Our Genius

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We desire lives that inspire us. For those of us who want to continue working into the sunset years, this desire translates into making money in doing something that we are passionate about. The challenge is, how do we discover this vocation? The Ancient Greeks talk about one’s genius, the true essence of each and everyone of us. We are all unique and our souls (i.e. genius) are implanted with our one and only true purpose on this planet. Steven Pressfield argues in his book The War of Art, our journey should be spiritual in nature. This is our art, a pursuit for our creative side.

This spiritual journey is a quest to discover our genius, which requires eliminating the ego in order to find our self. What is ego? As I’ve stated in previous posts, we need to jump off the assembly line of life and do what truly inspires us. This is not an easy task as we consciously or unconsciously conform to the expectations of others. It’s the ego that leads us to base our self-image on what others (e.g. friends, family, society, corporate America, Madison Avenue) expect versus what is buried deep in our soul. Of course, finding what’s deep in our soul is hard work and takes considerable courage. Pressfield argues, finding our genius is not certain for the brave and committed. Is it the destination that matters or is it the journey that’s most important? I argue the journey because it’s along the path of discovery that we encounter loneliness, resistance, self-doubt, and excitement. It is through these experiences and feelings we are truly in control of our lives. Isn’t that the ultimate goal for all of us?

So, here’s to us as we journey down the path to find our true genius. As Greek mythology tells us, Zeus offers his nine daughters as our muses to help guide us in our journeys to find our creative selves. See, we’re not alone. I hope she likes grey hair.

#Genius