Genius101

1.    How to Think Like: A Genius

01. Ignore the good advice of others.


02. Follow your passion.


03. Work very hard. Very hard indeed.


04. Think a lot.


05. Ignore apparent failures; that's just the path.

06. 
Really, ignore the good advice of others.

07. 
Really, truly follow your passion.

2.    Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses have their bright ideas closer together. George C Lichtenberg.

3.    Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience. George-Louis de Buffon.

4.    ‘Ignore the good advice of others’. (step 1)


5.    Because; stage 1: they tend to laugh. An iPod where you can’t actually choose which track you want?

6.    Because; stage 2: they ridicule/attack. Death for suggesting the Earth goes around the Sun.

7.    Because; stage 3: they accept and recognise the brilliance. Being nice to customers gets them coming back. Cool. Very cool. Good idea. Let’s do more of that. Well done.

8.    It won’t be easy.

9.    But it can be fun and you will learn a lot and become an even better version of you.

10. Allowing you to be different101 and have more freedom101.

11. When a true genius appears in this world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.  Jonathan Swift (who may well have been a genius himself).

12. ‘Follow your passion’.
 (step 2)

13. No other strategy is sustainable.

14. What do you really believe in?

15. Your art? Your shop? Your new software? Your ability to inspire children?

16. Money has limited effect.

17. A company fast car has limited effect.

18. Being you, really you.

19. That’s the motivator.

20. That’s the buzz.

21. You’re the artist; whether that’s the accountant, the writer101 or salesperson or police officer. It has to be done101.

22. Release the genius within.

23. They said it couldn’t be done. At school. Maybe your dad. Perhaps your first boss.

24. Stuff them: seek encouragers. People who recognise your potential.

25. And encourage others: catch them doing things right.

26. ‘Work very hard. Very hard indeed’.
(step 3)

27. But not at any old thing

28. Not at Math, necessarily (unless that’s your passion).

29. But at your passion.

30. Because then you pull ahead, you become really good.

31. You become a genius.

32. Gladwell and others reckon 10000h of hard work. Read it in Outliers.

33. Was Thomas Edison a genius?

34. How To Think Like Thomas Edison

01. 10% perspiration


02. 23% perspiration

03. 5% perspiration


04. 44% perspiration


05. 1% inspiration


06. 17% perspiration


07. The Light Bulb!

35.  ‘Think a lot’.
 (step 4)

36. Walk more, so you can think

37. Get stuff sorted so you can think. 

38. Meditate to access deeper thinking. 

39. Bonus: Creativity101

40. How To Think Like a Philosopher

01. Possibly

02. Cogito, ergo sum.
3.

03. Depends what you mean by reality.
4.

04. Let's try a thought experiment; imagine a cat in a box..


05. Not according to Hume. Of course I have my own views.


06. Ahhh! You just know do you!?


07. Time for a cup of Earl Grey tea I feel.

41. ‘Ignore apparent failures; that's just the path’.(step 5)

42. No failure, only feedback

43. Young children fall off their bikes and get back on

44. You can do exactly the same: it’s just learning.

45. No one is perfect, first off.

46. 
’Really, ignore the good advice of others’. (step 6)

47. They mean well, but they want you to be like them: living Life long.

48. Too bad. You want to live it wide and deep, too.

49. Don’t judge them; ask them not to judge you.

50. 
’Really, truly follow your passion’.

51. Honestly, you don’t know what it is?

52. Honestly you’re not sure you really have one?

53. You do: it’s just been temporarily trampled..

54. Give it time.

55. Maybe it’s what you do now. Or something totally different. Or being a lumber-jack. Or the new Michael Connelly or Steven King. Or..or…

56. Relaxation is an aspect of encouraging genius.

57. Relax101

58. Coffee is good for talent, but genius wants prayer. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

59. Starbucks101

60. Laughter is good for encouraging genius.

61. My brain: it’s my second favourite organ. Woody Allen.

62. Was Jackson Pollack a genius?

63. How To Think Like Jackson Pollack

01. splosh


02. anguish


03. splash


04. despair


05. wide brush stroke


06. rage


07. Art

64. A man of genius is unbearable, unless he possesses at least two things besides: gratitude and purity. Nietzsche

65. Was Leonard da Vinci a genius?

66. A genius is one who can do anything apart from making a living. Joey Adams

67. How to Think Like Leonard da Vinci

01. Think big. Lie on your back and observe the heavens

02. Think small. Sketch the pebble on the beach. The ant on the door.


03. Think wide. Not art, not science, but both.


04. Think long. What is my impact, what is my legacy

05. Think with doubt. The Last Supper.

06. Think without doubt. Mona Lisa

07. Think.

68. Was Henry Ford a genius?

69. How to Think like Henry Ford

01. Efficiency


02. Efficiency


03. Efficiency


04. Efficiency

05. Efficiency


06. Efficiency


07. Black

70. Is Richard Branson a genius?

71. How To Think like Richard Branson.

01. Have fun. What's the point if you are not?


02. Establish David and Goliath scenarios which people love e.g. with BA, with Cola. People love a good story especially where the 'little guy' takes on the big corporation.


03. Skim markets, sell and move on. Classic marketing strategy. The key is to be bold and get out.


04. Think sexy. Think red. Oh and did I mention: have fun. Something about a peak experience?


05. Be comfortable with you: wearing a jumper is fine. Be the best version of you. Not a poor copy of someone else.


06. Stay young. And hence be agile and creative.


07. Screw it, let's do it. Yep. JFDI!

72. Was Isaac Newton a genius?

73. How to Think like Isaac Newton

01. Good to be out of London. Nasty, plague-ridden place.


02. Back to my observations.


03. Further observations, preferably in Latin.


04. Let's get some peace and quiet in the orchard.


05. Further deep observation and meditation under a tree.


06. Ouch! What was that?


07. Ahhh...I think I have discovered gravity.

74. Is Steve Jobs a genius?

75. How To Think Like Steve Jobs.

01. The past is history; you can design the future. Whatever happens (and here are the seven stages of Steve so far), you can’t change the past. Learn from it, move on and make the future even better.

02. Design, no aesthetics is the new differentiator. People are busy, people are hassled. They want ease, simplicity and-let’s say it-beauty from their products. Whether it’s a solid product (iPhone) or a service.


03. Communicate; don’t PowerPoint. The latter is not effective: the evidence is there. Catch up on some of Steve’s presentations on YouTube.


04. Excellence is a mantra; not a bullet on a slide. You have to be it before you can do it before you can have it.


05. Be passionate and believe; eventually the market will get it. Whether you are Steve Jobs or The Beatles or the new Volvo, the best lead their audience.


06. Innovation is a way of life. How old is the iPod; how many improvements to date? Quite.


07. Be grateful. 

76. Marketing101

77. Was Albert Einstein a genius?

78. How To Think like Albert Einstein.

01. School is dull.


02. This is boring.


03. Need a job.


04. Patent clerk?


05. This is dull, too.

06. Energy=mass x speed of light squared; gravity bends light; etc.


07. This is more like it.

79. It’s not that I am smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

80. Were the Beatles geniuses?

81. How to Think like a Beatle.

01. Decide to be 'toppermost of the poppermost'. Have a clear engaging goal.


02. Put the work in. Hamburg or similar will get the skills truly 'wired-in'.


03. Lead don't follow. Sh*t, you've done enough Love songs now.


04. Develop your brand: wit, suits, hair-cuts. Whatever it takes.


05. Be different. Not just singers. Not just songwriters. But both.


06. Let necessity stretch you. Not enough songs?: write our own.


07. Stop at the top and re-invent.

82. Beatles101

83. Every man of genius is considerably helped by being dead. Robert Lynd.

84. Give it a go.

85. A man of genius is unbearable, unless he possesses at least two things besides: gratitude and purity. Nietzsche

86. What’s your area of genius?

87. Were the teams behind the Wire or Mad Men geniuses?

88. The reason we have so few geniuses is that people do not have faith in what they know to be true. Kevin Solway

89. It won’t be easy.

90. But it’ll be fun.

91. Mediocrity is self-inflicted. Genius is self-bestowed. Walter Russell

92. A genius is a person who successfully applies a previously unknown technique in the production of a work of art, science or calculation, or who masters and personalizes a known technique. Wikipedia.

93. You could do that.

94. G-E-N-I-U-S

95. Go

96. Explore;

97. Now

98. Implement:

99. Using

100.      Simplicity

101.      G-E-N-I-U-S.