The Gap and the Gain: The High Achievers’ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success

by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Dan Sullivan is a successful entrepreneur and founder of the “Strategic Coach” program. Together with Dr. Benjamin Hardy, an American psychologist, he poses a central question: Do you constantly compare yourself to your ideal – or to your progress?

The book revolves around one key mental model:

• GAP: You compare yourself to an ideal – and inevitably feel inadequate.
• GAIN: You look back at your progress – and recognize what you've already accomplished.

With plenty of hands-on examples from coaching practice and psychological studies, Sullivan and Hardy show how this subtle mental shift can lead to greater satisfaction, motivation, and productivity.

The book covers topics such as:

• Why striving for ideals often leads to unhappiness
• How to consciously measure your “GAINS” (including simple exercises)
• The role of gratitude and goal reflection
• Why successful people often get stuck in the GAP – and how to escape it

In addition to introducing a new vocabulary, the book gives you practical tools: daily GAIN reflections, a progress journal, and intentional goal setting.

The tone is relaxed, motivating, and easy to follow – not a deep psychological dive, but a practical and inspiring impulse.

A clear recommendation for freelancers, entrepreneurs, leaders, coaches, and anyone who tends to put themselves under pressure, underestimates their progress, and constantly compares themselves to an unattainable ideal.

🎧 Suitable as an audiobook? Absolutely.

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Genres

Mindset Personal Development & Growth Happiness Success Self-Help Psychology Motivation Growth Mindset Productivity