The Lion Is You
Lessons from the Wild on Coming Alive Again
Published on 21. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-971795-00-3 (ISBN)
Description
The Lion Is You is a field guide for anyone who senses that their life, no matter how successful it looks on the outside, feels like something is still missing inside.
After coming face-to-face with a charging lion in the African wilderness, executive coach David Gerber discovered a truth most of us quietly avoid. Safety and aliveness are not the same thing. You can build a life with solid walls, clear routines, and every external marker of success, and still feel the dull ache of a caged animal pacing inside you.
Drawing from real lion-tracking expeditions in Africa and his own journey through grief, fear, and renewal, Gerber invites readers into a radical reimagining of what it means to live with purpose and courage. In the wild, trackers move slowly through heat, dust, and brush, reading faint signs pressed into the earth. A scuffed leaf. A broken branch. A paw print already softening in the sun. Proof that something alive passed through recently and did not stay.
Life leaves tracks the same way. Restlessness. Longing. Discomfort. The quiet sense that you are circling the edges of a life you were meant to enter but never quite did. These signals are not flaws to correct or feelings to numb. They are invitations. Like hearing your own name called in the dark, they do not explain themselves. They simply ask whether you will turn toward the sound.
Part memoir, part spiritual adventure, and part practical map for personal growth, The Lion Is You helps readers break free from “1–10 living,” the narrow, socially acceptable version of life, and step into something far bigger, wilder, and truer. Through unforgettable stories, grounded insight, and soul-level questions, Gerber guides you to discover your first tracks, follow the string, and come face-to-face with the life you were always meant to live.
The lion you are searching for is not out there.
It is you.
After coming face-to-face with a charging lion in the African wilderness, executive coach David Gerber discovered a truth most of us quietly avoid. Safety and aliveness are not the same thing. You can build a life with solid walls, clear routines, and every external marker of success, and still feel the dull ache of a caged animal pacing inside you.
Drawing from real lion-tracking expeditions in Africa and his own journey through grief, fear, and renewal, Gerber invites readers into a radical reimagining of what it means to live with purpose and courage. In the wild, trackers move slowly through heat, dust, and brush, reading faint signs pressed into the earth. A scuffed leaf. A broken branch. A paw print already softening in the sun. Proof that something alive passed through recently and did not stay.
Life leaves tracks the same way. Restlessness. Longing. Discomfort. The quiet sense that you are circling the edges of a life you were meant to enter but never quite did. These signals are not flaws to correct or feelings to numb. They are invitations. Like hearing your own name called in the dark, they do not explain themselves. They simply ask whether you will turn toward the sound.
Part memoir, part spiritual adventure, and part practical map for personal growth, The Lion Is You helps readers break free from “1–10 living,” the narrow, socially acceptable version of life, and step into something far bigger, wilder, and truer. Through unforgettable stories, grounded insight, and soul-level questions, Gerber guides you to discover your first tracks, follow the string, and come face-to-face with the life you were always meant to live.
The lion you are searching for is not out there.
It is you.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 134 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
431 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-971795-00-3 (9781971795003)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Gerber is a partner, speaker, and coach with Novus Global, where he specializes in helping professional athletes and high-performing leaders break through limitations and unlock levels of aliveness, impact, and purpose they never thought possible. With over a decade of experience in the field of mental performance, David is known for his bold yet compassionate coaching style and his deep commitment to transformational growth.
A dynamic speaker, David has a Tedx talk with over 1 Million Views.
David is a certified lion tracker and the creator of transformational lion tracking experiences in South Africa. These powerful, nature-immersive experiences combine ancient tracking practices with coaching conversations to reconnect leaders to their vision, purpose, and untapped potential. By guiding clients through the raw beauty and intensity of the African wilderness, David helps them access a level of clarity and aliveness that transcends the boardroom.
David is also deeply committed to social impact. He volunteers in Denver with Cross Purpose - an organization committed to alleviating generational poverty. His service also extends globally, having worked with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and families across Asia, Central America, and Africa.
When he’s not coaching top-tier executives or leading immersive tracking expeditions, David challenges himself physically and mentally—running marathons, completing a full Ironman, and exploring cultures across the globe. His approach to life, leadership, and coaching is rooted in one clear belief: when we feel most alive, we lead at our best.
David lives in Denver, CO.
A dynamic speaker, David has a Tedx talk with over 1 Million Views.
David is a certified lion tracker and the creator of transformational lion tracking experiences in South Africa. These powerful, nature-immersive experiences combine ancient tracking practices with coaching conversations to reconnect leaders to their vision, purpose, and untapped potential. By guiding clients through the raw beauty and intensity of the African wilderness, David helps them access a level of clarity and aliveness that transcends the boardroom.
David is also deeply committed to social impact. He volunteers in Denver with Cross Purpose - an organization committed to alleviating generational poverty. His service also extends globally, having worked with some of the world’s most vulnerable children and families across Asia, Central America, and Africa.
When he’s not coaching top-tier executives or leading immersive tracking expeditions, David challenges himself physically and mentally—running marathons, completing a full Ironman, and exploring cultures across the globe. His approach to life, leadership, and coaching is rooted in one clear belief: when we feel most alive, we lead at our best.
David lives in Denver, CO.