The Complete Genius
While meandering through a bookstore, I discovered a wealth of books
for dummies and idiots. You have probably seen the many volumes
directed at stupid people, such as Computers for Dummies and The
Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dating. I even saw The Complete Idiot’s
Guide to Out-of-Body Experiences!
There are hundreds of titles in each of these very popular series, and
the number is growing rapidly. I was struck by how readily we identify
ourselves as dummies and idiots. Obviously we think we are stupid, and
these books will help. I wonder what would happen if I published a
similar series for geniuses, such as Golf for Sages or The Complete
Genius’s Guide to Home Repair.
I have a hunch they wouldn't sell very well at all. Not because we are
not geniuses. Because we have been trained to regard ourselves as
stupid. When I was little, I sat on my front porch one morning and
sang several rousing verses of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” A few
days later I overheard my mother casually tell someone, “Alan has a
foghorn voice.”
That idea made an impression on me, and I did not sing for many years.
After all (at that age), your mother knows everything, and if she said
I couldn't sing, I couldn't sing. Perhaps you had a similar
experience. Perhaps early in life you adopted a thought about yourself
that defined you as small, ugly, incapable, or unlovable. Most of us
did.
And perhaps you went on to live as if that identity was true. And
perhaps, like many, you collected a pool of tears in your heart and
went through life hurting because you wished you could be more.
You are more. The genius you were born as, still lives, and can be
reactivated at any moment.
Genius is your reality and the dark programming is your adopted
personality.
When Abraham (through Esther Hicks) was challenged, “You can't teach
an old dog new tricks,” Abraham answered, “You have no idea what an
old dog you are!”
Who you were before you learned self-defeating tricks, is still very
much available and eager to come forth and shine.
There is a story in the annals of education about an elementary school
teacher who arrived on the first day of school and perused her class
roster. Next to each child’s name was the number of a very high I.Q.
“126, 135, 140,” Miss Everett read aloud, eyebrows raised. “Thank
goodness I finally got a bright class!” Miss Everett went on stimulate
the loftiest abilities in her wiz-kids.
She gave them challenging projects, took them on field trips, and
offered them leeway to explore their work in creative ways. At the end
of the semester all the students earned A’s and B’s. The day after
report cards came out, the principal called her into his office and
asked, “Miss Everett, what did you do with these kids?” “What do you
mean?” she asked innocently. “You took some of the lowest-functioning
students in the school and turned them into geniuses!” “I don't
understand what you're talking about,” the teacher replied. “These
kids were bright when I got them. Here, just look at their IQ’s in my
roll book.” The principal scanned her roster and replied, astonished,
“Miss Everett, these are their locker numbers!”
The people around us tend to become who we think they are, so let us
focus on the highest in everyone we meet.
Renowned success teacher Dale Carnegie, author of the most popular
self-help book of all time, How to Win Friends and Influence People,
began his career in an unexpected way.
The Complete Genius ~ Page 2
One night while teaching an adult school English course, he ran out of
lecture material before the class time was up. So he invited several
students to each stand before the class and talk about him- or herself
- an exercise utterly unheard of at that time.
The results were extraordinary! The speakers came to life in a way he
had not seen when they were studying English, and the class responded
energetically. Mr. Carnegie had happened upon the transformational
power of authentic self-expression, which ultimately revolutionized
(perhaps even created) the genre of personal development.
Later he wrote, “Give them a reputation to live up to!” The words
“genius” and “genuine” are almost identical, and they proceed from the
same Latin root word. The key to genius is genuineness.
The more you are who you are, the more your genius comes forth. On the
other hand, the more you sell out and try to be what you think you
should be or live up to others’ expectations, the more you stifle your
brilliance.
Most great scientists, inventors, musicians, and artists, are somewhat
eccentric. They have the guts to be all of what they are, even if the
package doesn't fit the social mold.
They just let all of their talents rip, and in so doing they change
the world for the better. Here’s to your genuine genius. I'll look for
your book in the store.
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