Genius Thinking:
Lessons From History’s Greatest Minds on Innovation,
Creativity,
and Intelligence (Mental Models for Better Living Book 6)
Written by
Peter Hollins
Narrated by Russell Newton.
What is a genius?
Perhaps the first answer that pops into
your mind is the popular depiction of
geniuses in T. V. shows.
You know the kind - smart-talking,
slightly arrogant black sheep who seem
to solve the crime or win the chess
tournament without breaking a sweat.
People have always been fascinated with
genius,
and with the ability to wield superior
intellectual mastery.
Whether we admire geniuses in the arts,
science,
or business,
there’s something so irresistible
about the idea of a human being
operating at their fullest potential.
If you’ve picked up this book,
it’s likely you too are interested in
what exactly sets geniuses apart.
Are they just born that way,
and us mere mortals can do nothing but
look on in admiration?
Or perhaps there is no such thing as
genius at all,
only years of punishing,
diligent hard work that pays off
eventually?
In this book,
we’re going to take the perspective
so often adopted by geniuses themselves
- we’re going to approach the idea of
intellectual mastery and success as our
topic,
and study it as Einstein studied
physics.
In other words,
we’ll become students of human
success,
and look closely not into any one
subject,
but into the way we think about those
subjects,
and how we can optimize our learning
and abilities.
We’ll observe,
take notes,
and see what we can learn from the
great thinkers of our time—and
there’s a lot to learn,
for those who are willing to pay
attention.
What genius can you think of,
off the top of your head?
In this book,
we’ll look at the lives and works of
people like Socrates,
Einstein,
Descartes,
Darwin and Copernicus,
among others.
Despite living in different cultural
and historical periods,
and despite having different interests
and ideas,
these men in fact share a surprisingly
predictable set of personal
characteristics.
So,
what are these traits?
Before you carry on reading,
close this book and see if you can zoom
in on just one or two qualities or
attributes that you think make the
essence of a genius.
Intellectual curiosity.
Chances are,
you thought of something along the
lines of “a genius is intellectually
hungry and curious about everything."
No matter the chosen outlet,
intelligent and highly conscious people
tend to want to know why.
It’s this active,
deliberate perspective that sets them
apart from others who are happy to take
things as they are,
without ever looking more deeply into
them.
When we are children,
we are perhaps more like natural
geniuses than at any other time in our
lives.
We are the proverbial learning sponges,
soaking everything up,
asking a million questions a day,
wanting to know how things work just
for the joy of having that knowledge.
When we grow up,
adults around us indoctrinate us into
certain educational conventions and
institutions that dull this natural
curiosity.
We learn the rules,
the right answers,
and which authority to defer to.
In other words,
we stop relying on our own innate
fascination with the universe around us.
For a genius,
curiosity never seems to subside.
No matter how old they are,
they seem to have a knack for looking
at the world with the wonder of a
little child seeing it all for the
first time.
They are enraptured by things that
other people think are commonplace.
They want to understand how it all
works,
what it means,
how it fits together,
and they don’t stop investigating
until they find out!
And this leads us to conclude something
interesting - that people like Socrates
and Einstein aren’t in possession of
something superhuman;
rather,
they may have merely figured out how to
retain a certain mindset that all
humans are typically born with.
We’ll be focusing on such people in
this book because their lives are a
matter of public record,
and it’s easy to see what might have
worked for them,
but geniuses are all around us and more
common than we think.
Granted,
many people in the world are dogged in
their pursuit of knowledge.
Picture a journalist relentlessly
pursuing the “truth” or the next
scoop,
or an academic going over their field
with a fine-tooth comb as they compile
a Doctor of Philosophy thesis.
The difference here,
though,
is that such people may be pursuing
knowledge and intellectual mastery for
some secondary gain.
For example,
they choose to learn and develop skills
so they can make money,
or win the esteem of their peers,
or satisfy the expectations of others.
The genius,
on the other hand,
doesn’t care about these things,
or at the very least,
these benefits are a distant second to
the main reason for learning - “just
because."
And this is arguably why they can go
further!
A genius pursues knowledge and
understanding for its own sake.
The thrill of learning,
of peering into the mysteries of life,
of gaining a grasp of what was once
unintelligible—these things are seen
as rewards in themselves,
and they are their own good worth
chasing.
You can see this in the fact that many
geniuses will pursue knowledge and
understanding despite the fact that it
actually compromises things like money,
security,
and social approval.
As we’ll soon see,
many of the most celebrated geniuses
throughout history were actually
reviled by their peers at the time,
or sacrificed relationships and
financial security in order to pursue
the object of their intellectual
fascination.
Geniuses are never lukewarm about the
unknown,
and they certainly don’t fear it.
Instead,
they are enchanted with it,
and seek to satisfy their curiosity.
Their attitude is one of the natural
scientist—they want to engage with
the deeper functioning of the universal
machine,
rather than simply accept the surface
manifestations.
Is this a trait that you can actually
develop in yourself,
though?
Absolutely.
Remember,
we are all born with an innate
curiosity—we wouldn’t know what we
know now or indeed have survived to
adulthood unless we were 100 percent
fine-tuned natural learning machines!
It’s a question of reconnecting with
that inborn curiosity and yearning to
understand.
There’s no point in pretending we are
all born with the same talents,
intelligence levels,
and aptitudes,
but remember that this is only part of
the picture.
If you can imagine an intelligent
person who has lived an unremarkable,
unexamined life,
or if you can imagine a person who has
learned much despite being only
moderately talented,
then you can see immediately that raw
aptitude is nice,
but attitude makes the difference at
the end of the day.
This attitude is one and the same with
being “open-minded."
It’s curiosity.
When last were you genuinely curious?
Try this - Just for today,
go out into the world and literally
imagine that you are a child again and
everything is new to you (or maybe
imagine that you are an alien who is
seeing Earth for the first time and
trying to make sense of it).
Spend a day asking questions of the
things that happen around you.
Notice where your own curiosity is
piqued.
Where do you feel that rush of
excitement and energy,
that feeling that is as exhilarating as
discovering a chocolate bunny on an
Easter egg hunt?
When you notice yourself feeling this
curiosity,
pay attention.
Go more deeply into the questions you
have.
Think creatively about what you see,
and ask yourself,
“In what ways could this be
different?"
Don’t rush in to squash that
uncertainty and mystery with a canned
explanation,
but rather relish the unknown.
Many geniuses are able to make enormous
breakthroughs in their field precisely
because they were able to see the
profoundly obvious facts of existence
that everyone else has dutifully
trained themselves out of noticing.
Look for problems,
and daydream about novel solutions to
them.
We tend to think of geniuses as
serious,
joyless people,
but nothing could be further from the
truth.
The start of every marvelous idea or
innovation is essentially play.
To access this state of mind,
ironically,
asks us to drop our ideas of being
smart,
of being right or admired by others.
It asks us to forget about the goals we
might attach to being intellectually
superior.
Many of the world’s greatest
discoveries were made by accident,
when people relaxed their minds and
simply looked at the same old things in
a slightly different way.
We’ll explore the fundamental value
of curiosity,
open-mindedness and a perspective of
goalless play in subsequent chapters,
but for now,
imagine that a genius is nothing more
than a child who sees the entire world
as a vast and wonderful playground.
With this mindset,
you are halfway to being a genius
yourself.
Willpower and discipline.
Of course,
it’s not all just fun and games.
Though many Eureka moments have
happened in the ways described above,
this is only the start of the journey.
A person who is blessed with loads of
natural curiosity will find plenty of
interesting avenues of inquiry,
but may never actually muster the
energy and discipline to go all the way
in any single one of them.
This is because another quality is
essential for reaching that level we
associate with genius - hard work.
There is a phenomenon known to all
university lecturers - A brilliant,
high-achieving student leaves high
school and enrolls in an esteemed
program ...and then proceeds to flunk
badly.
The trouble is not that this smart and
accomplished student is failing—the
problem is that they don’t know how
to fail.
In other words,
because of their intellect,
learning until that point has been
pretty easy for them and not something
they’ve ever had to work at.
When they advance in their learning and
start to get closer to the limits of
their understanding,
they are completely unpracticed in
dealing with confusion,
uncertainty,
and the prospect of having to work
extremely hard to make progress.
They simply have never developed those
skills.
Their success up to that point has
been,
if you like,
for free.
Meanwhile,
other,
more “average” students who have
already learned to work hard in high
school tend to adapt more easily and
may outperform those who are by all
measures more intelligent.
If creativity,
inspiration and curiosity are the spark
that get the fire started (not to
mention inborn intelligence),
then at some point you need a constant
source of fuel to keep those flames
burning for the long term.
When we look at geniuses or
ultra-successful people,
we only see their success.
We see them at the end of their
journey,
once the grand theory has been pieced
together,
the invention finally works,
or the magnum opus is completed.
But this is just the surface gloss,
just a fraction of a percent of the
total work that such a person has
actually undertaken over years,
often decades.
This is like watching a person step
over the finish line in a
marathon—the final step is just one
of hundreds of thousands of other steps
that have brought them to that point,
none of them quite as exciting as that
last one!
Geniuses do the work that other people
are not willing to do.
These are the people who are prepared
to stay up late into the night.
In fact,
it’s insatiable curiosity together
with relentless hard work that produces
most of the genius’s success.
Without passion,
they cannot push through challenge and
adversity.
Without the hard work,
the passion is never attained and made
real.
People can become fatigued with their
life course because although they have
the fuel (i.e. the willingness to work
hard),
they lack the sincere love for the
topic that helps “ignite” them.
They give up long before the person who
is willing to work hard,
but also genuinely passionate about
their path of action.
Patience,
dedication and self-discipline are
what’s needed to shape and direct our
natural and spontaneous intellectual
curiosity.
Like scientists,
we need to organize and structure our
inquiry into the world around us.
Experiments of any kind are useless if
they’re not properly planned,
logically laid out and diligently
executed,
often many,
many times over.
For this,
we need to apply consistent effort and
focus.
When you are driven by the “big
picture” and are enjoying the process
of learning for its own sake,
you can defer the enjoyment that comes
with success.
You are able to wait for the payoff,
sometimes for years,
because you understand the process
you’re in.
Patience and delayed gratification come
easier when you are on a path you
genuinely care about.
If only money or praise drive you,
you will drop out of the race when it
looks like the adversity is more
trouble than it’s worth.
Or else,
you may be tempted to settle for a
smaller goal in the interim and forego
the bigger prize because you want the
satisfaction of achievement now rather
than later.
So,
a genius is a rare creature because
they contain within them a powerful
blend of two quite opposing forces - on
the one hand,
they are open-minded,
passionate,
independent thinkers who pursue
learning for the love of learning.
On the other hand,
they are supremely disciplined,
focused and detail oriented,
and can sit for a long time on work
that may seem tedious and pointless to
others,
who cannot see the vision the genius is
diligently working toward.
Thus,
one of the first myths we can dispel
about human genius is that it’s a
random fluke or a gift from the
universe.
Rather,
genius is not so much about the tools
you’ve been given in your tool box,
but the wisdom with which you apply
those tools,
when,
and how.
How can you cultivate this diligence in
yourself?
This is the realm of self-discipline.
The genius is their own teacher,
and they don’t wait for external
incentives to work hard.
They just do it,
and they keep doing it until they
satisfy their own high standards.
Then they up the standards!
One way to bring some of this focus
into your own life is to cut down on
“noise” so you can better focus on
the one (or maybe two)
areas of life that are most important.
You might decide that each day,
you only focus on one main task.
Really get sucked into it,
and tune out all distractions.
Go deep into the work,
beyond the superficial.
If you’re not challenged enough,
push yourself more.
If the work seems too hard,
break it down and tick off smaller
tasks until you gather momentum again.
Whatever you do,
don’t accept anything other than
movement on your task.
You can move slowly some days and more
quickly on others,
but never allow a day to go by where
you don’t do something toward your
chosen goal.
This attitude that sees work as
non-negotiable will make it easier to
get into good habits.
We’ll explore these techniques in
greater detail later in the book,
but a few fundamental principles
underlie the most effective approaches.
For example,
set your grand goal…and then forget
about it.
Instead,
turn your focus onto manageable,
daily habits.
Make work on your path seem as
automatic as brushing your teeth every
day.
The big goals are achieved step by
step—and the genius knows how to
focus on those small,
incremental steps.
At the end of every day,
they have moved forward,
even if it’s only a tiny amount.
Intellectual honesty.
Let’s consider some other key traits.
Imagine the genius at work,
day after day.
They try Plan A,
and it doesn’t quite work.
They tweak it and attempt another
version,
Plan B. This is better but still not
quite right.
They admit that some assumptions are
not exactly founded.
Plan C doesn’t work at all,
so they go back to the drawing board
and begin afresh,
this time with a completely new
approach.
And so on.
This kind of grueling step-by-step
process requires patience and hard
work,
but it also needs something very
important - humility.
A person who is never willing to admit
they’re wrong stops at the very first
hurdle.
If you are stubborn,
have a big ego and hate making
mistakes,
you will stay precisely where you are,
knowledge-wise.
Those who close their eyes to evidence
staring them right in the face are the
opposite of scientists (and,
in fact,
they are the opposite of geniuses,
you can pick your favorite
description…)
As an extension of being playful,
open-minded and curious,
one who pursues genius must be willing
to let the process of learning lead
them.
Sometimes,
this means that the process tells you,
in no uncertain terms,
“That’s wrong!
Try again."
A genius takes this “negative”
feedback for what it is,
thinks,
“Hmm,
that’s interesting,” changes their
approach and simply tries again.
A less-than-genius person looks at this
feedback from the universe and is
mortified.
Because they have their ego wrapped up
in the learning process,
they see being wrong as a personal
failure,
and a reflection on who they are as
people.
So,
when they get things wrong,
they feel that they are wrong,
and understandably,
this feels like a pretty serious threat.
The response is to deny that they are
wrong,
ignore the evidence,
or sit tight and never grow because
it’s too embarrassing to feel like a
beginner.
This is essentially the difference
between a fixed mindset (i.e.
“I am the way I am and I can’t
change”)
vs. a growth mindset (“It’s always
possible for me to learn”).
Take a look at the difference in
attitude - Fixed mindset – Either you
can dance or you can’t.
I’m one of those who can’t.
Growth mindset – I’m still learning!
It’s tough,
but I practice an hour a day.
Fixed mindset – Why try?
You’ll only fail.
Growth mindset – I’ll try this and
see what happens.
If it doesn’t work,
that’s interesting data and I can use
that.
Fixed mindset – It’s easy for you
to say,
but I’m dyslexic so I can’t do that.
Growth mindset – My results depend on
my consistent effort.
When I see others do well,
I get curious about how they did it and
see what I can learn from them.
We can also broadly call this trait
intellectual honesty.
It’s the ability to be flexible,
to be honest with yourself and to
self-correct without too much bias or
stubbornness.
The degree of your willingness to be
wrong is directly proportional to your
capacity to learn.
After all,
those who already know everything have
no need to ask questions,
to be better,
or learn from others.
So,
they don’t.
This is a trait that is very easy to
develop in yourself,
thankfully.
How?
It’s simple - be embarrassed
occasionally.
One thing that is incredibly freeing
for the soul and the intellect is to
quickly say,
“I don’t know” when you really
don’t know.
If you’re in a discussion with
someone who has just proven you
incorrect,
don’t dig yourself further into a
hole by doubling down on your position
or trying to make out that you were
really right all along.
Instead,
say freely and quickly,
“Yes,
I think you’re right!” and simply
let go of the idea or belief you held
before.
Easier said than done.
But if you can consistently practice
this trait,
you will soon develop intellectual
honesty and ironically,
people will view you and your opinions
more favorably.
You demonstrate not only intellectual
maturity but wisdom and
level-headed-ness when you can honestly
admit gaps in your understanding.
Remind yourself that being wrong or
making mistakes is not the end of the
world.
In fact,
if you’re not regularly encountering
your own ignorance and lack of skill,
you aren’t challenging yourself
enough!
See mistakes and being wrong as the
entry fee for playing the learning game.
Remember that even brilliantly
accomplished geniuses throughout
history have been wrong—in fact,
they’ve probably been wrong more
times than you!
The successful entrepreneur,
it’s said,
has failed more times than the average
person has even tried.
The genius,
then,
is not someone who finds everything
easy and gets it right first time;
rather,
they are the people who have a higher
than normal threshold for tolerating
uncertainty,
“failure” or confusion.
They are the ones willing to be
embarrassing novices for years before
they get to show off their skill.
They are the ones who won’t mind when
people laugh at their crazy idea.
While everyone else might feel sorry
for a person who lost tons of money on
a venture that didn’t pan out,
that person may themselves be thinking,
“Excellent!
Now I know exactly what not to do next
time.
This is great…” Other than
regularly saying “I don’t know”
or “I was wrong” (and meaning it),
the genius mindset is characterized by
a sincere lack of bias and prejudice.
Keep in mind your natural
curiosity—it’s not something that
thrives in the presence of dogged
beliefs and ideas that never budge.
Take a look at your own self talk and
see if you can identify any times where
you use words like “always” and
“never."
These could give you a clue to your own
stubborn biases or assumptions that may
need updating.
A dash of polymathy.
Let’s move on to another fundamental
trait,
one which we can only call
“jack-of-all-trades-ness."
Genius thinking is more lateral than
vertical.
In other words,
it’s broad.
Though geniuses like to look into
things in depth,
they are never specialists.
This is because their natural curiosity
carries them into all fields and topics.
If you ask “why?” often enough,
you will soon find yourself studying
everything in life—and why not?
Why restrict yourself?
As you’ll soon see,
the intellectual heavyweights of
history all had this in common - they
read widely,
and had an enormous range of interests.
If they were scientists,
they dabbled in all kinds of science,
and also enjoyed poetry,
hunting,
and economic theory (for example).
If they were involved in politics they
also had a religious interest and
painted,
or if they were philosophers,
they also had a keen interest in
anthropology and music.
You get the idea.
They didn’t box themselves in.
It’s only the human mind that divides
the world into little
categories—geniuses see that
everything is actually connected,
and don’t put limits on their
inquiries.
A genius is well-read and up to date.
They want to understand what is
happening around them.
So,
when they talk to anyone,
chances are they have something to
contribute to the conversation,
and if they are completely oblivious,
they go into investigation mode and
learn as much as they can when they
encounter someone who knows something
they don’t.
If they are familiar with mathematics
and programming,
and they chat to an expert in
literature,
they can’t help but draw connections
and relationships,
seeking to understand the new knowledge
in terms of what they already know.
They might become curious about
symbolic representation in literature,
or wonder how an A. I. would codify and
represent different writing styles,
or how certain languages might be
considered more “mathematical” than
others.
In fact,
it’s this willingness to
cross-pollinate different areas of
knowledge that allows geniuses to come
up with so many novel approaches and
theories.
Genius thinkers are at home with using
analogies of all kinds.
Their minds are constantly looking for
the biggest possible picture.
They want to know how everything fits
together,
so when they meet a new piece of
knowledge,
the first thing they do is examine it
and see how it relates to the pieces
they already possess.
This is perhaps why so many truly great
scientists are also deeply creative and
artistic people—they know how to work
with metaphor and analogy,
and can rearrange concepts,
switch perspectives,
and “translate” ideas from one
field to another.
The way to foster this trait in
yourself is to deliberately seek out
connections and interrelations in
everything you do.
Don’t think in neat little boxes,
but blend it all together.
As a fun practice,
look around in your life right now and
identify one area in which you are an
expert (or aspiring to be!).
Now think of an area that you are quite
ignorant of.
Next,
see if you can draw connections between
them.
Can you see how economies are a little
like ecosystems?
Or can you understand how composing a
complex orchestral piece is a bit like
putting together a recipe?
Maybe you can hear some music and
imagine that it has its own vocabulary
and language—or indeed that it can be
understood as a kind of animal.
The point of making connections and
relationships this way is not to
discover any real or true links,
but rather to open up your own horizons
and start to see the world more broadly
(i.e. as it really is!).
Sadly,
people are taught that “left brain
and right brain” are different,
and that people who are good at
“hard” sciences will naturally be
deficient in art and languages,
while those who are more creative and
socially minded will flounder when it
comes to things like business or
engineering.
A genius doesn’t follow these rules
in the least—remember,
they see the world as a playground,
and not as a house with rooms they’re
not allowed to go into.
In your own life,
you can make a point of getting into
the habit of never assuming something
is outside your scope.
Even if you think a certain topic or
idea is too difficult or irrelevant,
take a closer look anyway and see what
you can learn.
Another good practice is to routinely
court information from all parts of the
spectrum,
i.e. don’t always go looking for
material that only confirms the beliefs
you already have.
Don’t assume you know what “the
other side” thinks and believes—go
and check it out yourself!
Get into real,
good-faith arguments with people you
disagree with and genuinely put
yourself in their shoes.
Deliberately seek out information
online that contradicts your
perspective,
and see what happens.
Besides saying “I don’t know”
more regularly than others,
geniuses also say something else -
“This is my opinion… for now.
But it’s only provisional.
I’m willing to change it when I’m
faced with evidence to the contrary."
Finally,
in mentioning how geniuses are
comfortable with holding provisional
opinions and changing their minds when
necessary,
we can’t help but consider something
else about them,
namely that they are seldom
conventional people.
Geniuses are constantly thinking
outside of the box,
or looking closely at the box itself to
see what it’s made of,
and how it functions,
and why.
Such people are not rebels exactly,
rather they follow their own
principles,
and seldom have blind respect for
arbitrary rules they see no sense
behind.
This is because they look more deeply
into matters than is common;
the world seems far more malleable and
up for debate to them than it might
seem to others—rules,
in this case,
can look like pointless limits and
interference.
We’ve already seen that the genius
perspective is one that draws creative
connections,
sees hidden relationships,
and investigates deeply into the real
causes of phenomena.
Things like baseless public opinion,
random rules for the sake of rules,
and fearfully towing the line are
likely to be far from a genius’s mind.
But again,
it’s not as though the people we call
geniuses get a thrill from rule
breaking;
it’s more that they recognize a
higher authority,
and if they do end up obeying and
following orders,
it will be because they accept the
validity of another deep thinker’s
perspective.
Genius thinking is more characterized
by non-hierarchical social structures,
non-linear thinking and a tendency to
go against the grain—if the grain is
something that is merely part of
tradition and convention,
rather than genuinely the best way to
do things.
This is why geniuses are so often
associated with science and
innovation—these are the people who
pull humanity forward with their
insistence that there has to be more to
life,
even if people are afraid of trying
something new.
Genius thinking is dynamic and
adaptable.
It’s not afraid to adjust itself,
or to change as needed.
Thus,
a genius thinker will have no qualms
about completely dropping an old way of
life to pursue an entirely new way of
being.
They are happy to dream up novel
solutions,
creative new possibilities,
or even fantastical and outlandish
dreams for the future.
They don’t tend to take these
thoughts and measure them against the
accepted standards of the day.
In other words,
they don’t care about being popular
or fashionable or even liked by others.
And this is what allows them to be true
explorers of the unknown.
This can be a difficult perspective
shift to bring into your own life,
because every one of us,
whether we admit it or not,
is deeply embedded in the values and
rules of our culture and historical
period.
We all have our assumptions and biases,
and our beliefs about what is and
isn’t possible,
what’s right and what’s wrong.
One of the genius’s best tools is the
mindset that comes with asking,
“What if?” and being genuinely open
to whatever answers stem from that.
Question your own “rules” that you
make for yourself and you’ll become
better at recognizing the unnecessary
limits placed on you by others.
You could practice this mindset
switching for yourself,
right now.
Get out a piece of paper and,
very quickly and without too much
thought,
write down five things that you
absolutely know to be true about
yourself or the world.
Write down your core beliefs or
assumptions,
big or small.
Let’s say you wrote down,
“I value education and learning so
I’m going to try to get into
university."
Now,
look at this as neutrally as you
possibly can.
Look at the unspoken conditional nature
of the sentence,
i.e. the assumption that going to
university is the best (or only?)
way to get an education.
Consider the hidden biases and
expectations behind this—that
teaching and learning come from
recognized institutions,
i.e. externally,
and if you value education and learning
you need to appeal to these
institutions to let them allow you to
learn.
It’s just a simple sentence that you
may never look more deeply into,
but on closer examination,
can you see how many rules are implied
in it?
Maybe it’s not true that university =
education.
A genius doesn’t take anything for
granted…they don’t even take their
own word for it.
They ask,
“What if…?"
What if it were possible to learn more
outside of university?
What if the thing that you most wanted
was actually not to follow the path
that others in your peer group pursue?
The answers are irrelevant—it’s the
fact of asking the question that is
important.
In the chapters that follow,
we’ll be looking more closely at
specific examples of people who many
have called geniuses.
We’ll see not only that each of these
people has perfectly demonstrated the
traits we’ve discussed here,
but exactly how they managed to express
these tendencies and traits in their
work,
and indeed how these characteristics
were actually the key to their success.
Takeaways.
•Geniuses come in all shapes and
sizes,
from all walks of life and all
historical periods,
but they can all be seen to possess
certain predictable characteristics and
mindsets.
•If we can model our own lives on the
traits we find in great and successful
thinkers,
we too can learn to fulfill more of our
intellectual and creative potential.
•The first trait is a lust for
learning and an insatiable curiosity
about how the world works,
and why.
This is knowledge and understanding
pursued for its own sake,
and not because it indirectly leads to
another goal like fame or money.
Such inspiration and passion gives
incredible stamina to any effort.
•Another trait is diligence,
patience,
dedication and self-discipline,
i.e. everything associated with
consistent hard work.
Without detail-oriented and practical
action taken daily,
and a willingness to delay
gratification,
success will never materialize.
•Intellectual honesty is also
important,
and this includes humility and the
ability to admit that you don’t know
something,
or that you have made a mistake.
Geniuses know that stubbornness,
bias,
expectation and ego can undermine
genuine learning.
•Most genius types are usually
polymaths (skilled in many areas)
and have broad rather than narrow
interests.
They are well-read and make connections
between all disciplines,
see relationships and analogies,
and find inspiration in all fields,
never limiting themselves to one area.
•Finally,
geniuses are usually assumed to be
novel,
out-of-the-box thinkers.
Such people are non-conventional and
tend to disregard arbitrary rules,
fashions or unquestioned assumptions
and habits.
They are comfortable pushing outside of
the norms and exploring new
territory—and this makes them natural
innovators and trendsetters (as well as
problem solvers!).
•We can always be aware of these
mindsets particular to geniuses and
deliberately work to cultivate them in
ourselves,
in a variety of ways.
This has been
Genius Thinking:
Lessons From History’s Greatest Minds on Innovation,
Creativity,
and Intelligence (Mental Models for Better Living Book 6) Written by
Peter Hollins
Narrated by Russell Newton.