Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Everyone "HAS" a genius. Let's talk to yours?

Elizabeth Gilbert faced down a ­premidlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of – running off for a year. Her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia resulted in the megabestselling and deeply beloved memoir Eat, Pray, Love, about her process of finding herself by leaving home.

In this talk she muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

If you have ever entertained the thought of giving up, or at the peak of your performance have had the anxiety that you are never going to be able to top this, then you are not alone. A great paradigm that Elizabeth brings forth is, that it was not you alone, in the first instance, that created that great piece of work. If you show up, consistently, to do your part then in this creative process great work gets done. I am reminded of the famous lyrics "when the music starts will you sit it out or will you dance?" - I hope you'll dance!

Never Quit! because that is easy and guarantees an absence of what you were striving for in the first place.

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