Quotes About Genius

Like genius itself, creativity is a process, not a providence. The

It suggested that genius is much more than high intelligence, innate talent, extraordinary work ethic, or uncanny luck, but rather a composite manifestation; a synthesis of very specific types of worldviews and behaviors.

believe that genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall

If you believe the fearmongers, there never is a good time to start anything. Something is always wrong. There are always holes in the business model, always dangers lying below the surface, waiting to swallow you whole. But if you believe in your inherent creativity and resourcefulness—if you acknowledge your inner genius—then almost any time is a good time to start anything.

What is imagination, though? Michelangelo said he saw angels in the marble and carved until he set them free. Most of us regard creativity in the same way we regard that statement—as a mysterious gift that can't be explained or cultivated. But we're wrong. Like genius itself, creativity is a process, not a providence.

Some people like to think that geniuses are so inherently extraordinary that they navigate their journeys with clairvoyant ease. This simply isn't true. Greatness does not come lightly. It requires that you make sacrifices of time, interests, and--sometimes--possessions.

Studies of people with extraordinary abilities, like Ted Williams, have given rise to what Swedish psychologist Dr. K Anders Ericsson called the "10,000 hour" rule. The rule's premise is that, regardless of whether one has an innate aptitude for an activity or not, mastery of it takes around ten thousand hours of focused, intentional practice. Analyzing the lives of geniuses in a wide range of intellectual, artistic, and athletic pursuits confirms this concept.

There is no great genius without some touch of madness.

There is no genius free from some tincture of madness.

There is no great genius free from some tincture of madness.

I am incapable of mediocrity.

The tragedy is that society (your school, your boss, your government, your family) keeps drumming the genius part out. The problem is that our culture has engaged in a Faustian bargain, in which we trade our genius and artistry for apparent stability.

We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other peoples' models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open.

We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own and other's people's models, learn to be ourselves and allow our natural channel to open.

Shakuntala Devi

Bono, the lead singer of U2, said: "The idea that there's a force of love and logic behind the universe is overwhelming to start with…. But the idea that that same love and logic would choose to describe itself as a baby born in…straw and poverty is genius, and brings me to my knees, literally…. I am just in awe of that…. It's the thing that makes me a believer.

Here's the thing: I'm ridiculously smart, and I'm pretty sure I have a photographic memory. It's like I have a camera in my head, and if I see or hear something, I click it, and it stays. I saw a special on PBS once on children who were geniuses. These kids could remember complicated strands of numbers and recall words and pictures in correct sequence and quote long passages of poetry. So can I.

She'd only become a monster to take care of herself in a monstrous business. Underneath she was a neurotic woman, deeply afraid and uncertain of everything except her own genius. - Frank Capra on Bette Davis

Don't fall prey to the 'genius' syndrome and outsmart yourself by being too complicated

Time was when genius was more precious than gold, but now to have nothing is monstrous barbarism.

Many now born, by the time they are voters will compose part of a nation with a genius nowhere equaled, and with a vast territory upon which those energies and that genius can operate.

The ordinary manner of spending their time, is the only way of judging of people's inclination and genius.

Genius is not only a what or a who, it is a where. It is grounded in a place every single time.

Ambition beats genius 99% of the time