00:00:00 Think Like Einstein

00:02:28 Intellectual Curiosity.

00:08:34 Willpower And Discipline.

00:14:27 Intellectual Honesty.

00:19:46

A Dash Of Polymathy.

Think Like a Genius: How to Go Outside the Box, Analyze Deeply,

Creatively Solve Problems, and Innovate (Mental Models for Better Living

Book 5)

By: Peter Hollins

Hear it Here - http://bit.ly/GeniusHollins

https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Genius-Creatively-Problems/dp/1647432529

Learn

from some of the greatest thinkers in history. Study their patterns and

stand on the shoulders of giants.

How does one think like a genius? Is there a set definition for this?

Well, no. But if you study the greats, you’re bound to learn something.

Learn the five “genius traits” and how to apply them in your daily life.

Think Like a Genius is a look through time and history. We climb into a

time travel machine and examine flashpoints in the lives of famous

geniuses. They are all household names, and now you can better

understand what made them tick.

What is a genius?

Perhaps the first answer that pops into your mind is the popular depiction of geniuses in TV shows.

You know the kind -

smart-talking,

slightly arrogant black sheep who seem to solve the crime or win the chess tournament without breaking a sweat.

People have always been fascinated with genius,

and with the ability to wield superior intellectual mastery.

Whether we admire geniuses in the arts,

science,

or business,

there’s something so irresistible about the idea of a human being operating at their fullest potential.

If you’ve picked up this book,

it’s likely you too are interested in what exactly sets geniuses apart.

Are they just born that way,

and us mere mortals can do nothing but look on in admiration?

Or perhaps there is no such thing as genius at all,

only years of punishing,

diligent hard work that pays off eventually?

In this book,

we’re going to take the perspective so often adopted by geniuses themselves -

we’re going to approach the idea of intellectual mastery and success as our topic,

and study it as Einstein studied physics.

In other words,

we’ll become students of human success,

and look closely not into any one subject,

but into the way we think about those subjects,

and how we can optimize our learning and abilities.

We’ll observe,

take notes,

and see what we can learn from the great thinkers of our time—and there’s a lot to learn,

for those who are willing to pay attention.

What genius can you think of,

off the top of your head?

In this book,

we’ll look at the lives and works of people like Socrates,

Einstein,

Descartes,

Darwin and Copernicus,

among others.

Despite living in different cultural and historical periods,

and despite having different interests and ideas,

these men in fact share a surprisingly predictable set of personal characteristics.

So,

what are these traits?

Before you carry on reading,

close this book and see if you can zoom in on just one or two qualities or attributes that you think make the essence of a genius.

Intellectual Curiosity.

Chances are,

you thought of something along the lines of “a genius is intellectually hungry and curious about everything."

No matter the chosen outlet,

intelligent and highly conscious people tend to want to know why.

It’s this active,

deliberate perspective that sets them apart from others who are happy to take things as they are,

without ever looking more deeply into them.

When we are children,

we are perhaps more like natural geniuses than at any other time in our lives.

We are the proverbial learning sponges,

soaking everything up,

asking a million questions a day,

wanting to know how things work just for the joy of having that knowledge.

When we grow up,

adults around us indoctrinate us into certain educational conventions and institutions that dull this natural curiosity.

We learn the rules,

the right answers,

and which authority to defer to.

In other words,

we stop relying on our own innate fascination with the universe around us.

For a genius,

curiosity never seems to subside.

No matter how old they are,

they seem to have a knack for looking at the world with the wonder of a little child seeing it all for the first time.

They are enraptured by things that other people think are commonplace.

They want to understand how it all works,

what it means,

how it fits together,

and they don’t stop investigating until they find out!

Granted,

many people in the world are dogged in their pursuit of knowledge.

Picture a journalist relentlessly pursuing the “truth” or the next scoop,

or an academic going over their field with a fine-tooth comb as they compile a Doctor of Philosophy thesis.

The difference here,

though,

is that such people may be pursuing knowledge and intellectual mastery for some secondary gain.

For example,

they choose to learn and develop skills so they can make money,

or win the esteem of their peers,

or satisfy the expectations of others.

The genius,

on the other hand,

doesn’t care about these things,

or at the very least,

these benefits are a distant second to the main reason for learning -

“just because."

A genius pursues knowledge and understanding for its own sake.

The thrill of learning,

of peering into the mysteries of life,

of gaining a grasp of what was once unintelligible—these things are seen as rewards in themselves,

and they are their own good worth chasing.

You can see this in the fact that many geniuses will pursue knowledge and understanding despite the fact that it actually compromises things like money,

security,

and social approval.

As we’ll soon see,

many of the most celebrated geniuses throughout history were actually reviled by their peers at the time,

or sacrificed relationships and financial security in order to pursue the object of their intellectual fascination.

Geniuses are never lukewarm about the unknown,

and they certainly don’t fear it.

Instead,

they are enchanted with it,

and seek to satisfy their curiosity.

Their attitude is one of the natural scientist—they want to engage with the deeper functioning of the universal machine,

rather than simply accept the surface manifestations.

Is this a trait that you can actually develop in yourself,

though?

Absolutely.

Remember,

we are all born with an innate curiosity—we wouldn’t know what we know now or indeed have survived to adulthood unless we were 100 percent fine-tuned natural learning machines!

It’s a question of reconnecting with that inborn curiosity and yearning to understand.

This attitude is one and the same with being “open-minded."

Just for today,

go out into the world and literally imagine that you are a child again and everything is new to you (or maybe imagine that you are an alien who is seeing Earth for the first time and trying to make sense of it).

Spend a day asking questions of the things that happen around you.

Notice where your own curiosity is piqued.

Where do you feel that rush of excitement and energy,

that feeling that is as exhilarating as discovering a chocolate bunny on an Easter egg hunt?

When you notice yourself feeling this curiosity,

pay attention.

Go more deeply into the questions you have.

Think creatively about what you see,

and ask yourself,

“In what ways could this be different?"

Many geniuses are able to make enormous breakthroughs in their field precisely because they were able to see the profoundly obvious facts of existence that everyone else has dutifully trained themselves out of noticing.

Look for problems,

and daydream about novel solutions to them.

We tend to think of geniuses as serious,

joyless people,

but nothing could be further from the truth.

The start of every marvelous idea or innovation is essentially play.

To access this state of mind,

ironically,

asks us to drop our ideas of being smart,

of being right or admired by others.

It asks us to forget about the goals we might attach to being intellectually superior.

Many of the world’s greatest discoveries were made by accident,

when people relaxed their minds and simply looked at the same old things in a slightly different way.

We’ll explore the fundamental value of curiosity,

open-mindedness and a perspective of goalless play in subsequent chapters,

but for now,

imagine that a genius is nothing more than a child who sees the entire world as a vast and wonderful playground.

With this mindset,

you are halfway to being a genius yourself.

Willpower And Discipline.

Of course,

it’s not all just fun and games.

Though many Eureka moments have happened in the ways described above,

this is only the start of the journey.

A person who is blessed with loads of natural curiosity will find plenty of interesting avenues of enquiry,

but may never actually muster the energy and discipline to go all the way in any single one of them.

This is because another quality is essential for reaching that level we associate with genius -

hard work.

If creativity,

inspiration and curiosity are the spark that get the fire started,

then at some point you need a constant source of fuel to keep those flames burning for the long term.

When we look at geniuses or ultra-successful people,

we only see their success.

We see them at the end of their journey,

once the grand theory has been pieced together,

the invention finally works,

or the magnum opus is completed.

But this is just the surface gloss,

just a fraction of a percent of the total work that such a person has actually undertaken over years,

often decades.

This is like watching a person step over the finish line in a marathon—the final step is just one of hundreds of thousands of other steps that have brought them to that point,

none of them quite as exciting as that last one!

Geniuses do the work that other people are not willing to do.

These are the people who are prepared to stay up late into the night.

In fact,

it’s insatiable curiosity together with relentless hard work that produces most of the genius’s success.

Without passion,

they cannot push through challenge and adversity.

Without the hard work,

the passion is never attained and made real.

People can become fatigued with their life course because although they have the fuel (i.e.

the willingness to work hard),

they lack the sincere love for the topic that helps “ignite” them.

They give up long before the person who is willing to work hard,

but also genuinely passionate about their path of action.

Patience,

dedication and self-discipline are what’s needed to shape and direct our natural and spontaneous intellectual curiosity.

Like scientists,

we need to organize and structure our inquiry into the world around us.

Experiments of any kind are useless if they’re not properly planned,

logically laid out and diligently executed,

often many,

many times over.

For this,

we need to apply consistent effort and focus.

When you are driven by the “big picture” and are enjoying the process of learning for its own sake,

you can defer the enjoyment that comes with success.

You are able to wait for the payoff,

sometimes for years,

because you understand the process you’re in.

Patience and delayed gratification come easier when you are on a path you genuinely care about.

If only money or praise drive you,

you will drop out of the race when it looks like the adversity is more trouble than it’s worth.

Or else,

you may be tempted to settle for a smaller goal in the interim and forego the bigger prize because you want the satisfaction of achievement now rather than later.

So,

a genius is a rare creature because they contain within them a powerful blend of two quite opposing forces -

on the one hand,

they are open-minded,

passionate,

independent thinkers who pursue learning for the love of learning.

On the other hand,

they are supremely disciplined,

focused and detail oriented,

and can sit for a long time on work that may seem tedious and pointless to others,

who cannot see the vision the genius is diligently working toward.

How can you cultivate this diligence in yourself?

This is the realm of self-discipline.

The genius is their own teacher,

and they don’t wait for external incentives to work hard.

They just do it,

and they keep doing it until they satisfy their own high standards.

Then they up the standards!

One way to bring some of this focus into your own life is to cut down on “noise” so you can better focus on the one (or maybe two) areas of life that are most important.

You might decide that each day,

you only focus on one main task.

Really get sucked into it,

and tune out all distractions.

Go deep into the work,

beyond the superficial.

If you’re not challenged enough,

push yourself more.

If the work seems too hard,

break it down and tick off smaller tasks until you gather momentum again.

Whatever you do,

don’t accept anything other than movement on your task.

You can move slowly some days and more quickly on others,

but never allow a day to go by where you don’t do something toward your chosen goal.

This attitude that sees work as non-negotiable will make it easier to get into good habits.

We’ll explore these techniques in greater detail later in the book,

but a few fundamental principles underlie the most effective approaches.

For example,

set your grand goal…and then forget about it.

Instead,

turn your focus onto manageable,

daily habits.

Make work on your path seem as automatic as brushing your teeth every day.

The big goals are achieved step by step—and the genius knows how to focus on those small,

incremental steps.

At the end of every day,

they have moved forward,

even if it’s only a tiny amount.

Intellectual Honesty.

Let’s consider some other key traits.

Imagine the genius at work,

day after day.

They try Plan A,

and it doesn’t quite work.

They tweak it and attempt another version,

Plan B.

This is better but still not quite right.

They admit that some assumptions are not exactly founded.

Plan C doesn’t work at all,

so they go back to the drawing board and begin afresh,

this time with a completely new approach.

And so on.

This kind of gruelling step-by-step process requires patience and hard work,

but it also needs something very important -

humility.

A person who is never willing to admit they’re wrong stops at the very first hurdle.

If you are stubborn,

have a big ego and hate making mistakes,

you will stay precisely where you are,

knowledge-wise.

Those who close their eyes to evidence staring them right in the face are the opposite of scientists (and,

in fact,

they are the opposite of geniuses,

you can pick your favorite description…) As an extension of being playful,

open-minded and curious,

one who pursues genius must be willing to let the process of learning lead them.

Sometimes,

this means that the process tells you,

in no uncertain terms,

“That’s wrong!

Try again."

A genius takes this “negative” feedback for what it is,

thinks,

“Hmm,

that’s interesting,” changes their approach and simply tries again.

A less-than-genius person looks at this feedback from the universe and is mortified.

Because they have their ego wrapped up in the learning process,

they see being wrong as a personal failure,

and a reflection on who they are as people.

So,

when they get things wrong,

they feel that they are wrong,

and understandably,

this feels like a pretty serious threat.

The response is to deny that they are wrong,

ignore the evidence,

or sit tight and never grow because it’s too embarrassing to feel like a beginner.

This is essentially the difference between a fixed mindset (i.e.

“I am the way I am and I can’t change”) vs.

a growth mindset (“It’s always possible for me to learn”).

We can call this trait intellectual honesty.

It’s the ability to be flexible,

to be honest with yourself and to self-correct without too much bias or stubbornness.

The degree of your willingness to be wrong is directly proportional to your capacity to learn.

After all,

those who already know everything have no need to ask questions,

to be better,

or learn from others.

So,

they don’t.

This is a trait that is very easy to develop in yourself,

thankfully.

How?

It’s simple -

be embarrassed occasionally.

One thing that is incredibly freeing for the soul and the intellect is to quickly say,

“I don’t know” when you really don’t know.

If you’re in a discussion with someone who has just proven you incorrect,

don’t dig yourself further into a hole by doubling down on your position or trying to make out that you were really right all along.

Instead,

say freely and quickly,

“Yes,

I think you’re right!” and simply let go of the idea or belief you held before.

Easier said than done.

But if you can consistently practice this trait,

you will soon develop intellectual honesty and ironically,

people will view you and your opinions more favorably.

You demonstrate not only intellectual maturity but wisdom and level-headedness when you can honestly admit gaps in your understanding.

Remind yourself that being wrong or making mistakes is not the end of the world.

In fact,

if you’re not regularly encountering your own ignorance and lack of skill,

you aren’t challenging yourself enough!

See mistakes and being wrong as the entry fee for playing the learning game.

Remember that even brilliantly accomplished geniuses throughout history have been wrong—in fact,

they’ve probably been wrong more times than you!

The successful entrepreneur,

it’s said,

has failed more times than the average person has even tried.

The genius,

then,

is not someone who finds everything easy and gets it right first time; rather,

they are the people who have a higher than normal threshold for tolerating uncertainty,

“failure” or confusion.

They are the ones willing to be embarrassing novices for years before they get to show off their skill.

They are the ones who won’t mind when people laugh at their crazy idea.

While everyone else might feel sorry for a person who lost tons of money on a venture that didn’t pan out,

that person may themselves be thinking,

“Excellent!

Now I know exactly what not to do next time.

This is great…” Other than regularly saying “I don’t know” or “I was wrong” (and meaning it),

the genius mindset is characterized by a sincere lack of bias and prejudice.

Keep in mind your natural curiosity—it’s not something that thrives in the presence of dogged beliefs and ideas that never budge.

Take a look at your own self talk and see if you can identify any times where you use words like “always” and “never."

These could give you a clue to your own stubborn biases or assumptions that may need updating.

A Dash Of Polymathy.

Let’s move on to another fundamental trait,

one which we can only call “jack-of-all-tradesness."

Genius thinking is more lateral than vertical.

In other words,

it’s broad.

Though geniuses like to look into things in depth,

they are never specialists.

This is because their natural curiosity carries them into all fields and topics.

If you ask “why?” often enough,

you will soon find yourself studying everything in life—and why not?

Why restrict yourself?

As you’ll soon see,

the intellectual heavyweights of history all had this in common -

they read widely,

and had an enormous range of interests.

If they were scientists,

they dabbled in all kinds of science,

and also enjoyed poetry,

hunting,

and economic theory (for example).

If they were involved in politics they also had a religious interest and painted,

or if they were philosophers,

they also had a keen interest in anthropology and music.

You get the idea.

They didn’t box themselves in.

It’s only the human mind that divides the world into little categories—geniuses see that everything is actually connected,

and don’t put limits on their inquiries.

A genius is well-read and up to date.

They want to understand what is happening around them.

So,

when they talk to anyone,

chances are they have something to contribute to the conversation,

and if they are completely oblivious,

they go into investigation mode and learn as much as they can when they encounter someone who knows something they don’t.

If they are familiar with mathematics and programming,

and they chat to an expert in literature,

they can’t help but draw connections and relationships,

seeking to understand the new knowledge in terms of what they already know.

They might become curious about symbolic representation in literature,

or wonder how an AI would codify and represent different writing styles,

or how certain languages might be considered more “mathematical” than others.

In fact,

it’s this willingness to cross-pollinate different areas of knowledge that allows geniuses to come up with so many novel approaches and theories.

Genius thinkers are at home with using analogies of all kinds.

Their minds are constantly looking for the biggest possible picture.

They want to know how everything fits together,

so when they meet a new piece of knowledge,

the first thing they do is examine it and see how it relates to the pieces they already possess.

This is perhaps why so many truly great scientists are also deeply creative and artistic people—they know how to work with metaphor and analogy,

and can rearrange concepts,

switch perspectives,

and “translate” ideas from one field to another.

The way to foster this trait in yourself is to deliberately seek out connections and interrelations in everything you do.

Don’t think in neat little boxes,

but blend it all together.

As a fun practice,

look around in your life right now and identify one area in which you are an expert (or aspiring to be!).

Now think of an area that you are quite ignorant of.

Next,

see if you can draw connections between them.

Can you see how economies are a little like ecosystems?

Or can you understand how composing a complex orchestral piece is a bit like putting together a recipe?

Maybe you can hear some music and imagine that it has its own vocabulary and language—or indeed that it can be understood as a kind of animal.

The point of making connections and relationships this way is not to discover any real or true links,

but rather to open up your own horizons and start to see the world more broadly (i.e.

as it really is!).

Sadly,

people are taught that “left brain and right brain” are different,

and that people who are good at “hard” sciences will naturally be deficient in art and languages,

while those who are more creative and socially minded will flounder when it comes to things like business or engineering.

A genius doesn’t follow these rules in the least—remember,

they see the world as a playground,

and not as a house with rooms they’re not allowed to go into.

In your own life,

you can make a point of getting into the habit of never assuming something is outside your scope.

Even if you think a certain topic or idea is too difficult or irrelevant,

take a closer look anyway and see what you can learn.

Another good practice is to routinely court information from all parts of the spectrum,

i.e.

don’t always go looking for material that only confirms the beliefs you already have.

Don’t assume you know what “the other side” thinks and believes—go and check it out yourself!

Get into real,

good-faith arguments with people you disagree with and genuinely put yourself in their shoes.

Deliberately seek out information online that contradicts your perspective,

and see what happens.

Besides saying “I don’t know” more regularly than others,

geniuses also say something else -

“This is my opinion… for now.

But it’s only provisional.

I’m willing to change it when I’m faced with evidence to the contrary."

Finally,

in mentioning how geniuses are comfortable with holding provisional opinions and changing their minds when necessary,

we can’t help but consider something else about them,

namely that they are seldom conventional people.

Geniuses are constantly thinking outside of the box,

or looking closely at the box itself to see what it’s made of,

and how it functions,

and why.

Such people are not rebels exactly,

rather they follow their own principles,

and seldom have blind respect for arbitrary rules they see no sense behind.

This is because they look more deeply into matters than is common; the world seems far more malleable and up for debate to them than it might seem to others—rules,

in this case,

can look like pointless limits and interference.

We’ve already seen that the genius perspective is one that draws creative connections,

sees hidden relationships,

and investigates deeply into the real causes of phenomena.

Things like baseless public opinion,

random rules for the sake of rules,

and fearfully towing the line are likely to be far from a genius’s mind.

But again,

it’s not as though the people we call geniuses get a thrill from rule breaking; it’s more that they recognize a higher authority,

and if they do end up obeying and following orders,

it will be because they accept the validity of another deep thinker’s perspective.

Genius thinking is more characterized by non-hierarchical social structures,

non-linear thinking and a tendency to go against the grain—if the grain is something that is merely part of tradition and convention,

rather than genuinely the best way to do things.

This is why geniuses are so often associated with science and innovation—these are the people who pull humanity forward with their insistence that there has to be more to life,

even if people are afraid of trying something new.

Genius thinking is dynamic and adaptable.

It’s not afraid to adjust itself,

or to change as needed.

Thus,

a genius thinker will have no qualms about completely dropping an old way of life to pursue an entirely new way of being.

They are happy to dream up novel solutions,

creative new possibilities,

or even fantastical and outlandish dreams for the future.

They don’t tend to take these thoughts and measure them against the accepted standards of the day.

In other words,

they don’t care about being popular or fashionable or even liked by others.

And this is what allows them to be true explorers of the unknown.

This can be a difficult perspective shift to bring into your own life,

because every one of us,

whether we admit it or not,

is deeply embedded in the values and rules of our culture and historical period.

We all have our assumptions and biases,

and our beliefs about what is and isn’t possible,

what’s right and what’s wrong.

One of the genius’s best tools is the mindset that comes with asking,

“What if?” and being genuinely open to whatever answers stem from that.

Question your own “rules” that you make for yourself and you’ll become better at recognizing the unnecessary limits placed on you by others.

You could practice this mindset switching for yourself,

right now.

Get out a piece of paper and,

very quickly and without too much thought,

write down five things that you absolutely know to be true about yourself or the world.

Write down your core beliefs or assumptions,

big or small.

Let’s say you wrote down,

“I value education and learning so I’m going to try to get into university."

Now,

look at this as neutrally as you possibly can.

Look at the unspoken conditional nature of the sentence,

i.e.

the assumption that going to university is the best (or only?) way to get an education.

Consider the hidden biases and expectations behind this—that teaching and learning come from recognized institutions,

i.e.

externally,

and if you value education and learning you need to appeal to these institutions to let them allow you to learn.

It’s just a simple sentence that you may never look more deeply into,

but on closer examination,

can you see how many rules are implied in it?

Maybe it’s not true that university = education.

A genius doesn’t take anything for granted…they don’t even take their own word for it.

They ask,

“What if…?"

What if it were possible to learn more outside of university?

What if the thing that you most wanted was actually not to follow the path that others in your peer group pursue?

The answers are irrelevant—it’s the fact of asking the question that is important.

In the chapters that follow,

we’ll be looking more closely at specific examples of people who many have called geniuses.

We’ll see not only that each of these people has perfectly demonstrated the traits we’ve discussed here,

but exactly how they managed to express these tendencies and traits in their work,

and indeed how these characteristics were actually the key to their success.

Summary.

•Geniuses come in all shapes and sizes,

from all walks of life and all historical periods,

but they can all be seen to possess certain predictable characteristics and mindsets.

•If we can model our own lives on the traits we find in great and successful thinkers,

we too can learn to fulfill more of our intellectual and creative potential.

•The first trait is a lust for learning and an insatiable curiosity about how the world works,

and why.

This is knowledge and understanding pursued for its own sake,

and not because it indirectly leads to another goal like fame or money.

Such inspiration and passion gives incredible stamina to any effort.

•Another trait is diligence,

patience,

dedication and self-discipline,

i.e.

everything associated with consistent hard work.

Without detail-oriented and practical action taken daily,

and a willingness to delay gratification,

success will never materialize.

•Intellectual honesty is also important,

and this includes humility and the ability to admit that you don’t know something,

or that you have made a mistake.

Geniuses know that stubbornness,

bias,

expectation and ego can undermine genuine learning.

•Most genius types are usually polymaths (skilled in many areas) and have broad rather than narrow interests.

They are well-read and make connections between all disciplines,

see relationships and analogies,

and find inspiration in all fields,

never limiting themselves to one area.

•Finally,

geniuses are usually assumed to be novel,

out-of-the-box thinkers.

Such people are non-conventional and tend to disregard arbitrary rules,

fashions or unquestioned assumptions and habits.

They are comfortable pushing outside of the norms and exploring new territory—and this makes them natural innovators and trendsetters (as well as problem solvers!).

•We can always be aware of these mindsets particular to geniuses and deliberately work to cultivate them in ourselves,

in a variety of ways.