Releasing the Genius Releasing the Genius Magazine - Issue 2 | Page 10

FINDING THE RIGHT
A HISTORY OF GENIUS AND PRIVILEGE
I
Happy
FORMULA FOR A
SUCCESSFUL LIFE
BY DR. ROGER HALL
n 1921, a professor of psychology and author of the Stanford-Binet
intelligence test, Lewis Terman, decided he would study extremely
gifted children. At the time, there were the same stereotypes
about intellectually gifted children as there are today—socially
and physically awkward, sickly, and unhappy. Terman had higher
hopes for the young children he studied over the course of decades. He
met with each of these young people regularly, called them “Terman’s
Termites.” As they grew into adulthood, he was pleased to see that
his “Termites” were, in fact, well-adjusted, socially skilled, physically
capable adults. He had likely nursed higher hopes that, in contrast
to the stereotypes, his Termites would soar to the highest levels of
success, be presidents of companies, political leaders, or great
thinkers. In this, he was disappointed. His Termites rose to levels of
middle management, raised families, were happy, but largely lived
undistinguished lives. The Termite of highest prominence became
a judge, but no one won a Nobel Prize, or started a world-changing
company, or became fabulously wealth. IQ and school success alone
were not great predictors of life success.
LOPSIDED WHEEL
A bicycle wheel needs lots of spokes to roll smoothly. If one spoke is
broken, the wheel still turns, but becomes weaker. The more spokes
that are missing or broken, the more lopsided and bumpier the ride
becomes. A focus only on academic success is a lopsided wheel—it
doesn’t make for success in life. Let’s look at athletes. For most sports,
careers end by their mid-30s. Some go on to have success in other areas
for the remainder of their lives, but only because they have put effort to
practicing in other areas of their lives. One of the saddest stories I’ve
ever heard is about a man working at a car wash drying cars. He did a
good job, but one day his boss brought him into the office and told him
that he needed to remove the big ring he always wore. It seems that
ring was scratching the finish of the cars while he was drying them.
With tears in his eyes, the man said he wouldn’t. Being able to show
others his NBA championship ring meant too much to him. He was
fired. A single exceptional skill isn’t enough to live a successful life.
THE LOVE OF PRACTICE
"
"NOTHING IN THIS WORLD CAN TAKE THE
PLACE OF PERSISTENCE. TALENT WILL
NOT; NOTHING IS MORE COMMON THAN
UNSUCCESSFUL PEOPLE WITH TALENT.
GENIUS WILL NOT; UNREWARDED GENIUS
IS ALMOST A PROVERB. EDUCATION
WILL NOT; THE WORLD IS FULL OF
EDUCATED DERELICTS. PERSISTENCE AND
DETERMINATION ALONE ARE OMNIPOTENT."
– CALVIN COOLIDGE
"
People who are truly great in life are often not the most talented, but
they love, love, LOVE to practice. Practice is what makes people
successful, not raw talent. The real superstars like practicing more
than the dilettantes. Talented people who don’t like to put in the hours
eventually reach a limit, because that extra level of performance
depends on practice. In football, Jerry Rice is arguably the best wide