How Do You Define Genius?

Have you ever thought about it?

What really is a genius, or "genius" itself?

Google it, you get a Wikipedia entry at the top that says:

A genius is an individual who successfully applies a previously unknown technique in the production of a work of art, science, or calculation, or who masters and personalizes a known technique. A genius typically possesses great intelligence or remarkable abilities in a specific subject, or shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and/or ability, especially in the production of creative and original work, something that has never been seen or evaluated previously. Traits often associated with genius include strong individuality, imagination, uniqueness, and innovative drive[citation needed].

The term may be applied to someone who is considered gifted in many subjects[1] or in one subject.

Although the term "genius" is sometimes used to denote the possession of a superior talent in any field, e.g. a particular sport or statesmanship, it has traditionally been understood to denote an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and creative originality in areas of art, literature, philosophy, music, language, science and mathematics.

Which makes good sense.

A dear friend of mine once defined a genius as, "someone who knows what they don't know."

How could you know something you don't know?

Look more closely at the grammar: Knows what they don't know. They can say, without feeling inadequate, that they do not know something. they are self-aware enough to honestly appraise their situation and admit to themselves, or others, that they are ignorant on the details of some categorical subject matter. They don't throw out some "intuitive" guess, or gloss over it in their own minds, operating semi-consciously on erroneous assumptions.

So, by that definition, a genius is someone who questions assumptions, norms and mores.

I'm not saying I'm a genius because I question the government, the FDA, the schooling system, etc... Though I do claim there is a correlation between genius and asking the big questions in life.

So, maybe a genius is someone who asks good questions, and doesn't seek to resolve complex conundrums, but tolerates the ambiguity and paradox long enough to open their mind to something profound and transcendent, embracing the light of experience and a new perception not previous available at the level of thinking that the question was asked at.

What do you think defines genius?

Cheers,

Craig

to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com

Don't Miss!!!

There's a lot of wisdom in this advice I learned from Jim Rohn.

He says, "Don't Miss! ...don't miss the show, don't miss the party, don't miss the game"

So much of my younger life I spent in a bit of a shell. Not sure of myself or what I wanted from life, I played it safe. I stayed home. I kept my need for adventure under wraps.

Now that I've spread my wings once or twice, I have a sense of who I am and what I want. I know what I like because I've tried a lot of things. They haven't all been that greatest of experiences, but I've corrected course based on the feedback I got.

Monday night I had an opportunity to see a band rolling through town. I wanted to go. I met the band, they seemed cool... my friend has been raving about them for weeks... and I missed the show. I fell asleep and didn't wake up in time to go.

So last night we drove 2 hours to Ithaca and saw them (and another really cool band) and I didn't miss the show. I felt great about simply not missing the show. I was there. I saw that band. Those memories are mine. Those pictures, those are genuine article. And the band was INCREDIBLE!!! Check them out - http://www.myspace.com/theseunited

What made the difference between me now and me 10 years ago?

Somewhere along the way I reached some philosophical point where I was somehow different.

Maybe I discovered who I am. Maybe I decided what I want. Maybe I delved into life because it became more painful to stand on the sidelines watching than to go out and play a few hands of my own.

I wonder if you've had any kind of shift like that... where you looked back and said, "Wow, how did that happen?"

Seriously, let me know...

Cheers,

Craig

to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com

3 Types of Freedom

There are 3 Types of Freedom I have explored in my life.

Much of my mental energy in adult life has been exhausted seeking personal development material that works for me so I can experience more freedom in these 3 areas.

It has seemed to me for some time that the material that works best is very simple and could easily be taught to children from an early age.

Yet it's not.

So it has become my life passion to teach and mentor children of any age into the 3 freedoms of a great life.

What are the 3 freedoms?

1.) Physical & Health Freedom - Are you free to move about as you please? Are you free from ailments and illness that constricts your freedoms?

2.) Social Freedom - Do you feel confident in any social situation, able to lead and persuade toward a greater benefit for all participants you touch?

3.) Abundance - Wealth is its own unique kind of freedom. Money doesn't set you free - what you DO with it does.

These, to me, are the 3 cores of curriculum.

That said, I'm open to your feedback and suggestions.

As I always like to quote: None of us is as smart as all of us.

Cheers,

Craig

to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com

3 Steps to Helping Your Child Find the Answers to their Heart's Desire

The simplest thing we can teach our children is how to learn.

Children are innately curious about everything. If we just did our best to help them get answers to their questions they would grow up in the 21st Century better prepared than any of their generation to meet the challenges we've posed to ourselves as a species.

What are the 3 Steps to Helping Your Child Find the Answers to their Heart's Desire?

1.) Clarity - help clarify the question they want to know the answer to

2.) Territory - locating or constructing a map of the territory they will explore

3.) Guidance - help your child source up an expert in the field to be a mentor/teacher

For the rest of your child's life, if they can get clear on their objective, get a feel for the territory in which they are exploring, and seek guidance from qualified experts... they can accomplish anything they desire in their heart.

What better gift could you give your child than this amount of freedom?

We'll talk more about the 3 Types of Freedom in the next post.

Cheers,

Craig

to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com

What Happens When We Teach Kids to "Know Thyself"?

Know Thyself.

It’s the simplest, most fundamental admonition of all personal growth and power.

Yet, it’s the least taught, least experienced, least discussed topic in any curriculum.

To Educate means to draw forth from within. To me, this is the verb form of “coming to know thyself” since what you find when you sit quietly and look deeply within is that your True Self is the God you have been looking for. To draw this Self-awareness to the fore of consciousness is the process of education that Enlightened Child proposes.

Why not?

I mean, if it’s true what all the seekers and gurus say… why not give every kid a fighting chance to realize their life’s purpose and travel the world sharing spiritual knowledge grounded in the sagacity of entrepreneurial leadership and classical wisdom.

Can you think of anything better to raise kids to realize?

I mean, besides a 9-5er with a good company and a mountain of debt…

Think about it. Would you need all that if you truly “Knew Yourself”?

Let’s do what’s never been done. Let’s raise kids to Wake Up to their true identities.

Who’s with me?

Cheers,

Craig

to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com

What is Strengths-Based Learning?

Don't look at me like I'm supposed to know.

I just think it's interesting how our schooling system prepares kids for neither the skills they need to survive as an organism, nor the skills they need to survive in the 21st Century.

The schooling system is an antiquated relic of what our economy used to be based on. With a knowledge-, trust- or integrity-based economy, the rules are all different. Kids are gonna need a different set of skills than the ones they are being taught in school.

Marcus Buckingham worked with the Gallup Poll surveying achievement based on strengths assessments that revealed the most successful people focus on what they are best at, and essentially outsource or delegate the rest. This, in contrast, to struggling with shortcomings and working on improving areas of weakness. It's the simple understanding that your best salespeople shouldn't be doing admin work, or anything else but selling. Most suck at admin work. Everyone is served better if the salesman can just do what he's best at, and someone else who rocks out the admin can support the sales process. The salesman will get a lot farther investing time and money improving his sales ability than investing the same time and money improving his administrative abilities.

What Buckingham determined is that, to be our best selves in this life time, we need to determine (as Jim Collins would say in Good to Great) what can we each be the best in the world at? What are we passionate about? What adds value to the marketplace?

The confluence of these three things is what makes a person or an enterprise successful. It would make sense that we begin with this end in mind, since, afterall, we say we want the best for our kids. We want them to be viable in the marketplace so they can have things in their lives that make them comfortable and happy. A good income doing something they enjoy, abundant health for them and their family, great connections and a sense of compassion for the suffering we are fortunate enough to transcend as a result of our education.

So, Strengths-Based Learning would be something along the lines of:

Drawing forth the latent talents and interests the child carries within his DNA. Mentoring those abilities, and aligning the learners with each other based on strengths and needs compatibilities. Sending the team on a mission to fulfill their souls' purposes.

Or something to that effect.

Got anything to add or amend?

Cheers,

Craig

to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com

What Do Kids Need from Education in the 21st Century?

Communication.

It's no surprise that the internet is changing the lives of millions of people around the world.

Social Media sites like Twitter & Facebook (and the even faster, even funner applications they will no doubt become the great-grandparents of) connect people in organic webs by values and affinities. Marketing has taken a turn towards authenticity. Kids have great bullshit detectors, and within a decade I expect they will have torn down a great portion of the veil that shields companies from accountability in the global village.

Politics and health-care will no-doubt be affected as millions of Millenials rise up in a democratic vote with each post they make. Someone is gonna listen. Someone will meet the need. And it just might make our government a little more honest.

But what do these kids need to be empowered to stand up to the powers that be?

They need communication skills. They need to know how to get along with and influence others. They need a strong moral compass that considers the greatest good for the greatest number, and a spiritual connection to the source of truth.

They need resources and the ability to both garner and steward the resources and relationships necessary to carry out their vision.

Kids need an education that helps them become an apple tree if they are an apple seed, an oak tree if they are an acorn, a watermelon if they are a watermelon seed. And not a system of socialization that only recognizes and nurtures one type of seed.

Kids come with all the instructions already programmed inside them. It's just a matter of taking the time to ask. To give the child some orienting maps and a sense that what they want to do in their heart is a good place to start from, and to hold that passion out in front like a compass.

They need an education system that teaches them how to be free, sovereign individuals.

What do you think kids need?

Cheers,

Craig