Genius Explained
For those of you who don’t know me, I wax lyrical about a book by Angela Duckworth called, “Grit”. It is a book that has provided me with much encouragement and also solace in knowing that if you put enough “Grit” into your goals then you are most likely to achieve them. I found this knowledge particularly comforting when setting up my business particularly at those times when self-doubt came knocking.
I mention “Grit” because the book “Genius Explained” provides even more information on the topic of success, which is sometimes guised as ‘Genius’. Those mentioned and explained in the book include Charles Darwin, George Stephenson, Michael Faraday and Albert Einstein to name a few.
What I learnt was that each of these “geniuses” wasn’t the result of an unexplainable gift or some magical luck but that their careers and accolades were the result of Grit and dogged determination to succeed. So, I thought I would give you a precis of some of the points I took away from the book, in particular from Charles Darwin’s life:
1) DON’T EXPECT EVERYONE TO SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR GOALS.
People may not be aware that Charles Darwin was completely underestimated by his family for most of his youth; they didn’t think he was particularly capable as a scientist and they had little understanding of his extensive research and knowledge as a naturalist, geologist and biologist.
Considered ironic by some; after completing his BA at Cambridge (without honours) Charles’ father, Robert Darwin, expected his son to join the Church and vehemently refused for Charles to join the Beagle for its world voyage. It was due to Charles’ Uncle persuading Robert to allow his son to join the voyage and possibly it was his intervention that was the catalyst for Charles’ Theory of Evolution to come into being.
Not only did his family doubt him, but Charles’ contemporaries doubted his Theory of Evolution which went against the widely held belief of Creationism.
Despite his own family having little support for his chosen passion, Charles was thoroughly committed to expanding his knowledge and corresponded constantly with those who could educate him further. He proved his family to be wrong with his unwavering dedication and commitment to his own passion. If Charles had not ignored his family’s doubt and had not persevered, he would probably never have achieved ‘genius’ status.
2) FOCUS ON BEING THE BEST IN YOUR FIELD AND NOT ON THE FINANCIAL GOAL.
I run a lot of workshops with businesses and teach a lot about Resilience in the workplace. One thing I always teach is for people not to put their focus on the financial outcome of their work and instead strive to hone your craft, build the best network, make every interaction, every email and every call etc count. The financial goal will then come to you.
Darwin wasn’t concentrating on achieving fame and fortune; he was passionate about his area of interest and did as much as he could to be a leader in his field. He focused on the expansion of his knowledge and adding to his collections continuously throughout his life.
Admittedly Charles was born into a wealthy family and that allowed him the freedom to spend time exploring and contemplating his passion and work. On the other side of the coin, there were plenty of contemporaries who were also wealthy enough not to work who chose not to and who didn’t contribute to science. He worked tirelessly on his theory despite not having to work.
3) TIMING IS EVERYTHING
As mentioned above, Darwin had to be careful about announcing his Theory of Evolution as it disagreed with the general consensus that the world was created in seven days.
Bill Gross, the CEO of Idealabs and Ted Talk Speaker, researched start-ups and found,
“The number one thing was timing. Timing accounted for 42 percent of the difference between success and failure. Team and execution came in second, and the idea, the differentiability of the idea, the uniqueness of the idea, that actually came in third.”
Gross recommends knowing your industry and market to such an extent that you know when it is best to strike. Darwin waited an astonishing 23 years before publishing his Theory of Evolution as he knew that he would be thrust to the centre of Religion vs Science debate.
Business, like Evolution, sees a Survival of the Fittest so make sure you have the right tools in place to last; believe in yourself, commit to your goals and EVOLVE!
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