Yes, You Too Have a Genius

I’m re-writing my website to tell people about my new book, and about new business and marketing plan groups I’m going to start offering after the book is out.

The first question every business owner (including me) has to answer when it’s time to do a website (or any marketing) is: Who is my customer; who are my people-the ones who really need what I do and are they emotionally, physically and financially ready to buy?

In my case, the answer is: People who love what they do; are really good at it; whose customers love them, but who don’t love the “other half” of business: the numbers and the marketing. My best customers have a genius for their work.

Notice I didn’t say “are geniuses.”

Elizabeth Gilbert (the bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love) describes the difference between “being” a genius and “having” a genius. Being a genius means your talent IS you-you own it, it’s 100% your responsibility, and if your current work of art (whether it is your latest book, the last massage you did, the last class you taught, the last laptop you fixed or your latest invention) fails, It’s All Your Fault.

Having a genius is like being possessed by a smart, sometimes friendly, sometimes demanding, spirit. The spirit is the genius; and your responsibility is to serve it as best you can, while not personalizing either your success or your failure.

If you look around, you’ll notice that you’re surrounded by people who have geniuses. If you look closer, you’ll even spot the people who aren’t serving their geniuses very well.

Everyone has a genius. Some people prefer to ignore theirs, which is their prerogative. But if you’re reading this newsletter, you’re probably not one of those people.

Today’s big questions are two-fold. First, where have you noticed genius in other people in your life? And second, how are you serving your genius? Comment below. And if you’re really ambitious, take your paper and pencil or your laptop to your local coffee shop and ask your genius what it needs from you so that you can help it express itself in the world. Do you need more training? More sleep? Better marketing? More unstructured time? A business plan? More exercise? A mentor?

Write what you hear. If you feel like it, tell us below about your discoveries, and what you’ll do about them.