May 28True Genius
The imbecility of people is always inviting the impudence of power. It is the delight of vulgar talent to dazzle and to blind the beholder. But true genius seeks to defend us from itself. True genius will not impoverish, but will liberate, and add new senses. If a wise person should appear in our village, they would create, in those who conversed with them, a new consciousness of wealth, by opening their eyes to unobserved advantages
Ralph Waldo Emerson—Uses of Great Men (1849)
It is our job to learn to think for ourselves. Or as Emerson suggests, “True genius seeks to defend us from itself.”
So much of what we witness under the banner of entrepreneurship is the bluster of those who want us to notice them, acknowledge their genius, +1 the fact that “they are humbled to be on so and so's top 1000 to follow on Twitter list.”
It's pretty exhausting really, but time and again we fall for what they are selling.
Do you want to know how to tell if someone is the real deal—a great thinker that you should spend time with? They will maintain that you have the answers, not they.
True genius doesn't sell genius; it unlocks it in others.
Challenge Question
- How can you show others that they have the answers?
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