Are You Living your 'Genius'?

"If everyone were clothed in integrity, if every heart were just, frank, kindly, the other virtues would be well-nigh useless."

- Moliere (Jean Baptiste Poquelin)

After all the surprises and revelations, with Julia Gillard replacing Mr Rudd as the new Australian PM, it was interesting for me to reflect on a conversation that Liz and I were having over a coffee, about Integrity.

Some years back, before I had Philomena, I was seeing Peter Barr-Thomson,(his website is called Ingenius People), a life/success coach and master NLP practicioner, and a beautiful person who I am proud to call a friend. I had consultations with him for about 6-12 months and it really helped me clarify where I was at in life; what I really wanted; and how to sift through all the confusion I had created in my life, by pursuing goals and dreams which I thought would come about through the acquisition of 'money'. In the end, Peter helped me to see that what I really wanted, had been in front of me all along. It was so simple, but I had complicated my life and filled it with 'stuff'. The busier I became in its' pursuit, the further away I got from what I truly wanted.

What I loved about Peter's approach and take on life and people, and something he really believes in so strongly, is that if we live a life in which we live our 'Genius', then our lives are so much happier and richer.

He helped me to see that I had already lived my genius, but I hadn't realised it! That period was when I had my own martial arts club and business. The time between then and now became a pursuit of finding out how I could once again recapture that same feeling and satisfaction. I've come to the realisation only recently, that I can never really recapture that period, but I can look at why and how I was living my genius. I think though, only Peter can really explain this. This is an excerpt from Peter's chapter out of a book called Secrets of Great Success Coaches Exposed...

"What is Individual Genius?

Individual genius is, without question, the real driving force in us all. When discovered and lived, it has the potential to bring technicolour to every moment, clarify to what we really want and don't want, ease and flow to everything we choose to do, and a confidence to every situation we're in. We tend to think that genius is confined to the chosen elite. Every bit of research I have undertaken shows the Einsteins, da Vincis, Edisions, Hawkings, and Curies all have the following characteristics:

They are passionate about what they do - think about the passion of a Pablo Picasso as he paints, a Martin Luther King Jr as he speaks, a Jimmy Hendrix as he plays. Ever felt that passion for something? (Whether you followed through with it or not isn't relevant right now).

They are doggedly persistent and willing to make mistakes - Edison took over 10,000 experiments to get the tungsten light bulb right and over 50,000 attemps to perfect the power cell battery. Einstein said, 'I'm not any smarter, I just stay with the problem longer'. Ever stuck at something because you really wanted it?

They make up stories to create, explain or justify their world - Einstein, when working with this theory of relativity, made up a story where he got on an imaginary light beam, travelled around the universe and ended up back where he started. This imaginary journey ended up being integral in his hypothese E=mc2. Ever made up a story in your life (this includes fantasies, lies, and metaphors) to explain things?

They love to break a few rules - following on from the Einstein story, not one scientist of the time supported his theory because it was breaking all the rules that kept them safe in the world they had so comfortably built. Ever broken a rule or two in your life (speeding, being late for work, skipping to the end of a book)?

They can be vague, ambiguous and absent-minded - all the great geniuses were known for being preoccupied with their ventures and were not necessarily good with non-essential details. Ever lost your keys, wallet or mind?

They love to act like children and have fun - Edison designed the phonograph from an idea he had while creating a talking doll as a present for his niece. And look what that led to - records, CD's, DVD's. Do you like to have fun and be childlike?

Everyone I have ever met does most, if not all, of the above in some areas of their lives. The challenge is to find one (or two) areas where you really want to do all of the above at the same time. So, did you answer 'yes' to the above questions: Well, you may just be a dormant genius, or possibly you are already living it and just not acknowledging it.

How does someone go about finding his or her real individual genius?

In my experience, the following steps are essential on the journey to discovering and living your individual genius:

1. Believe it is possible - yep, it's as simple as that. If we truly begin to believe we are a genius (even if we fake it 'til we make it) anything is possible. So, begin right now! Say to yourself, 'Maybe I am a genius!' Did it hurt? Did it change anything? Once we express the possibility through verbalising it, the real work (or fun) begins.

2. Clarify exactly what it is - to work this out we created a formula that truly uncovers the absolute essence of your genius. Like Einstein, we decided to keep our formula as simple as possible. Where Einstein had E=mc2, we have G=p5(TM): Genius = passion, potential, purpose, persistence, plan

• Passion - what you love to be or do.
• Potential - what you are good at or could be good at (also consider what others say you are good at or compliment you on).
• Purpose - the reason and meaning behind your motivation and beyond yourself (even if isn't Earth-shattering).
• Persistence - who you are and what you value and believe will support your quest, no matter what the chllanges and pitfalls are.
• Plan - the well thought-out and structured map that will guide and focus you to your genius and success.

3. Take consistent, disciplined action toward goals that truly reflects your genius - for example, one of my geniuses (under the above criteria) is coaching. The goal I have here is to continually strive to be the best coach I can be, reflected in the specific outcome of consistently working with 20 individuals in my chosen market and achieving above 95 per cent satisfaction rate with those clients.

4. Review your goals regularly - ensure that they are still valid and relevant.

5. STOP and celebrate your successes - all of them! You deserve it!

A note of caution: what I have just described is all great in theory, but the only way to achieve true success is to be brave and break through all the barriers that have held you stuck for 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years.

Frankly, this requires external support and encouragement. Hell, if you could have done it by yourself you probably wouldn't be reading this book. Be brave - ask for help. Pride is a truly insidious creature that feasts on our biggest fears. Maybe it's time to starve it!

Once people have discovered their real genius what should they do?

Live it!"

So what does that have to with integrity?

Part of my 'unravelling' process during my coaching with Peter, was to look at my core values, and what was the most important one for me. Every person is different, and it's a matter of working out what yours is, so that you know from what perspective or stance you view the world. Your core value is instrinsic to how you approach life and is an important step to determining how to live your genius. Integrity was, and is my core value.

The value of that single discovery, led me to realise how much pressure I was placing on others around me to be 'perfect'. Unless those who I dealt with had a high level of integrity, I found that I judged them without really understanding their personal lives, and their individual challenges and journeys. I was painting everyone with the same brush, and holding everyone up to my own high ideals. In the end, I was constantly disappointed, and I was very unhappy for awhile and very stressed and confused.

So with this discovery, Peter helped me to look at people from a different perspective and try to imagine myself in their shoes and how different the shoes of each individual. Who am I to judge someone for how they see the world and respond accordingly, when I don't know what their world nor their journey has been, or currently is? That doesn't mean I no longer judge, but I'm getting better at stopping and asking myself what they could be going through or have been through in their lives. Then...only then, I become more compassionate to people's plights.

This epiphany helped me to relax, and take a step back. And as far as integrity goes...as long as I live my life with integrity, then I can be happy in that knowledge. And as far as the integrity of others...well, I still think that leading by example is the only way to influence others. And as far as the character of others, that is their journey and their responsibility, not mine.

So...come on...if you're not living your genius, then what are you waiting for?