“I am certainly of opinion that genius can be acquired, or, in the alternative, that it is an almost universal possession.” – Aleister Crowley, Born Oct. 12, 1875.
The word “genius” is an odd one. Because it gets thrown around loosely, but also is an intimidating label.
Let let me tell you, being thought of as a genius in your field – or at least being seen as occasionally “brilliant” does wonders for business.
And what’s great is that Crowley is right. “Genius” isn’t something you must be born with, fully developed, or else you’ve missed your chance.
You already have it, and can easily develop it. Then success is a matter of putting it on display and offering it for hire.
So how can anyone do this for themselves?
Easy. The essence of “genius” when it comes to other people perceiving it has less to do with YOU and more to do with THEM. Like beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder, not the beholden.
“Genius” is basically just pointing out a connection between seemingly different things that creates a new understanding for the audience.
It’s about uncovering something the audience didn’t know before, but seems obvious once it was explained to them. You give them an “aha” moment.
You make their brain physically grow a new neural connection between two concepts and it feels GOOD to them. Like the “pump” bodybuilders call the euphoric feeling when they are tearing apart their muscle fibers to create new, and more massive ones.
Sounds easy, right? No?
Here is the simplest way to do it: create analogies. Explain one thing by way of another. It doesn’t have to be a careful selection of things, either.
How is a business like a tree? How is a sales page like a cat? How is your marketing strategy like a hurricane instead of a tornado?
There is no wrong answer, and you can use literally anything. But the idea is that you practice creating these analogies. You get better at them over time. Sometimes, the sillier ones end up yielding the best material.
And by using these metaphorical comparisons to inform your audience and your clients, they begin to see insights that were invisible to them. And they love it, and become addicted to it, because you are a continuous source of that particular kind of brain tickle.
And the more you practice, the better you get and finding these connections, and eventually, you can just make them up off-the-cuff.
There is a power in being able to make complex things understandable to others. That power is called…
GENIUS.