Surprising Facts About Your Natural Genius

The labyrinth is an ancient practice for seeking wisdom.

Genius has little to do with IQ or achievements and much about how you discover and do what matters.

IQ tests offer one way to measure mental intelligence, which is just one of many forms of intelligence. Without spiritual, emotional, physical, and other mature forms of intelligence, it’s impossible to gather, interpret and discern the many types of information and inspiration you need to create brilliant life and work.

Without such innate gifts as persistence, which we needed so we could teach ourselves to walk and talk, there’s no way to realize your dreams, no matter how brilliant your ideas are.

Genius is not limited to rarified achievements by specially endowed people. Instead, it’s in all of us.

Ancient definitions of genius and cutting edge wisdom don’t mention IQ or achievements. They focus on how you get your guiding wisdom (e.g. from a divine spirit or creative muse); your talents; and the embodiment of your natural inclinations.

Babies and small children constantly teach us how our natural inclinations spill out of our DNA into many awesome channels for receiving and handling information:  insights from all our senses, intuition, imagination, emotions, instincts, memory, playfulness, rational mind and many more gifts.

Our DNA gives us the capacity to wonder, to dream, to follow our curiosity. Our DNA filled us with a hunger to become fluent in the language of our own hearts, to love, and to make a difference.  We also were born with the seeds of patience and courage, so we can move forward again every time we fall or fail.

Awe and wonder are under-valued elements of genius.

Each of these gifts is so powerful that I call them “elements of genius,” or collectively, “natural genius.”  Develop and use your natural genius, and you can see more clearly every day how best to live for yourself and others — including the natural world.

When you are the genius you were born to be, you activate a just-for-you operating system that will help you:

  • See more clearly what is (problems, opportunities, allies, resources and more);
  • Discover and fulfill your true passions and purpose;
  • Be inspired and guided throughout your life to do what is right for you and say no to that which is not;
  • Solve pressing problems with ingenuity, resourcefulness and your unique talents;
  • Focus and build many visions that create a better world now and leave a legacy for the future.

Genius does not demand the most spectacular, impactful or innovative idea. 

When all your aspects of genius are working, you may never qualify for, say, a Nobel Prize for peace.  You may never broker everlasting peace in the Middle East or quash gang violence in your town.

But by following your best guidance from self and others, by stretching your talents and natural tendencies, you may well help build real peace in your own part of the world.  The peace you build can connect to the work of other peace-builders.

As Margaret Meade said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Genius is about integrity.

Integrity means being whole, so you bring all your abilities to any issue.

Integrity means looking not for a quick fix but for the wisest advice from your full consciousness and conscience.

Integrity requires honestly facing yourself — warts, gifts, fears, failings, dreams, and all.  Integrity means being true to yourself and on the level with others by being honest, just, and naturally ethical. 

Integrity makes a great bottom line for your life, your job or business, our economy, nation and world.

You were probably trained more to quash your natural genius than to develop and use it.

Though our natural genius was designed to last a lifetime, our world generally does not help us develop our best gifts.

Our culture prizes quick answers and “facts” proclaimed by those in charge, not reflection or discernment. It’s hard to find visioning or creative time when we are overloaded with activities and information, sparse on wisdom or silence. 

Few of us have had training in industrial or design arts, business planning, or other tools that could help us shape ideas into effective plans. Fewer still have the courage to be clueless long enough to see or hear the quieter wisdom of our hearts and souls. Rare also is the support we need to discover our true gifts and callings, or to tell the truth in a workplace setting

Little wonder, then, that we live in a polluted world, with unstable economies, rampant illness, violence, and many exhausted, unhappy people who do not know or live their dreams.

Fortunately, our most hidden natural genius gifts are still alive. 

They can be reclaimed and activated — as if we were archaeologists into our own minds and hearts, bringing to the surface treasures beyond our richest imagining.

We’re here to help you be the genius you were born to be so you can thrive for the benefit yourself and others. So check our resources and blog for a growing body of inspiration and ideas, products and services to help you be more of the genius you were born to be.

And keep coming back! Many more pages, posts and offers are coming soon.

Right now, blessed be your gifts and your journey to rediscover and develop them.

Pat Sullivan

copyright 2018 by Pat McHenry Sullivan