Ever say any of these to yourself, or something like one of them?
“Did I do that?”
“Did I come up with that?”
“Did I write that?”
“Yes, I took that photo.”
Have you ever done something so simple, so innocuous… but resulted in a “best-one-ever”?
Maybe you all you did was switch-out an ingredient in a recipe?
Maybe you were doodling on a napkin in a coffee shop and came up with the most profound haiku?
Maybe you think you’re just an okay photographer, but somehow you keep capturing these images your friends think are amazing?
Everybody has some genius… believe me, and so do you.
Here’s how to find it…
You start first by letting go of the idea of you’re not or you can’t… whatever you’re not or you can’t may be. I understand, it’s not so easy. But start exactly where you find yourself today.
You say you’re not really creative, but didn’t you used to dabble in writing poetry?
It’s that kind of thought we need to let go of.
Give yourself some space. Let the ideas come to you, let them germinate… be patient, it took a long time to suppress your childlike wonder, reversing it may take some time too.
And while we’re talking about time, STOP waiting for it. Don’t wait until you have…
- A full weekend
- Three hours
- A week on a beach to really journal and find yourself
The truth is you never will. Take fifteen minutes today – and start.
Let yourself be willing to try things, new things…
Start asking, “Why?” and “What if?” Ask them often.
Then work on becoming willing to ask more and more questions… forget “you’re supposed to already know that.” Forget that twenty years ago, someone made light of how many questions you ask. Ask about what grabs your attention. Develop the skill to ask great questions.
Teachers and bosses stomp on this ability all the time. You know their mantras? “Don’t bring me a problem…” “You’d better know…” “If you did your homework you wouldn’t have to ask.”
So, is it better not to ask?
If they’re not on the same journey, they won’t get where you’re coming from and they definitely won’t understand where you’re headed.
Don’t ask people who will tell you it’s a bad idea, or it won’t work, or you’re just wasting your time or your money, or any of the million other reasons that will only take the wind out of your sails.
Go to new places, do new things.
Taste the difference. It’s the same ol’, same old that dulls our curiosity and takes the edge off our creativity.
Ponder this thought for a moment…
If I were forced to pick only one principle to live by, I am nearly certain that it would be this: think fearlessly. In other words, think without fear of crossing boundaries, contradicting closely-held beliefs, and especially think without fear of the practical output. Suspend your beliefs and your disbelief.”— Mike Sturm, writer for Woolgathering (mikesturm.net)
Mike isn’t talking about genius directly, or is he? The ability to think fearlessly has got to be the missing piece. Imagine the freedom once you’re able to do that.
Everybody has some genius… if they’re willing
We generally consider a person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative to be a genius. But, that doesn’t tie it down much, does it?
I like to think of genius as equal parts insight, curiosity and creativity… then asking, and answering some really, really good questions. Add Mike Sturm’s fearless thinking credo and you might have the secret formula.
One of my favorite definitions of genius I came across awhile back is this…
Your difference is your genius.”
It sort of paraphrases Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s definition…
What is genius but the power of expressing a new individuality?”
There’s something about that one I like. Because it recognizes the existence of genius in us all.
Genius is discovery. Many times, it occurs by accident.
But that doesn’t take credit away from your involvement.
A funny thing about genius… a lot of it is spawned through mistakes.
Yeah, sure… she won a Nobel prize. But, look at how much she screwed up doing it!” — not a genius
It’s that will to keep trying that makes the difference.
Our culture doesn’t want us to just try stuff. We have to do this first, then that next. There are rules. There are requirements after all. BS on that! Why wait? Go ahead. Find out what it’s like… find out for yourself. Do it your way.
Genius is a process… and a lot like a journey!
Start connecting the dots, and be willing to unconnected them and reconnect them… in many ways, it’s sort of like a jigsaw puzzle
Remember, most limits are self-imposed.
Stop thinking that it takes someone smarter than you to teach you something. Ask yourself, “What can I experience which will help me stretch my own limits?”
And tools make geniuses better geniuses
I came across a post by Jessica Wildfire on Medium.com a while back on how to “…succeed your way.”
One of her tips seemed so obvious, but it’s the obvious that is so often ignored (genius opportunity).
Give yourself the right tools. Seriously, give yourself the right tools.”
Think about it. How many home offices have some old crappy chair just because one of the good ones is too expensive. I promise you, if your back or your butt aren’t happy… your brilliance ain’t coming out the other end.
Like Jessica says, the point is… give yourself the tools you need to do your best work. Seriously. Good tools pay dividends in productivity and genius, apparent or otherwise.
Analog tools still work too. Many times, even better than the latest new digital app or gizmo… pen and paper, marker boards, get your brilliance out of your head, keep notebooks… even if you never go back to them.
Remember all those experiments back in science classes?
“Experiment. Try. Make mistakes. Learn. It might not work. Then go back. Don’t ever get complacent. Grow and adapt to the changing world.” — Jessica Wildfire again
The world is not all black and white. Let yourself explore the gray areas. Allow yourself to explore what lies outside the margins… and between the lines.
All rules don’t apply to all things genius, except some do.
Mind-bending, isn’t it? How many rules do you believe apply to genius? I’m thinking very few actually do.
You’ve got to do the work… genius is not a miracle.
Is that a rule? It might be. If it is I’m going to say it’s one that applies.
Be willing to share your bad work and your bad ideas.
Sounds easy, but it’s not. Who wants to keep their bad stuff lying around? What if you get hit by a bus and someone sees it when they’re going through your stuff? What if they laugh?
That’s just part of the bargain. And you really do have to share it all. Why? I can think of two reasons—
- Because you don’t get to decide what’s good and what’s bad.
- Bad work and bad ideas lead to better work and better ideas. Which eventually lead to your best work. To your bit of genius.
If you spend much time at all in the blogosphere, you’ll find overwhelming content bearing the secrets to success. The thing is, you’ll rarely find them talking about genius. It’s morning ritual this and how to crush that. Wha. Whah. Whaaagh.
The success junkies have missed the point entirely.
They’ve taken maximizing their world to the point where the next thing they masterfully integrate into their existence may well make their collective heads explode. I suggest looking elsewhere.
Genius takes space… space to dream, imagine, wonder. It takes room for those thoughts, dots, and ideas to ferment, find each other, connect, then reorder themselves into your next moment of brilliance.
Give ‘em a chance, my friends.
It happens… you just need to let it… I think you’ve got this one.
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p.s. No, I’m not a genius like Einstein… I’m more one like you, and her, and that guy over there.
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