How To Be A Genius

Another quote from C.G. Jung:

"The average man can never be successful, because, by definition, he is average."

I've made it part of my life's work to study extremely successful people and people that are labeled as geniuses.

The truth that I'm continuing to uncover and explore within myself is that we are all geniuses in our own ways. Rather, we all possess an innate genius that has the potential to be expressed.

Before I continue I want to make it clear that being a genius has nothing to do with how many books you've read, how many years you went to school, or how many letters you have past your name. All of these things are very helpful in developing the skills and lexicon to express and amplify your genius, but genius itself isn't something that can be created through these means. Frankly, books and schooling have killed more geniuses than they've ever fostered.

Your genius is already within you, patiently waiting to be embodied.

And this embodiment doesn't come with the addition of more skill or intellect, it comes through the letting go of all the ideas that reinforce the belief that you are separate from the same creative capacity (Genius) that created you and the entire universe. This belief ultimately puts a limit on your potential and gets in the way of your ability to act as a vessel for spirit to move through you to allow for you soul's expression.

Therefore, tapping into your genius is a matter of letting go of the concept of yourself to make way for the expression of your Self; your soul; your highest potential.

So what's the best way to do this?

Simple: Follow your heart. Follow your passion. Surrender to the flow of life.

Move into the challenges of your life as if they are the greatest gifts you have ever received -- because they are.

This will initiate your Hero's Journey where you will come face-to-face with all the parts of yourself that are holding you back from BEing the genius that you already are. Through this journey you will also learn the skills and ideas that will help you express and amplify your genius.

As Joseph Campbell said, "the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."

Your genius is unique to you. This is why it can't be taught.

And just as the expression of that genius is unique, so too is the path to (re)discovering it.

This is one of the common threads I found in nearly all of the greatest human beings that history has remembered: they were all presented with seemingly insurmountable challenges and instead backing down they took the call to adventure and used their passions as the tools to carve their masterpieces from the otherwise indistinguishable blocks of self-limiting illusion.

The more you chip away what you've identified your personal self to be for so long, the more you gain access to the creative potential that creates universes -- because you are that, too.

This is your genius.

If you hear the call, take it.

And don't be afraid to own your genius. We're allowed to admit to ourselves that we're smart after years of study, but its considered taboo and self-conceited to own up to what you already are...

I see you.

With love,

Nathan Barna