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T he f irst t hing we need t o do is broaden your perspect ive. T here are at least
4,628 unique human t rait s or behaviors ident if ied t o dat e. New ones are being
added regularly like blogging and t wit t ering.
In nat ure each of t hese behaviors has helped one of us survive and so had a
usef ul purpose at t hat moment . Each cult ure and each person in t hat cult ure
gives a good or bad label t o each behavior based on t heir value syst em at
t hat moment . For example, behaviors like smoking cigaret t es and eat ing meat
are considered eit her good or bad based on who you t alk t o and where t hey
live on our planet .
Smoking cigaret t es was once promot ed by t he medical communit y f or
relaxat ion and st ress management . It is because of eat ing meat t hat humans
are able t o live just about anywhere on our planet . At t he same t ime we know
bot h have been linked t o cancer. So t hese were and are usef ul behaviors
depending on who is judging t hem, t heir level of awareness and t heir personal
value syst em.
But in nat ure each one is neit her good nor bad. Rat her each is or has been
usef ul at some point t o someone. So you could say every behavior is neit her
good or bad or bot h good and bad. T his is an import ant point because when
you look at dif f icult behaviors and realize t hey are bot h or neit her good or bad
you are able t o deal wit h t hem much more ef f ect ively.
If you are doubt f ul check out Carolyn Abrahams book, Possessing Genius
The Bizarre Odyssey of Einsteins Brain. She t ells t he st ory of Dr. T homas
Harvey who spent many years t rying t o prove Einst eins brain was dif f erent .
Dr. Harvey was unsuccessf ul. T hey have f ound not hing remarkable about
Einst eins brain f rom t he rest of our species.
Genius is act ually like beaut y, always in t he eye of t he beholder. I have an aut o
mechanic who I t hink is a genius. He can just list en t o my car and usually t ell
me what is not working. He is so skilled and pract iced he displays genius in
aut o repair.
Albert Einst ein never f inished high school and was considered such a poor
st udent he was asked t o leave. Yet he is considered a genius by most people.
So if genius is in t he eye of t he beholder like beaut y, t hen do you ever wonder
where your genius is hiding?
What if
What if quest ions are always about t he f ut ure, t he place where all our f ear is
locat ed. But what if you also have a genius t o develop and display t o t he
world.