Live Large: The Achiever’s Guide to What’s Next

That's exactly what Elizabeth Crook offers with this book. "Live Large" is a practical guide that helps us analyze our skills, talents, beliefs and values so we can find our next big thing. It helps us to identify why we do what we do, and to understand what might be holding us back from creating our dream life or career. It helps us turn vicious circles into virtuous ones, and connects us to what truly brings us alive.

Much has already been said and written about playing to our strengths, finding our "why," and living to our potential. But Crook's approach feels fresh. It's hands-on, effective, and doable.

So who's this book for? Crook singles out high-achievers as her key audience. She primarily writes for people who've already had success and are looking for a new direction. So it's ideal for anyone who's ready to start a new project, find a new role, or take on a new challenge after achieving in other areas.

But you don't have to class yourself as a high-achiever to get value from this book. The exercises the author shares are useful for pretty much anyone, no matter where you are in your career. We could all benefit from exploring our limiting beliefs and the thought processes that hold us back, as well as examining our core values and understanding what makes us want to leap out of bed in the morning.

To get the most out of this book, you need to be prepared to do some work. It's packed with exercises, tables to fill in, and lists to write. Doing the exercises, rather than just reading about them, is the key to change, Crook says. So those who are willing to put aside time and get out a pen and paper will benefit most from this book. Through "Live Large," Crook wants to be your personal coach. We suggest you accept her offer.

Crook is the CEO of Orchard Advisors, which helps entrepreneurs, company and community leaders, philanthropists, and others grow their organizations, increase their impact, explore fresh opportunities, and find fulfillment. She previously worked as a corporate strategist, helping companies expand into new markets, until she realized she had a gift for coaching individuals, to help them discover what matters to them most and to go after their dreams.

So keep listening to hear how to escape your jury, judge and jailer; how to separate your Know-What from your Know-How; and how a Yippee Index can help you make the right choice.

Crook is a coach who clearly cares about her clients and readers, and is passionate about her work. She wants you to go on a journey of personal and professional development with her, and emerge from it with a clearer idea of who you are, what you do well, and what you love to do.

That may sound like a big ask from a book of less than 200 pages, but Crook does a great job of breaking everything down into bite-sized chunks. You can't get lost in "Live Large." It's neatly structured, with 18 short chapters split into three sections.

Each chapter offers a new tool or task, and there's space in the book to do the written exercises, as well as examples of how they might be done. These tools are Crook's winning formula – a process she's used with hundreds of clients across different industries and occupations. You get the impression you're in safe hands; and as Crook's formula has worked for many, why not for you? She also shares some of her own journey and her past experiences with honesty and humility, which makes her a personable author, and supplies a good mix of anecdotes, case studies and practical advice.

So, let's take a closer look at some of her suggestions.

When we want to aim higher and live a bigger life, it's great to get clarity on what's holding us back. At the start of the book, Crook invites us to tune in to those negative voices inside our head that tell us we're not good enough, experienced enough, young enough, or old enough. If we tune in to them, we can then tune them out and get on with going for our dreams.

The author calls these voices our "Triple J," to signify jury, judge, and jailer. The jury hears evidence against us, and against our ambitions. The judge decides that our goals are out of reach, and the jailer locks us up, undermining us or knocking our confidence so we don't take action.

If this sounds familiar, the good news is there's a solution. Crook offers a number of suggestions to silence the Triple J. Firstly, make the voice of your Triple J visible or audible, either by saying it out loud or writing it down. For example, you might write, "I feel selfish for wanting a satisfying career," or, "It's too late to learn that new skill."

Next, take a closer look at what you've written, and ask if there's any evidence to support that negative belief or thought. This might be something you heard as a child, or at an earlier stage in your career, that's stuck with you. For example, you might note that your mother used to say you were selfish because you always wanted your own way.

Now ask what evidence contradicts that statement. Perhaps your friends tell you you're too selfless and should take more time for yourself.

Next, compare the two pieces of evidence and ask yourself which is real and which is false. What's the more accurate statement? Then develop an action plan based on this truth. By doing this, you can start exploring a role, a way of working, or a hobby that will fulfill you.

As we move toward our goals, Crook suggests we listen to our Better Angels, a term she borrows from U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. He appealed to the "better angels" of people's natures to form a union, in his first inaugural speech. This is the part of us that's able to rise above the Triple J. Our Better Angels praise and affirm our actions and give us strength to go for our dreams.

Crook's language won't be for everyone. She takes a holistic approach and believes in aligning mind, body and spirit in order to live our best life. But we think the concepts of the Triple J and Better Angels are catchy and memorable, and offer a practical and different way to beat the negative voices that sometimes keep us trapped.

The author returns to the theme of limiting beliefs a few times in Section Two. For some readers, this will feel like repetition. But each time she goes deeper, asks different questions, and comes at things from a slightly different angle.

Working through "Live Large" is like taking an inventory of ourselves – our strengths, beliefs, blind spots, skills, gifts, characteristics, motivators, preferences, and those things that make us tick. Once we have this clear picture, we'll have a better idea which path to take. To get there, we must go back through our work and life history, and explore what worked and what didn't, what we enjoyed versus endured, where we performed well and where we flopped, and all the knowledge and skills we've amassed.

Crook supplies lots of tools to help with this process, but we especially like an exercise that helps to identify the difference between our Know-Whats and our Know-Hows, so let's take a closer look at this.

The author's main message is that we don't have to let our job titles define us. We may be a project manager, a CFO, a team leader, or a sports coach, with lots of knowledge that's specific to those roles. But within that job, we have many different skills that could help us to expand our work life, go for promotion, or move to a new role.

Crook suggests we take some time to write down our Know-Whats (the specifics of our job) and then write down a list of our Know-Hows (the transferable skills we use every day). For example, if you're a project manager, you'll be good at planning, budgeting, overseeing work, and getting things done to deadline. But if you look deeper, you may also see that you've developed great people and communication skills. You may notice you're a good listener, a great leader, a wonderful mentor, or an expert social organizer.

Once you have your list of Know-Hows, Crook suggests you divide them into two categories: those activities that drain and deplete you, and those that energize you and make you feel happy, strong, alive, and connected. Clearly, you want to be moving toward the energizers.

Crook's exercises are practical and useful for people in a range of situations. Doing this inventory gives you an accurate picture of all your skills. It helps you to negotiate a raise or a promotion, explore activities outside work that bring you fulfillment, request a new role within your company, or confidently explore a future elsewhere.

The final section of "Live Large" invites us to look forward three to five years and think about what we want to be doing then, and the conditions we want to be working in. What kind of lifestyle or work environment suits us? Do we like working as a team or on our own? Do we thrive on chaos and spontaneity, or do we need organization and precise planning? What do we like about our current working conditions, and what doesn't suit us?

Finally, Crook asks us to identify our core driver – the main thing that motivates us. Do we want to be a leader or a coach, work flexibly, or make a certain level of income?

Once we have a clear idea of our skills, our favored environment, and our key motivator, we should be able to come up with a list of options of what to do next, either within our current role, in a new role, or outside work. The key now is to discover which of those options makes our heart skip with joy.

Crook suggests we rate each option according to a "Yippee Index." This is our gut check. It's when we try to imagine how it would feel if we went in a certain direction. Would we feel excited and delighted if we got that promotion, or would it feel scary and overwhelming? What would it feel like to be working in that role we've got our eye on?

If we have a number of options of where to go next, we can write them down. Then write down the benefits of each option, along with their potential risks or disadvantages, and rate them one to five on our Yippee Index. That should help us decide whether to move forward or not.

Some readers may find the idea of this Yippee Index too simplistic, but like Crook's other tools, techniques and catchphrases, it's memorable and therefore effective.

We've only had time to touch on a few of Crook's exercises, but her approach is thorough and comprehensive, as well as realistic. She encourages us to think big, but not beyond the realms of our abilities. And she reminds us that we've got so far already, so we can draw on our past experiences and successes.

She also knows self-doubt will always try to sabotage us, and offers antidotes to keep us on track. She draws these tips from her own repertoire, as well as from personal-development gurus such as Tony Robbins and Steven Covey. For all these reasons, "Live Large" is a practical, insightful and inspiring book.

Are there any downsides? Well, if you look closely, you'll find repetition, especially when it comes to limiting beliefs. And some of Crook's metaphors, about climbing mountains or forging new paths, are unoriginal.

Also, her style, tone and language aren't for everyone. She talks about our higher self and the importance of the mind, body and spirit connection. But we think there are so many helpful tools and insightful questions in this book that any downsides pale into insignificance, if you notice them at all.

"Live Large" is a powerful manual that's useful for people at all stages of their careers. Just reading this book will make you think differently about your past, present, and potential future. And if you sit down and do the work Crook asks of you, we think it could help you to achieve so much more.

"Live Large" by Elizabeth Crook is published by Greenleaf Book Group Press.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.