That's Genius!

“That’s genius!” I had a friend say that to me the other day. It was a simple idea I had which came from a lot of studying and learning on a particular topic. While I could not quote where I got the idea from I know it was not too original, at best it was taking other people’s ideas and bringing them to a logical conclusion. At worst it was direct plagiarism where I could not name the actual author from the myriad of books I have read recently.

“That’s genius!” Got me thinking about the relationship between talent, hard work, and actual “smarts”. I ran across this quote from Adrian Van Zelfden: “Talent hits a target no one can hit. Genius hits a target that no one can see.” That quote resonated with me but I also must add that the genius he is talking about is not a natural occurance. I believe genius a part born-with-it “smarts” but a much larger part hard work. In fact, I believe unexercised “smarts” will not turn into genius but quite the opposite.

We do not grow INTO creativity and genius; we grow OUT of it. It takes hard work to become a genius. Just like most over-night sensations will tell you that it took a decade of unrecognized hard work to become and over-night sensation.

The good news is: genius at some level is attainable for everyone. You simply need to work VERY HARD for a decade and you too can become and over-night genius. Most are not willing to put in that hard work and have recently settle for fifteen minutes of internet or reality show fame.

The bad news is: if you don’t keep working towards it … you will lose what genius you already have. Whatever you don’t feed and water will wither away.

Anne Tyler begins her book “Back when we were Grownups” with this opening line: “Once upon a time there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.”

Don’t be that woman.