Imagine if there was a city containing 2,000 people, and all 2,000 people had earned different Nobel Prizes in physics, each at the level of Einstein’s discovery. Then, in our imagined little city, what if we were to place Einstein among them somehow. Would we then view Einstein as a genius? Maybe. But to those 2,000 already there, Einstein would just be one in the crowd.
What is a genius? It is someone who has a skill that exceeds the skill level of those around him for miles and miles. It is a comparison game. For the vast majority of us, Einstein’s intellect was significantly higher than our own. Even among physicists, his was greater. He is in a league of his own.
If you read Einstein’s writings, you’ll find that he kept a big trash bin next to him. Meaning, he just tried and tried and tried until he got something right. For a genius, I suppose tossing out ideas and solutions is normal.
Imagine if early in Einstein’s life, as he realized he excelled in physics, he decided first to pursue art, then music, then politics. Would we have the discoveries in physics from him that we have now? We may never know. But what we do know is that Einstein discovered his genius, and while he may have dabbled in other interests, he doggedly pursued his genius.
What is your genius? What is the area in your life that for you is quite normal, perhaps even easy—yet when others look at what you do, they are bewildered? Find your genius, excel at it, and focus your life around it. That’s the greatest gift you can give to yourself and to the world.
