Your Hidden Genius, Part II

By: Robert Ringer

In Part I of this article, I discussed the remarkable rise of Sylvester Stallone from a droopy-lipped, speech-slurring thug to Hollywood superstar — a result of his discovering his true genius while coaching women’s athletics in Switzerland. After seeing Stallone’s new movie, Rocky Balboa, another public figure came to mind — one who managed to overcome drug addiction and alcoholism to rise to television stardom.

The television personality I am referring to is the ultra-likeable Glenn Beck. There is no television commentator quite like him. He is funny, knowledgeable, outrageous, polite, self-deprecating (often referring to himself as a “rodeo clown”), well-spoken, folksy, and, above all, entertaining.

If you don’t know who Glenn Beck is, you’re in for a treat when you discover him. He’s on CNN Headline News every weeknight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, with many reruns throughout the evening and early morning hours.

You heard right. The voice of socialist America, CNN, apparently tossed in the towel about nine months ago and brought a hard-core conservative on board. Apparently, the powers that be at Ted Turner’s brainchild decided that ratings are a higher priority than ideological purity. (I have it on good authority that the loss of socialist purity at CNN has caused comrade Lou Dobbs to sob uncontrollably every night at bedtime.)

What’s amazing about Glenn Beck is that not only has he survived alcoholism and drug addiction, he’s also been through a divorce and, among other things, managed to go relatively unnoticed by the general public for more than two decades.

When Beck’s life was in a shambles, could anyone possibly have imagined that he would some day be a wildly successful television personality? Hardly. On the contrary, I’m sure people saw him as the bum he was.

Yet, beneath his bum exterior was a hidden genius — a genius Beck probably didn’t even know he possessed. His is a natural talent that started to come to the fore when he was exposed to talk radio at an early age. Yet, it did not fully surface until he reached his forties.

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All this begs the question: If a guy with a troubled childhood, slurred speech, and a droopy lip could become a film mega-star … and a former alcoholic and drug addict could become a major television personality … what could you accomplish if you could only uncover your hidden genius?

Given that the rewards are so high — not just monetarily, but, even more important, from the standpoint of leading a fulfilling life — isn’t the pursuit of your hidden genius a worthwhile undertaking?

Which brings about the second question: How do you go about such a pursuit?

I happen to be a big believer in Occam’s Razor Principle (also known as the Principle of Parsimony), which states that one should never make an explanation more complicated than necessary. And the simplest explanation for what you need to do to discover your hidden genius is to get out, do things, try things, make calls, network with people — take action.

To be sure, the odds against a person’s finding his hidden genius are overwhelming so long as he chooses to lead a mentally and physically sedentary life.

Tip: Remember that when it comes to finding a meaningful purpose in life, the first two questions you should ask yourself are: (1) What do I enjoy? and (2) What am I good at? And the answers to these two questions are also likely to lead you to your hidden genius.

Why? Because if you can find something you both enjoy and are good at, it would appear self-evident that you could accomplish great things by focusing intensely on whatever that one “thing” is.

To summarize: Take lots of action, discover what you enjoy and what you are good at, then focus on perfecting that talent with consistency and intensity. I recognize that this is much easier to talk about than actually do. However, the effort is worth it, because it could very well result in your hidden genius coming to the surface … and bringing you all you want in life.

Robert Ringer is the author of eight books, including three No. 1 best sellers, two of which have been listed by the New York Times among the 15 best-selling motivational books of all time.

To subscribe to his free e-letter, “A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World,” and receive a free e-copy of his classic No. 1 best seller, “To Be or Not to Be Intimidated?” visit www.robertringer.com.