Characteristics of Genius – Generosity

I was having a discussion yesterday with my 14-year-old son. He felt that whenever you do something good you do it for selfish reasons. His premise was that our brain is wired to give us a dopamine hit when we do things like that so we do more good things because we get this feel-good chemical. While I don’t quite agree with him on this it was a really good discussion and made me think. I love it when that happens!

He is right. On a biological level, we do get these feel-good chemicals and positive brain stimulation when we do something nice for others. But if that is true, why don’t we do more of it? There is so much more to the story.

And your story that you write for your life needs more. More than just focusing on yourself.

You need a purpose.

In his book Drive, Daniel Pink shares that motivation has three key parts to it: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. While self-governance and the ability to really learn a topic is important, it is having a reason – a why – that really pulls it all together.

You can have all the experience, knowledge, and insight that you can get but if you don’t let anyone else know about it, does it really matter?

In order to realize your genius and live a genius paradigm, you have to be willing to share your genius. You can share it in many ways and at different levels. I’m not saying that you have to be Michelangelo from day one.

If you love to write, write. Share it on a blog. If you share your ideas better by speaking them, do a vlog instead. If your genius is music, don’t be afraid to play for others. At first, it may be for a small audience but don’t be afraid to go big when you have the opportunity. In fact, look for those opportunities.

Everyone is a genius but in order for you to realize it, you need to share it with the world.

If you would like to learn more about different characteristics to develop that will help you realize your genius and develop a genius paradigm check out these articles:

Characteristics of a Genius – Perspicacity
Characteristics of a Genius – Resolute
Characteristics of a Genius – Optimism
Characteristics of a Genius – Talent
Characteristics of a genius – Action-Oriented