The big. The fab.

What makes people great? There are truly many incredible people on this earth. And some, well, not so great. But it is a difficult thing to calculate. There is so much to be considered. And, the measure is largely subjective, to its very core.

Magnificent people can be so, in many different ways. There are those who are extremely intelligent. Scientists, philosophers, musicians, painters, bakers, inventors, chefs, mathematicians, athletes, leaders. The list goes on.

I just read an article in TIME Magazine about quantifying genius. There are select people with ultra-great minds, like Albert Einstein, Michelangelo, Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Their minds were so incredible, that they changed the world. Genius. And the world wants to know the how behind the who. Why? What makes extraordinary people so incredibly profound.

The article talks about measuring genius through the standards, such as an IQ Test. But that isn’t all telling. Some people have extremely high IQs and never amount to anything. Others, who don’t rate very high on the test, have gone on to make immeasurable gains for this existence. Take that, Smarty Pants.  Either way.

So now, scientists are rethinking the measure of genius. They are citing, more than ever, the factor of creativity. That ability to imagine. The most notable minds throughout history have talked about having moments… flashes of absolute clarity…. which arise at unexpected times. Some of the biggest ideas have broken the plane of the human mind in the oddest of places. Rarely do these ideas occur when the focus is narrowed. On the contrary, they come at sort of an unconscious level.

Those scientists have studied all angles. Is greatness credited to genetics? A nurturing environment? Natural gifts? Or perseverance and hard work?

Other areas have been studied in the quest to figure out why those amazing minds are SO amazing.  From food to personal habits. Think Leonardo da Vinci. He may have created the Mona Lisa on two hours of sleep a day… which he broke up into 15-minute naps every four hours. But then, you have Albert Einstein who took 10 hours of sleep each night. As if that were not enough… he would also work in daytime naps!  Sleep is good food.

So yes. That magical formula which makes some people masterly and grand remains a mystery. But all of this examination has proven one thing. It can happen to anyone. At any time.

And I believe it. As I have seen genius, and greatness, and magnificence, in many people and in many ways. I think we are all capable of being incredible. Every day may hold that moment when you do something profoundly wonderful.

We should try our best to make that day…. right here and now.  What amazing thing will be yours today?

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“I find it incredibly amazing how at every sunset, the sky is a different shade. No cloud is ever in the same place. Each day is a new masterpiece. A new wonder. A new memory.”
― Sanober Khan

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“It’s amazing what you can see when you just sit quietly and look.”
― Jacqueline Kelly, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

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“Mad Hatter: Am I going mad?
Alice: Yes, you’re mad, bonkers, off the top of your head…but…I’ll tell you a secret.
All the best people are.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

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