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"To know and not to do is not to know." - Ancient Chinese saying
How do you know when you're in the presence of genius? You witness a passionate, wide-eyed maniac doing or saying something that looks or sounds a little strange. I've been in the presence of genius. It's impossible to miss. Dictionary.com describes genius this way (note: I've selected the one definition, out of nine, that best suits my rant):
gen·ius [jeen-yuhs] : a person who strongly influences for good or ill the character, conduct, or destiny of a person, place, or thing.
In my mind a genius is someone who "does," not someone who simply thinks. He or she is someone who risks, and not someone who critiques.
A genius is a grade school teacher who stretches the sensibilities and patience of the "system" and inspires her children to greatness.
She's a middle manager who visualizes a radically new process and makes it come to life for the benefit of her customers and her risk averse organization.
A genius is a marketer who says, "Screw the Superbowl ad! Let's take that $2 million and hire one hundered passionate brand advocates to try some new, cool stuff." Do the math.
He's a leader who says, "What corporate doesn't know won't hurt them," and moves forward with a skunk works project that ends up changing the direction, and future, of the company.
Geniuses are misfits. Like a pair of tight fitting pants, they make people uncomfortable. Embrace them. Cherish them. For it is discomfort that inspires change and insight. Insight seldom leads to change. Just ask the overweight, middle aged person who has just experienced a heart attack.
As Oscar Wilde has pointed out, "An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all." And a genius who does not take action in the face of said danger, despite his or her I.Q., is really not worthy of being called a genius.
Stay passionate geniuses! Don't let the masses pull you down. They need you now more than ever, and more than you'll ever know.
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Tom is timely, thought provoking and all about the new brand vision packaged as a Seinfeld stand up. I went to school on his ideas.
Jeff Taylor, Founder, Monster.com and CEO, Eons.
Hey, Tom. Thanks for the insightful post.
In my own point of view, geniuses start as the most misunderstood individuals on earth. They have different ideas from everyone else and they seem not to conform with the usual societal, corporate or even mental norm.
However, once their ideas prove to be very feasible and they become very successful, only does the tag "misunderstood" transform into "genius."
Posted by: Strategic Growth Advisors | September 24, 2009 at 09:13 PM
"once their ideas prove to be very feasible and they become very successful, only does the tag 'misunderstood' transform into 'genius.'"
Great insight! Thanks.
Posted by: Tom Asacker | September 25, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Wow! That is just brilliant. If dictionary.com could accept a blog in place of a definition, i would have recommended you to forward it to them immediately. :)
Great work.
Oscar Hernandes
Hirelabs, Inc.
Posted by: Oscar Hernandes | September 28, 2009 at 01:46 AM
Thank you Oscar.
Posted by: Tom Asacker | September 28, 2009 at 08:27 AM
This reminds me of "Tribes" by Seth Godin :)
Also, how about rather than considering certain people to be geniuses, consider everyone to have a genius. I watched a really great TED video recently about this. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html
I believe strongly in everyone having something that they're excellent at. I see older people who've got comfortable in their lives, and they may have missed their genius opportunity.
To say that a genius is simply a genius is applying so much pressure - they are assumed to be good at everything.
If, instead, everyone was encouraged to find their ONE genius, and then cherish each others geniuses and our own (putting them all to good use) imagine how differently everything would look!
Posted by: Caylee | October 05, 2009 at 06:32 PM