Big Leaps Are… Today’s episode is a special one… Gay and Mike are talking about what THEIR next Big Leaps are. They're both big believers in reinventing yourself on an ongoing basis, but there’s a question that Mike has been wanting to ask Gay for a while now…. How do you move past “STUCKNESS?” Being stuck usually means holding yourself hostage to old, crystalized fears. It's a mistake to think that you get rid of all of that stuff as you grow more enlightened and in love with life. Right now, Mike's BIGGEST fear is not evolving and growing. It’s something he's been struggling with lately. But as usual, Gay’s advice and insight helped him work through it and figure out exactly what’s been going on. Things got a bit raw, but Mike was able to experience a few genuine transformations, and he can guarantee that if you watch the whole episode… you’ll experience the same. You’ll also get to hear about Gay’s next Big Leaps as a 77-year-old guy towards the end of his life. All that and more! Get started by listening to the podcast. Key Takeaways Additional Resources https://bigleappodcast.com/http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

Time management is OUT, Self-Management is IN! That’s what our guest today teaches. Gay and Mike could not agree more after spending time with her and learning her techniques. Her name is Sophie Chiche and she’s going to teach you how to “Do more of what works and less of what doesn't… and how to know the difference between the two.” In other words… GET MORE DONE IN LESS TIME! From the very practical things you can do in the next 10 seconds to the deeper inner work we all need to tackle. They’ll cover things that you've never thought of before when considering time management and productivity, like the fact that it can be done in a soulful way that honors the essence of who you are as a human being. It’s SO good that we probably shouldn’t really call it “time-management.” You’ll also hear about Sophie's journey as an entrepreneur. From being an overweight French woman who came to the US, completely reinvented herself, found success and made millions. It’s quite a remarkable story and one you’re not going to want to miss. Key Takeaways: Additional Resources: Use Discount CodeLEAP to get 15% off Sophie’s Course HERE.www.QuitManagingTime.comThe Big Leap Experience!

Grief is something that touches every single person in the world. Unfortunately, no one can avoid it. But how do you cope and rebuild in the aftermath of loss? Today's guest, Dr. Sherry Walling, is going to talk about grief and some surprising ways that you can deal with it. She’s written a very special book called, Touching Two Worlds: A guide for finding hope in the landscape of loss. It touches on things that will have you more emotionally engaged than anything you’ve ever read. It's partially a memoir, written about Dr. Walling’s experience of losing her father to esophageal cancer and her brother to suicide within six months of each other. It’s a big immersion into grief, losing people she loved but at the same time, growing her career and raising her children in the prime of her life. This idea of touching two worlds is about her experience going back and forth between the world of aliveness and the world of grief along with some suggestions for the reader to help them deal with their own personal grief. This was an absolutely fascinating and healing conversation for both Mike and Gay. Key Takeaways: Additional Resources: New Book and find out about her Circus Events.The Big Leap Podcast.The Big Leap Experience!

“There's nothing better than a remarkable person who writes a remarkable book that can affect you in remarkable ways.” Welcome to Part Two of The Books that Changed our Lives. This time, Mike and Gay are focusing on different types of books than they did in Part One. Some may surprise you, including Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Poetry, and Fiction, that can take you to a completely different world. And as usual, Gay always blows Mike's mind, so he ended up buying a whole bunch of new books before they ended the episode and now Mike has a gigantic reading list to tackle. (They're all linked below.) Key Takeaways Additional Resources https://bigleappodcast.com/http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” ― Charlie Tremendous Jones Are you a big reader? Is there a book or two that, after reading, completely changed your entire life? That’s what today’s episode is all about. The books that changed Mike and Gay's lives. Gay and Mike are both BIG fans of books (and have written quite a few themselves.) In fact, Gay decided at an early age that he wanted to be a writer. He just knew that there was something extraordinary about putting words down on paper. Growing up, to Mike, books were so magical, and the thought of being able to write a book seemed impossible. Mike can remember the first time he met an author… He literally thought of them as a movie star! When he started to get deep into reading about personal development, he wound up meeting his now wife, Vivian, in Greece. She had written a book, so Mike was SUPER impressed. On that same trip, Mike was introduced to Arielle Ford, Debbie Ford, and a whole group of authors. It felt to Mike like fame oozed off of them. Mike thinks that there's just something really romantic about the notion of being an author that he won’t ignore as they go through their list of authors and talk a little bit about not just the books, but the person behind them. Today they'll tear through seven books each, including a few Mike had never heard of before (that he ended up buying while they were recording!) Let’s dive into The Biggest Books That Shaped Us and Why. Key Takeaways Additional Resources https://bigleappodcast.com/http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

Today, Gay and Mike are getting really raw and diving into a heavy subject… Taking Responsibility for Your Own Life. They talk about how to get a teenager to take responsibility, and their own personal struggles with family members experiencing Dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. They'll also get into the internal struggles they have when they know they're not taking responsibility, lying to themselves and stuck in their addictive ways. Taking responsibility for your own life is one of the BIGGEST challenges that any human being will ever face. Needless to say, it’s a complicated beast. In the different stages of our lives, taking responsibility often means different things, so we have to deal with it in different ways. For example; how do you go about taking responsibility for the lives of the people you care about when they can’t or won’t? Gay and Mike know it's not a sexy subject, but they want to show you how radically cool it is, once you really understand the dynamics of it. Full disclosure… part of the reason why Mike asked Gay to do this episode is because Mike has a 19-year-old son who’s going through some big challenges right now. He went off to an expensive college that Mike and his wife are paying for. They told him up front what their expectations were. He didn't meet those expectations and now he has to live with the consequences—and he REALLY doesn't like it. Mike would bet his left arm that anyone who’s raised a teenager is shaking their head YES, right now! Mike knows you'll love this episode and he's positive you'll have some comments. It's going to touch home in all kinds of ways. Key Takeaways Additional Resources https://bigleappodcast.com/http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

Some of Mike and Gay's most POPULAR Big Leap episodes have to do with operating and staying in your Genius Zone, which of course came from Gay’s book, The Big Leap. But Mike believes that today’s podcast is the BEST one they've ever done. If you've ever wanted to find a way to spend all your time doing the thing you LOVE to do, the thing you're BEST at, the thing that makes you lose all track of time… then you're going to love this episode! Another really juicy area they get into is, how do you know if you’re an addict? (This is by FAR the best rabbit hole they've ever gone down!) So let’s dive into The Five Steps to Finding and STAYING in Your Zone of Genius! Listen to all of the steps in much more detail by watching or listening to the podcast. Key Takeaways Additional Resources The Big Leap Experience: http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

Should You Write One Too? Should you write a memoir or why should you write a memoir? Gay just finished writing his memoir, which is coming out very soon. It's called “Loving Life. Tales of My Wondrous Journey.” In today’s episode, Gay and Mike are talking about four of Gay’s most interesting chapters, including: Gay actually reads from these chapters. They’re not only interesting adventures but they're also things that make you think—and he’s hoping to inspire people to learn more about themselves. Gay thinks the main value of writing or reading a memoir is seeing life from another person's perspective and asking yourself, “How is that like me? Or how is that different from me?” That's an incredibly valuable thing because the unexamined life is not worth living. Gay says, “It wasn't until I started wondering about the bigger aspects of myself in life that I really developed something that I now call happiness. Unless we have self knowledge, there's no possibility of being happy because you don't know yourself well enough to give yourself loving, compassionate understanding that I think heals us in life.” They also talk about how Gay went about writing the book and how you might go about writing your own memoir. Even if it’s something you’ve never considered, maybe you'll be given good reasons to do it. Mike learned A LOT about Gay and how he thinks in this episode, and they think you're going to learn a lot about the way you think—plus enjoy the entertaining storytelling. Key Takeaways Additional Resources https://bigleappodcast.com/http://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

You Probably Have More Life Ahead of You Than You Think Today Gay and Mike are interviewing one of their heroes. Someone whose wisdom they have great respect for, so needless to say, they've been looking forward to this one for a while. His name is Chip Conley. He’s a New York Times bestselling author and the hospitality maverick who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand. He’s also the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, where a new roadmap for midlife is offered at a beautiful oceanfront campus in Baja California Sur, Mexico. In today’s episode they'll talk about where you’ll find the greatest level of purpose in your life—plus Chip explains attaining versus attuning and atoning. Chip tells them that “You probably have more life ahead of you than you think! If you're 54 and live until you’re 90, you’re exactly halfway through your adult life. When you know you have that much life ahead of you, it's time to start planning and doing the things you've always wanted to do, and make the Big Leap.” Chip is a big believer in the fact that resilience alone will just wear out your knuckles. It buys you time, but adaptability buys you a future. Having the courage to be adaptable, creative, curious, and the willingness to make mistakes along the way. The biggest mistake you could ever make is not even trying. Key Takeaways Additional Resources Wisdom Well Bloghttp://www.MrBz.com/WisdomWellThe Big Leap Experiencehttp://www.bigleappodcast.com/Apply

The guest today is lifelong entrepreneur, Bill Moses, the co-founder of Kevita and CEO and Founder of Flying Embers. Today he’s going to share some of his Big Leaps, including the one that saved Kevita when everyone else wanted to throw in the towel because it looked like they might lose it all. He’ll tell Mike and Gay about his ideas for creating alignment, building trust, and aligning values and drive. Surprisingly, it's nothing obvious. You'll also learn what Bill's genius zone is. It’s an amazing skill that if you’re able to duplicate it and spend most of your time in this space, great things will happen for you, too. All things that every entrepreneur needs to know. You'll find out what Bill's daily practices are that keep him centered, and a really cool gadget he uses that gives him more energy and keeps him at the top of his game. Bill says, “You could never expect the unexpected, but you could envision it, and you can make it a reality with a lot of hard work and daunting conviction.” Bill is living proof of this statement, so let’s dive in and learn from a master. Key Takeaways Additional Resources

Today we’re talking with Kyle Cease, a New York Times Best Selling author who has the unique gift of being able to merge comedy and personal transformation. He’s what would happen if Eckhart Tolle and Jim Carrey had a baby! Kyle believes that “for us to really grow, we almost have to let go of everything—and that less effort equals more magic.” In other words, if we surrender a little more and take more of what Gay calls "Big Leaps," we can transcend the parts of us that are creating out of fear and instead create amazing things. Mike is a huge fan of stand-up comedy, so he asked Kyle what his thoughts were on the evolution of comedy—plus what his creative process is. The answers he gave were so different from what Mike thought they were going to be. You'll also hear how Kyle managed to get himself a gig at the Dolby Theater (the theater they hold the Oscars in!) That and a lot more in this episode… Key Takeaways Evolving Out LoudAdditional Resources

Today, Mike and Gay are answering a great question that Gay came up with several years ago: How to Come Up with Your Top Five Life Goals These are arguably some of the most powerful questions you could ever ask yourself that ended up being in a book that Gay wrote called, “Five Wishes.” The process is super simple and can be done no matter what stage of life you're in. Once you answer them, you’ll have a great advantage and be on the right path. If you're not following your own life purpose, you can bet that you're following somebody else's, so it's a good idea to figure out where you want your life to be focused. You're going to walk away with a lot of clarity about what you want to do after listening to this episode. Key Takeaways Additional Resources Five Wishes.The Big Leap Experience!The Big Leap is a podcast dedicated to helping its listeners achieve their maximum level of contribution, love, and abundance, and discovering their genius. It is brought to you by Gay Hendricks & Mike Koenigs.