1: Accept you need to fulfill your mind’s potential.
Look at the graph below. Where on the graph would you mark yourself if the far left represented the ignorance of a newborn baby and the far right represented the genius of Leonardo Da Vince?
(Ignorance) 1—2—3—4— (Normal) —6—7—8—9—10 (Genius)
Okay, that was a trick. Without changing your position on the graph, replace the word “Ignorance” with “Insanity,” and replace the word “Genius” with “Sane.”
The definition of the word “sane” is: “having or showing reason, sound judgment, or good sense.”
Think about a baby. Does a baby think or act with sound reason, judgment, and sense? No. If an adult acted like a one-year-old, he’d be locked away in a mental institute. We’re all born insane, and our progress towards sanity doesn’t happen on its own. As we grow up, our brains develop and automatically make us more capable of sanity, but in to grow to your full potential you have to proactively use reason, sound judgment, and common sense.
Genius isn’t a condition you’re born with. It’s the process of pushing your mind to its unique potential. Once you’ve pushed your mind to what it’s capable of, you’ll be the person you’re capable of becoming.
2: Accept you’re capable of becoming a genius.
If you’re smart enough to graduate high school, then you’re smart enough to become a genius. How many song lyrics, movie characters, book titles, sports statistics, telephone numbers and street names will you memorize in your life? How many books/magazines/news articles/websites/blogs have you/will you read? When you add it all up, the number is astronomical even if you score low on a traditional I.Q. test.
You’ll never reach the limits of your mind. Therefore, the limits of your mental potential are defined more by what you believe they are than what they actually are. You have the potential to become an expert at just about anything if you would only allow yourself permission to become what you’re capable of becoming and push yourself as far as you can go.
3: Accept you’re ignorant.
Everyone is born insane, and we become saner by learning. But no matter how much you learn, you’ll always be an ant on a speck of dirt in an endless universe. Nobody knows shit about shit, and we’re all so lost we don’t even know how lost we are. So conceit is a delusion, and humility is sanity. The smarter you think you are, the less room and motivation you give yourself to grow. The more humbly you accept your ignorance, the more room and motivation you give yourself to grow.
4: Accept everyone is ignorant in different ways to different degrees.
Humanity doesn’t have life figured out. Our entire history has been a slow process of clueless adults raising clueless children. The younger generation always takes it for granted their parents’ generation has it all figured out. So children devote their lives to mimicking their elders only to waste their lives re-enacting primitive, obsolete customs invented by pompous monkeys.
Take everything you learn with a grain of salt. Even if someone teaches you something true, it’s probably still incomplete. Questioning people and their belief systems can only help you arrive at a clearer perception of the truth. Blind faith can only result in blindness.
5: Decide what you want to learn.
Nobody can know everything. The end goal of genius isn’t to master every field of learning but to master the one/s that are most important to you. The only way you’ll have the motivation to master anything, is to love doing it. Find something you love, and excel at that. If you try to master something you aren’t terminally passionate about, you’re either going to quit or be miserable, which would defeat the purpose.
6: Develop a systematic plan to understand life.
Imagine it’s Sunday afternoon, and you don’t have to go to work, but you’ve got a ton of errands and chores you need to get done. If you just wander around the house and do a chore here and there when you just happen to find yourself in a room that needs something done it’s going to take forever to get all your chores done. Imagine driving around town aimlessly and hoping you run across the store or business you need to get something done at. You’ll never accomplish all your goals.
Becoming a genius (aka growing up, aka becoming sane) is the same way. You’re not going to be able to wander through life aimlessly, casually doing the things you feel inspired or hungry to do and hope to make the most out of your mind. You need to plan out what you want to learn and how you’re going to teach it to yourself.
7: Learn as much as you can.
If you want to be smarter, then learn more. If you want to be exceptionally smart, then learn an exceptional amount of information. You’re going to run out of time before you run out of storage space in your brain.
8: Learn and practice rational, logical thinking.
To understand the information you learn and make the best use of it, you have to be able to process the information effectively. You can memorize the encyclopedia, but if you don’t know how to think, all your good for is reciting information. The better you are at thinking, the more valuable conclusions you can draw from your knowledge.
9: Ask the right questions.
You might be able to cram enough knowledge into your brain to win every quiz game in the world, but that doesn’t make you a genius. What separates the savants from the geniuses is meaning. Is the knowledge you possess and are the questions you ask meaningful? Do your intellectual pursuits make a difference in the world? Do they help people? Do they advance humanity? If not, then it doesn’t matter how many credentials you have or how many people pat you on the back. Your efforts are meaningless.
You don’t have to be smart enough to figure out why E=MC2 to be a genius. The world doesn’t need 7 billion astrophysicists anyway. We need geniuses from every walk of life. We need people who can solve meaningful problems in the fields that they’re suited for. Solve a meaningful question and that will be an exercise in genius, but that doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels for the rest of your life. Just because you did something genius yesterday doesn’t mean you’re a genius today. And just because you performed one stroke of genius doesn’t mean that you’re a genius in every other facet of your life. In fact, nobody is a full spectrum genius. Every genius is a complete idiot in other ways.
10: Question your answers.
Let’s suppose you questioned your personal beliefs and the foundations of your culture and found them lacking. So you went back and rewrote the rules and applauded yourself for fixing them. Then you lived the rest of your life by those new rules and taught them to other people. The only problem is you’re Anton Lavey, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Timothy Leary or Charles Manson. If you don’t question everything, especially your own answers, you’ll end up acting on irrational conclusions that will cause harm to you or others.
Question your answers.
If you enjoyed this post, you’ll also like these:
How to Think Like a Genius
- My theory on common sense
- My quest to find enlightenment
- Your ability to think obligates you to
- Enlightenment through logic
- The map of everything
- My approach to thinking/problem solving
- 10 steps to winning an argument
- How to solve a problem with a team
- Creativity is logic, not magic.
- My two rules about rules
- What is wisdom?
- Wisdom I learned working in IT: Nothing is magical
- Wisdom I learned working in IT: Answers come from questions
- The relationship between sanity, reality, truth, religion, and science
- 11 ways mainstream academic philosophy has come to resemble religion
- And Old Man From Jersey Explains Philosophy (Comic)
- And Old Man From Jersey Explains How To Think (Comic)
Knowledge and Learning
- The value of knowledge
- Every grain of knowledge is valuable. Every grain of ignorance is destructive.
- Why you should have high intellectual standards
- We’ve never raised an entire generation of adults ever
- They’re giving away free superpowers on the internet
- The Alphabits analogy (Why it’s bad to be stupid)
- It’s not cool to be stupid
- How to become an expert at anything
- How to read for truth
- Recommended intelligent books and videos
- 10 ways people get dumber as they get older
The Meaning of Life
- How do you find purpose without knowing the meaning of life?
- My quest to find the meaning of life
- The value of life
- Reality is amazing
- It’s okay to be lost
- The cosmic perspective
- If life is a game, how do you win?
- Why you shouldn’t commit suicide
- The danger in telling people life has no meaning
- And Old Man From Jersey Explains The Meaning Of Life (Comic)
- An Old Man From Jersey Explains If Man Is Inherently Good Or Evil (Comic)
- An Old Man From Jersey Explains If everything happens for a reason (Comic)
- An Old Man From Jersey Explains Free Will (Comic)
December 28th, 2017 at 10:13 am
We will be genuises soon thanks for the information😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
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November 21st, 2017 at 4:09 am
To become a genius we must pretend to do technical hardword in a planned wayyy
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July 24th, 2017 at 10:49 am
what’s with the last paragraph? I don’t get it. I love the article except for the last paragraph.
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July 24th, 2017 at 11:52 am
All of the people mentioned in the last paragraph were insane, and most of them were killers. They all believed they were right because they didn’t question their beliefs hard enough.
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May 19th, 2017 at 1:24 am
Thanks for changing my life I am now a genius because of your help keep it up
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May 7th, 2017 at 3:14 am
Be You
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April 29th, 2017 at 3:36 am
am a gemuis
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April 20th, 2017 at 2:09 pm
Being a genius is not a title or a career…
In all you do,be the best…
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January 16th, 2017 at 1:07 am
You are right ,this is excellent I’ll take what you wrote to action so that I can become a genius
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April 4th, 2016 at 9:32 am
Thanks a lot you have helped so a can control my life. God bless you,send more information to my email pls,
Blessings
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March 11th, 2016 at 5:24 am
hi! thanks, i truly wish to be one and change my country
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December 19th, 2015 at 12:08 pm
I will definatly become a genius
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August 13th, 2015 at 10:40 am
2 become a genius u must work hard
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April 4th, 2015 at 5:29 am
yes it is true , but there is lot of distraction that affects our mind
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March 11th, 2015 at 8:07 pm
yap. its true what has been mentioned. its the time that we have all appreciate that we can , we will and we must become geniuses if we real want success. why not ?
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February 16th, 2015 at 6:26 pm
In the right sense of the meaning of the word genius,many peaple say its inborn bt you have brought it down to my understanding that this is acheivable,thx very much,but i need more feeds cz am badly in need of becoming one who is outstanding.
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February 16th, 2015 at 6:02 pm
wow is sounds amazing.
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January 3rd, 2015 at 1:42 pm
hellow sir yo are right for everything you have written, i would like to have more tips of how i can manage and finally become a genius, i am a student who indeed wants to change for greater intervals, i know already how to use some tips of reading and memorization but still want to have your consultancy,please check me sir via my inbox coz you replly is very vital to me
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August 20th, 2014 at 7:44 am
Send me more on the mind,how to effectively use it and more on geniuses
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September 2nd, 2014 at 9:52 pm
Read the Self-Help and Philosophy categories on my table of contents.
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September 10th, 2013 at 8:26 pm
You are right. People fear me, because I am a genius and forward thinker.
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August 14th, 2013 at 7:59 pm
i think this ir a really cool post and an encouraging one. Nice
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July 24th, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Dis is awesome
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April 28th, 2017 at 10:21 pm
Before you consider becoming a genius, I would recommend correct spelling even if it is slang. LOL (get the pun?)
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July 11th, 2013 at 12:47 pm
i want to become a genius
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July 8th, 2013 at 7:52 pm
Nice blog. He males a lot of sense
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July 2nd, 2013 at 8:21 pm
I want to develop a mindset of a genius
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June 18th, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Thank you very much wisesloth for making me a genius
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June 12th, 2013 at 8:41 am
Good life tips here. To become a genius? Not too sure. But definitely wise words if you need to get your life on track. I question everything in life as it is. I do many things on this list except I AM lazy. I am very smart, but being a genius requires qualities that I do not possess such as being ambitious and following through with your goals.
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May 10th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
wow i really like these steps, i’ve had a lot of problems in doing this. i think i should give this a try
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April 7th, 2013 at 1:41 am
let me try to
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March 13th, 2013 at 1:36 am
Hey. Good news. Your method works, I’m now a genius.
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February 21st, 2013 at 5:58 am
The part of you being ignorant is what i dont get
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February 21st, 2013 at 6:27 am
It’s impossible to know everything. So nobody will ever truly master life, but if we accept that we’re limited creatures then this humility will give us motivation to grow as much as possible. Even if we can’t know everything, every little bit will help us live better. Just be sure to prioritize learning what’s most important first. You have to decide what’s most important.
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April 2nd, 2014 at 5:37 pm
I think the so called unexplicable reason for ignorance is techonlogy “the devils technology.”
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February 20th, 2013 at 11:38 am
well,i belive with this steps one can become a genius some day and i am really grateful to the writter cause i have gotten some useful hints that will help me to build up in terms of reasoning,thinking and so on.
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February 19th, 2013 at 12:13 pm
then must someone shut himself off before concentrating on becoming a genius
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February 19th, 2013 at 5:43 pm
You learn about life in books. To master it you have to take part in it.
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February 20th, 2013 at 9:23 pm
How will i be able to master it
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February 21st, 2013 at 4:24 am
https://thewisesloth.com/philosophy/genius/become-expert-anything/
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July 28th, 2014 at 8:31 am
I will agree with you that people mimic other people so they never evolve in to the person that they should have, or could have became. I have seen teenagers act like there 2 years old and they’re not in a straight jacket. i am just saying that society plays a huge part in how we are raised as well.
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February 19th, 2013 at 12:11 pm
i give it a try but i think is fear of reading and believing in my self that is the problem. that must be !!
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February 20th, 2013 at 11:43 am
becoming a genius requires lots of reading and high level of hardwork in making research and always try to get solutions to problems you find diffucult to solve rather than ignoring them.
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February 12th, 2013 at 8:34 am
sir i need more of ur write on my box 2 develop my ideal tnx. Really if u want 2 became a genius u hav 2b intellingent, smart, make research and brave.
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January 6th, 2013 at 3:57 am
Seek the truth at all cost. Question everything.
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January 3rd, 2013 at 2:31 pm
good,Let see
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July 6th, 2012 at 12:06 am
Waoo it like a burden has just been taking off me. Let try and see BM
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April 20th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
I love this steps now i am enlighten
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September 26th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
this is very much attainable . the problem is people are too lazy or content with what they got to put in the effort. This world could be full of accomplished, successful people if it weren’t for this fatal flaw
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July 20th, 2011 at 10:25 am
how workable is that?because i want try it
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July 20th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
This blog is the only evidence I have to prove if this method works or not. Some people would say the rest of my blog proves it doesn’t work. Give it a shot and let me know how it works for you.
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May 23rd, 2011 at 2:43 am
I want to be a genius
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