Use This to be Better Than “Geniuses.”

The word “genius” has gotten so much use in the last number of years that the meaning of the word has become diluted in the eyes of many people.  It means someone who has extraordinary or exceptional intellectual ability.  There is no universally accepted definition, however it used to be used rarely and it always referred to extremely intelligent people.  Now, it seems that the word is used constantly to refer to people from all walks of life who accomplish something great.

The good news is that even with all of these “geniuses” out in the world, we do not have to feel intimidated and inferior to them and the reason is simple.  Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant was very well known for his incredible work ethic.  He would show up at 4am and work out hard until the official 11am practice with his team and then be the hardest worker in that practice as well.  He was not the biggest, the fastest or the most athletic player.

Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky was also known for his marathon practice sessions.  He repeatedly heard that his ability was a gift from God, but when tested by his team, they found that he had no special physiological gifts at all.  He was not particularly strong, did not have better eyesight or hand eye coordination, was relatively small and slow for a hockey player and did not have a strong shot.  “The Great One” went on to be the greatest hockey player ever, with so many astounding records that no one has come even close to breaking most of them. 

“Genius” is less about talent and more about daily habits

The reason Kobe and Wayne were so successful was because they realised that “genius” is less about talent and more about daily habits.  Both of them put in hours and hours of deliberate practice every single day and that far outweighed any natural talent that their opponents might have had as an advantage.  Gretzky practiced 6 hours a day from the time he was 2 or 3 years old!  At 7 he was the leading scorer by a huge margin, in a league with 10-year-olds.  Even as a professional player, his practices lasted many hours and he regularly wore out the rest of the team with his drills and tactics.

Regardless of how talented someone is, if you are relentless in your daily habits, you will beat them eventually if they only rely on that talent and you continue to improve.

Unrelenting strong daily habits and hard work will allow you to overcome almost any obstacle and be better than most people; let them call you a genius or gifted, YOU will know better.