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Great Living Now
greatlivingnow.com
T h e B o o k o f B r i l l i a n c e i s f r o m
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Table of Contents
Genius is Self-Bestowed 5
How I Figured Out the Secrets of Brilliance 6
The How-To of Brilliance 8
Step 1: Aim High 9
Step 2: Apply Polysolution Thinking 11
The Status Quo: Monosolution Thinking 12
Self-Critical Thinking 14
The Key to Brilliance: Polysolution Thinking 15
An Important Note 19
Examples of Polysolution Thinking 20
Amandas Polysolution Thinking Example 21
Why Brilliant People Like Critics 28
Try Polysolution Thinking Now! 28
Cant Think of a Good Problem? 29
Points to Remember 31
Step 3: Sell Your Results 33
Accentuate the Main Points 34
Be Your Own Biggest Fan 35
Connect with Your Audience 35
Summary: 3 Steps to Awaken Your Inner Genius 37
Parting Words 38
About the Author 40
Continue To Learn and Grow 41
Make a Donation 41
Genius is Self-Bestowed
Mediocrity is self-inflicted. Genius is self-bestowed.
- Walter Russell
You have the potential for genius. You have the capacity for brilliant
thought, amazing ideas, and incredible results. I know this, because I
spent years watching brilliant people. I watched, and I learned. Then, I
applied what I had learned, and it worked.
Brilliance is often thought of as a gift of nature. But consider this: no
matter how talented someone is at music, sports, or anything else,
they still need to acquire the skills of the trade. Without learning from
others, few novices would amount to much. Natural ability is typically
impossible to detect in the absence of training. In fact, proper training
often gives the impression of substantial talent.
The same is true of brilliance. From the outside, a person of high
intelligence appears just to be lucky; they seem as if they were born
with that extra something that lets them come up with ideas that
others simply dont see. But the outside is just a shell. Inside their
brilliant mind hides a process. I will show you that process, and if you
are willing to do the work, you can awaken your inner genius and find
the brilliance within!
How I Figured Out the
Secrets of Brilliance
We are used to thinking of scientists as brilliant people whose ideas
are widely known in the academic world, and whose work ultimately
improves the lives of many. But the truth is that even among scientists,
brilliance is not a given.
My journey started in graduate school when I realized that most
academic publications are never read. Shocked? I was. The little
known reality is that the great majority of work produced by scientists
is completely useless. No one ever reads it. Once I figured this out, I
made a decision: I would publish work that would be read and cited. I
would do research that others would care about, research that would
make a difference. Although I didnt realize it at the time, I had made a
commitment to myself to produce very high quality research before
doing any research at all.
I still dont know what made me think that I could do it. The truth is
that I never stopped to think about it. I never asked myself if I am
smart enough. I didnt try to compare myself with anyone else. I
simply did not want to waste my time on something that no one would
ever care about.
I knew that this wasnt going to be easy. So, I decided to figure out how
the best professors do research; professors that publish work that
others care about. I then spent years in the company of these people,
watching them carefully, listening intently, and trying to pin down
what it was they did that made them exceptional in the world of
science. And I am proud to say, I figured it out!
First, I want to share with you a little more about my story.
Without going into too many details, I can tell you that my graduate
career turned out to be quite exceptional. I produced about four times
more work than was necessary for earning a PhD. My research papers
are not only read, but also are also cited. On multiple occasions others
have told me that they have read my papers and found them engaging,
highly interesting, and useful.
Let me add that I had a small child at the very beginning of my PhD,
and I devote a lot of time and attention to my son. I also learned how
to sing opera (from scratch) while doing my PhD.
I attribute all of my achievements to the skills I gained by watching
brilliant people. Now, I am going to share them with you.
The skills I gained in order to be able to do high quality research
turned out to be surprisingly helpful. They have positively influenced
virtually every aspect of my life, from my marriage to my hobbies.
Being able to think more effectively is a skill that will help you in
whatever you choose to do.
The How-To of Brilliance
This book is the how to guide to brilliance. In it, I explain the
mechanics of how to think at a higher level, which leads to brilliant
ideas and extraordinary results. But, there is no magic. It takes a lot of
hard work and dedication. It takes time to learn how to be brilliant. It
takes time to come up with a brilliant idea even after you master the
art. But it is well worth the effort.
The good news is that it doesnt require any special skills. It makes no
difference what your IQ is, how good your memory is, or how much
money you make. I strongly believe that anyone who has the desire
and will-power to persist will master the art of brilliance. Can you feel
the genius within? That genius is eager to wake up.
I will describe the three steps to brilliance. While all three steps are
essential, the core of the approach is in the second step, where I
describe the thinking process employed by those who attain brilliance.
This thinking process can be applied to literally any problem. At its
core, it is a problem solving approach that extends what the type of
thinking we typically apply in our daily lives. This new approach to
problem solving will give back exactly as much as you put in. If you
give it your all, it will lead you to brilliance.
Take a chance on yourself. Believe in yourself. Persist. You can have
brilliant ideas that will shock anyone who has ever known you. Within
you lies the potential for greatness far beyond your wildest dreams.
Give it a try. Give yourself a try. You will be amazed at what you can
achieve.
Step 1: Aim High
Several months ago I was asked to speak to a group of incoming
graduate students about how to succeed in graduate school. I started
by telling them to aim high. I told them that if they are to reach real
success in academia, they will need to aim to do research that is a lot
better than typical. The room went completely silent. You could have
heard a pin drop. I seemed to have broken some kind of unspoken
rule.
People are used to aiming low. Its the norm. But if you are going to be
brilliant, the norm is just not going to cut it. Even in grad school,
people dont aim very high. There I was, in front of a group of graduate
students hoping to do any kind of research at all, and Im telling them
they need to be aiming to do amazing research. But no one can become
brilliant by earning a degree. A degree is not enough and not needed
for brilliance. On the other hand, aiming high is mandatory.
When we think of brilliant people, we often assume that they got
lucky. We complete omit intention from the process. The truth is that
great things are almost always done on purpose. Whoever succeeds in
doing something brilliant, made a decision to do so well before the
first spark of brilliance became visible to the outside world.
So, to be brilliant, you need to choose to do something worthy of the
name. Do something that, when you succeed, you and others would
describe as brilliant.
My original goal was to do high quality academic research. Another,
equally brilliant goal, is to write a book (fiction or otherwise) that will
touch the hearts and minds of many. Or, to make a device or write a
piece of software that will prove useful to many. The possibilities are
endless.
Whatever goal you choose, make it intrinsic, and make it personal.
Winning the Nobel or Freize prize, or making a lot of money, are some
consequences of brilliant work. But your goal should be the main part:
doing something brilliant. Not the rewards you may get from it. Dont
worry, the rewards will come, but they should not be your focus.
Lastly, choose something that you are passionate about. It will make
the road a lot more enjoyable. Passion possesses incredible power. It
will help you persist, and make the end result that much more
rewarding.
Dont know what to choose? Well tell you how you find a problem that
would lead to brilliance in the second step.
Step 2: Apply Polysolution Thinking
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I
stay with problems longer. - Albert
Einstein
We are now getting to the heart of what
makes a brilliant person, or even a genius.
Albert Einstein is one of the worlds most
recognized geniuses. If we really believe
that Einstein was a brilliant person, we
would be wise to believe his words.
Einstein says that he stays with problems longer. But what was he
doing with the problem all this time? How did spending more time on
it help him? While its true that persistence and time are often
required to solve hard problems, much more can said about the
process.
Step 2:
The Status Quo: Monosolution Thinking
Our school system teaches us monosolution thinking (mono is Greek
for single). A teacher gives us a problem, and our task is to find the
solution. Repeat for twelve years, and we all become experts at
monosolution thinking.
To break it down, here is how it works: We are given a problem. Then
we look for the solution. We might think, read, or talk to others while
searching for it. Then, we find it. And were done!
At this point, you may be wondering Whats wrong with this? I found
the solution! There is nothing abnormal with you for thinking that
way. But, Im not trying to teach you how to think like the status quo.
The fact is, brilliant people will see plenty wrong with this approach.
You see, whats wrong is that the problems we see in school are
artificial. Most have one correct solution because teachers dont want
to have to grade a wide range of answers. So, too many problems we
see in school are designed to have a single answer, or few answers at
best.
On the other hand, most problems that we encounter outside of school
have many solutions. So many, in fact, that there is no hope of ever
Problem Solution
Solution
Search:
Think of an
idea
finding all of them. Our goal then becomes to find at least one very
good solution. Hopefully, a brilliant one!
Examples of problems with multiple solutions are abundant, much
more abundant than those with unique answers. Finding a theory for
explaining human behaviour is an open-ended problem typically
tackles by psychologists. Coming up with a model that explains an
aspect of our physical world is an open-ended problem tackled by
physicists. Problems with multiple possible solutions are also
abundant outside the world of science. Inventors are always trying to
come up with new products, and businesspeople are in search for new
services that they could provide. These are all problems that one could
solve in infinitely many ways.
Problems that have many possible solutions also occur frequently in
our daily lives. An interpersonal conflict, financial difficulties, and low
job satisfaction, are all examples of problems that can be solved in a
wide variety of ways.
My task here is to give you the tools so that you can identify multiple
solutions for your problems, including at least one great solution.
Want to come up with something brilliant? Then you need a new way
of thinking.
I call it polysolution thinking (poly is Greek for many).
Polysolution thinking is a method for finding many different solutions
to the same problem. The more time you spend practicing polysolution
thinking, the better your solutions become. Polysolution thinking can
be used to find extraordinary solutions and brilliant ideas. But it can
also be used to solve problems that occur in our everyday life.
But first, in order to master polysolution thinking, we must first
understand self-critical thinking.
Self-Critical Thinking
Most of us are familiar with critical thinking. When we hear or read
someone elses ideas, we are taught to consider them critically instead
of accepting them at face value. Critical thinking encourages us to
think of both the pros and cons of what is being proposed, check the
validity of the reasoning, and decide for ourselves whether it is correct.
Without critical thinking, we all become gullible and easy to
manipulate.
Critical thinking is a very important skill. The good news is that many
of us already possess it. In any case, a lot has already been said and
written about critical thinking. What I am about to propose is a small,
but crucial variation on this concept.
Self-critical thinking is the application of critical thinking to your own
ideas. Instead of waiting for others to find flaws with your ideas, you
become your own critic. When you have an idea that you like, first try
to emotionally detach yourself from it. Pretend that the idea is not
yours, but that somebody else came up with it. Now, try to find a
problem with it. At first, see if you can find any problem at all. Then
keep thinking about it, and try to find major flaws with your ideas.
Make a real effort to find its weakness. What could be done better?
Internalizing the critic is a crucial step to discovering brilliant ideas,
and it is an integral part of polysolution thinking.
The Key to Brilliance: Polysolution Thinking
Genius is nothing but continued attention.
- Claude Adrien Helvetius
Polysolution thinking is the cornerstone of brilliance. It is a process
used by many to obtain the type of results that others call brilliant and
genius, and brings those who use it both success and recognition.
As with monosolution thinking, it all begins with a problem. As we
discussed in step one, it must be a problem that has real potential. It
must be a problem whose solution could be labeled brilliant.
Then, as in monosolution thinking, we proceed to the solution
search step. Again, in this phase we spend time thinking, reading,
talking with others, and use any and all tools available to us to find a
solution that we like.
Problem
Solution
Search:
Think of an
idea
Self-
critical
thinking:
Criticize your
idea
Solution
Idea is not good enough
Good enough
for now
In monosolution thinking, this is when you are done. But in
polysolution thinking, this is just the beginning! It is now time to turn
on your inner-critic.
Forget that this is your idea, and turn on your self-critical thinking
skills. Its time to tear the idea into pieces. Find something wrong with
it. Then find something else wrong with it. Pretend that there is a fatal
flaw with the idea, and search for it. This way, if its really there, you
will find it. You can stop if you identify a fatal flaw. Otherwise, keep
looking until you identify the main weakness.
After you have identified the weakness of your idea, it is time to make
a choice: you are either sufficiently happy with your idea, or youd like
to search for a new one. If you choose to look for a new idea, you will
probably find a better one. Are you done? Nope. You go back and
criticize it again! Keep going through the cycle, again and again.
Of course, you cant continue this cycle forever. If you are really
putting in the effort to find good solutions and then criticize them to
the best of your ability, its a tiring process. Let yourself take breaks.
You dont have to finish it in one hour, or one day, or even one month.
You can always come back to the process to find flaws with your most
recent idea, and come up with better ones.
By following this method for a long period of time, polysolution
thinking yields extraordinary results. But you can also choose to use it
more lightly, and still see good results. For example, doing just three
serious iterations of the process will usually yield a lot better results
than monosolution thinking.
Finally, it goes without saying that we should not apply polysolution
thinking to everything. Nothing would ever get done. There is no point
applying polysolution thinking to problems like what to have for
dinner. For problems like these, just go with your first idea!
Monosolution thinking is fine for simple, day to day activities.
On the other hand, polysolution thinking was designed to solve
important problems. It was made for coming up with brilliant ideas
where it matters. Brilliant people conserve their energy for what
matters. So while it might be fun and is definitely good practice to try
polysolution thinking for some simple ideas (in fact, I would strongly
encourage you to do so, see below), in everyday life we should reserve
polysolution thinking for real problems where we want great solutions
and extraordinary results.
The more iterations you make, the better your ideas. But
quality matters a lot more than quantity.
At least 3 iterations are necessary for most worthwhile problems. If
want really brilliant results, the kind that get people reward and
recognition, you are probably looking to do at least 10 iterations. But
the quality of the iteration, how much effort you put into the coming
up with the ideas and criticizing them, matters more than the number
of iterations.
Also, the first iteration is usually the hardest. The more
iterations you make, the easier it becomes to come up with
new ideas.
Lastly, this takes time. Dont believe anyone who tells you they come
up with a brilliant idea overnight. The harder the problem you are
tackling, the more time this process will take. But the more time you
spend on it, the better your results.
The good news is that if you choose to only do a few iterations, you will
still get better results than with monosolution thinking.
You may have already practiced polysolution thinking without
realizing it. People usually apply it naturally to problems where the
iterations can be done rather quickly. The most common example is
naming (a pet, an event, a website, anything!). People often dont go
for the first name they think of. They pick a name, and then they
notice something they dont like about it, and then they try to come up
with another name. Every iteration of the process is quick, and so we
are often willing to do quite a few iterations.
Practicing polysolution thinking can be beneficial for all types of
problems. But to reap the real benefits of polysolution thinking, youll
need to apply it to more difficult problems where an iteration can take
longer.
Moreover, even when people use polysolution thinking without
realizing it, they tend to stop the process too soon. By doing it
consciously, you gain the ability to push yourself further. Polysolution
thinking challenges you to criticize ideas that you would usually
accepts. It then urges you to search for even better ideas. It is truly
incredible what the mind can do when it is challenged.
An Important Note
In order for polysolution thinking to work, it is essential that you try to
do your absolute best at every step of the process. Even though you
know that you will have to criticize every idea that you come up with,
try to find the best possible idea. Dont bother spending time
criticizing ideas that are obviously weak. The process simply wont
work if you pick ideas that have obvious flaws just to increase the
number of iterations youve done. Wait until you have a really good
idea, even if it takes a long time, and then try to find flaws with it.
Thats how you make progress.
When you criticize, try hard to find real flaws. Every idea has some
kind of pitfalls. Even very good ideas have problems. You wont
know how serious the pitfalls are until you find them. Spend
time and effort looking for them. If you can only find minor flaws in
your first idea, keep looking. The first few ideas can usually be
improved substantially.
Polysolution thinking pushes your mind to come up with better and
better ideas, until the ideas become truly brilliant. If you really push
yourself, you will not only find great solutions and come up with
incredible ideas, but you will also experience tremendous personal
growth.
Examples of Polysolution Thinking
Examples of polysolution thinking are abundant. Scientists rely on it
regularly. Brilliant scientists harness its full potential by continuing to
search for new solutions well after already finding good ones. This is
how they find brilliant ones. Inventors and businesspeople also rely on
polysolution thinking to push their minds to come up with what
others, who dont take the time to perform polysolution thinking,
simply dont see.
But I would like to illustrate the details of the polysolution thinking
process with something that does not call for any kind of specialized
knowledge. I will now illustrate the polysolution thinking process for
you with a real life problem, showing how it can be used to go beyond
the norm and achieve better results. The following example also
illustrates that the power of polysolution thinking is not limited to the
scientific and business world, but it can also benefit you in real
problems that you face in your daily life.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that the problem below has many,
many more possible solutions. Polysolution thinking could have been
used to solve this problem by taking it in an entirely different
direction. In particular, there are also many other great solutions to
this problem. In addition, the quality of any given solution depends on
the details of the situation. So even if you are facing a similar problem,
I would urge you to go through the polysolution thinking process on
your own.
Amandas Polysolution Thinking Example
Amandas problem: Amanda is in her last year of high school, and
would like to go to college but cannot afford to do so. She is
uncomfortable taking out a large loan, and her mother doesnt have
the money to help her. Her mother is a single parent of both Amanda
and her little sister, and makes a living by offering cleaning services to
wealthy families.
To really appreciate the power of polysolution thinking, before you go
any further, take a moment to consider Amandas problem. Assume
that she has no other special skills. Think for as long as you like about
her problem.
If you want, try to apply polysolution thinking to her problem before
reading the rest of the example. If you do, you will probably come up
with something very different but maybe just as brilliant, or more
brilliant, than the solution in this example. But whatever you do, stop
for at least a moment to consider the problem before reading any
further.
First solution: Join her mothers cleaning business
This is the first idea that occurs to Amanda that she is willing to go for.
She also briefly considers working at a local fast food restaurant and
general store, but she quickly dismisses these ideas because they dont
appeal to her and pay less than what her mother makes. As she has
only one year left before college, she wouldnt be able to save enough.
Through her mothers connections and reputation, Amanda could get
several of her own clients and, as Amanda has no other expenses, she
could save quite a bit towards her college education.
This is where most people stop. This is about as good as it gets with
monosolution thinking. Notice that Amanda did consider alternatives,
but she rejected them quickly. She didnt yet practice self-critical
thinking in the sense required for polysolution thinking because she
did not pause to criticize an idea that she liked. Nevertheless, she
found a pretty good idea just not a great one.
But Amanda doesnt stop here. She wants to do better.
Criticizing the solution
The first flaw that she finds is that this is not a job that she would
enjoy. However, because she really wants to go to college and this
would only be temporary, she does not consider this to be a fatal flaw.
So she keeps thinking. After some reflection, she realizes that she
would have to get a lot of new clients in order to make as much as she
was hoping. But even with this flaw, this idea is still better than her
other ideas (the ones that she quickly discarded), because she believes
she could still earn at least as much at a cleaning service as at a
minimum wage job, but spend less time at it and she needs the rest
of the time to study so that she can get into college.
But she does not stop there. She keeps trying to find problems with
her idea. Then she realizes something. She would only be able to take
on clients in the evening, after classes are over. But most clients prefer
their house cleaning done during the day, when they are away at work.
By persisting, she discovered a fatal flaw without having to implement
the idea. It would be hard to get enough clients to earn as much as she
was hoping by working only after school. Then she notices another,
perhaps ever bigger problem with this plan. Unless she would be able
to find enough of her own clients, she would be cutting into her
mothers income income that her mother still very much needs.
Amanda tries to come up with a new idea. For several days, she cannot
see any other options. She keeps thinking, and nothing much happens.
She comes up with a several more ideas (several other jobs that
teenagers typically hold) but they are all weak because she finds
serious weakness very quickly. Then, three days later, her mother asks
her to go down to basement to get the toolbox. Amanda has trouble
finding the toolbox because the basement is full of clutter. And, then it
hits her. She can de-clutter the homes of others! Because she has been
actively thinking about her problem over the past few days, she was
able to make a connection between wishing to get rid of clutter in her
own house, and the desire that others may have to have their home de-
cluttered. Moreover, she was able to see how to use this to solve her
problem.
Second solution: Ofer de-cluttering services
This seems like a great idea, for several reasons. She would not have to
find new clients; she could simply offer this service to her mothers
clients. She would also not interfere with her mothers income. In
addition, this service can only be done when clients are at home,
because only they can determine for certain what they need, and what
is clutter. In addition, as this is a more lucrative service, she might
even be able to charge more than for cleaning!
Amanda is ecstatic! She is so delighted at having discovered this idea
that she finds it very difficult to make herself criticize it. But she
decides to continue the process. It has already gotten her further than
she ever imagined, so she wants to see if perhaps she can do even
better.
Criticizing the solution
For a while, she cannot see any flaws with her latest solution. It seems
perfect! But she keeps trying. Amanda is very proud of her idea, and it
takes her a while to really emotionally detach herself from it.
Eventually, however, she manages to find a flaw by walking herself
through the process. She images herself meeting with the client, going
from room to room separating the useful from the clutter. She
imagines herself putting away all of the clients useful stuff nicely on
the shelves. Then, there is the clutter. Piles upon piles of clutter. Her
clients would have to get rid of all this stuff. Now therein lays the
problem. Amanda knows that her mothers clients are very busy
people, which is why they hire a cleaning service in the first place. She
would already be asking them to give her hours of their time, but now,
they would also be stuck with mountains of clutter that would take a
lot of time to get rid of. If her clients are annoyed, it would be difficult
to get referrals. No doubt many of them would also anticipate this
problem, and simply refuse the service.
At first, Amanda is devastated. An idea that she liked so much turned
out to be flawed. But she persists. This time, it only takes her one day
to come up with her next idea.
Third Solution: Ofer de-cluttering services and sell her
clients clutter online
After a day of pondering about this problem, Amanda recalls an old
saying One persons junk is another persons treasure. As her clients
would be wealthier than most, this statement applies particularly well
to this situation. She could make quite a bit of money selling what is
clutter to her wealthy clients! She could also make the services more
affordable, because she would expect to make a lot of her profit from
these sales. Most importantly, this relieves her clients from the burden
of having to deal with the junk.
Now this was not the first idea that she had during this phase. She also
considered hiring a junk company to take away all the clutter, but
quickly realized that it would be too expensive. When she first realized
that she can sell her clients clutter, she considered doing so by having
garage sales, but soon realized that this would take too long and can
only be done during the summer months. She quickly moved between
these ideas, not pausing on any of them for too long. The idea of
selling her clients junk online was the first idea in this phase that she
really liked.
Amanda felt on top of the world. She didnt want to criticize this idea
at all. But as she already experienced the benefits of polysolution
thinking, she decided to go for it anyways.
Criticizing the solution
It was hard to find a flaw with this plan. It took her several hours to
notice a serious problem. In the process, she went online and started
browsing websites for selling used stuff. Then it hit her. Selling all the
stuff would take a long time. Posting, monitoring, and shipping the
goods will be very time consuming. There is no way that she would
have the time to meet with the client to de-clutter their home, then sell
all of their stuff in a timely manner before her house had no more
space in it, and still have time to do her school work.
Amanda was devastated. It seemed like she could not come up with
anything that did not suffer from a fatal flaw. But she decided to keep
going anyways. Remember - most people give up when they are inches
away from success!
Forth Solution: Hire someone else to de-clutter others
houses, and then sell the cluster online herself.
Her mother may know others in the business who are looking for
clients, and she could even hire her own friends. Amanda would hire
others to de-clutter her clients homes at a profit, and then sell the
quality stuff that wealthy people would consider as junk. For this, she
should have enough time. Everything fit.
By now she knew that polysolution thinking pays off. So she proceeded
to criticize her ideas.
Criticizing the solution
Some of the junk may be large, so she would have to rent a truck to be
able to take it away. She would have to allow clients to dispose of the
junk themselves if they chose to do so, in which case she would get less
profit from these clients. She realized that she will have to be flexible
with every situation. Although she could anticipate several other
problems, she could not find a fatal flaw even after spending
significant time and effort trying to do so. So she decided to go ahead
and get started on her business idea. Even if there may be better
solutions, she decided that this solution was good enough in fact, she
felt quite brilliant for discovering it!
This is how the fourth solution became the final solution, at least for
now. If she later discovers problems with her idea, she could always
return to the process. But you might agree that this was an original,
genuinely creative solution to her problem. In order to be able to
afford to go to college, Amanda will start a business. She will hire
someone else to de-clutter her clients homes, and offer to dispose of
their clutter for them at no extra charge. She would then sell their
clutter online (of course, only after throwing away anything that her
clients wanted to dispose of for reasons of privacy). As she is looking at
having wealthy clients, some of the clutter will be worth quite a bit.
This solution has the potential to earn enough money so that Amanda
could go to college, and still leave her enough time to study. Because of
her mothers connections, it would also not take long to get started.
You might also agree that it would have been difficult to find this
solution without the process few people would have come with this
idea on their first try. Yet by criticizing even those ideas which she
really liked and pushing herself to come up with ones that were even
better, Amanda was able to find a truly great solution to an important
problem in her life.
Why Brilliant People Like Critics
By now, you might be able to guess why brilliant people appreciate
criticism. It helps them with their polysolution thinking! A well-
thought out comment, particularly when it is critical, is a treasure. It
lets you know whats wrong with your idea or approach, so that you
can improve on it or come up with a new one.
This is a foreign concept to most people. Most of us dont like to be
criticized. It doesnt feel good and tends to make us defensive. But if
we are striving for brilliance, different rules apply. The valuable
information conveyed in a well thought-out criticism is often worth
the discomfort. I have learned to thank people for taking the time to
give me feedback. And indeed, some of the most valuable ideas I have
received came from critics. Their feedback forced me to find a new or
refined solution that didnt suffer from the pitfalls of the previous. The
end result was an ever better solution.
Try Polysolution Thinking Now!
Try out polysolution thinking on the following problems. Some of
them are intentionally simple to get you used to the process. Others
actually have the potential to lead to true brilliance. Pick one of the
problems below, and do at least 3 iterations. Dont rush the process.
Take your time so that your mind has a chance to show off its power.
You may find that polysolution thinking is fun!
Make up a new pickup line
Come up with a new reality TV theme
Think up a new smart phone application
Come up with a new idea for an online business
Now apply polysolution thinking to a problem that you would really
like to solve.
Cant Think of a Good Problem?
Want to come up with something brilliant but dont know where to
start? Well, thats a problem itself one often faced by scientists. And
what do they do to solve it? Polysolution thinking, of course! It is not
only possible, but actually encouraged, to apply polysolution thinking
to find a good problem to work on. Whether it is in academia, the
business world, or you have no idea whatsoever what problem to look
at, polysolution thinking will help you find one that can lead you to
brilliance.
How? Try and solve the following problem: Find a problem to solve
whose solution would be considered brilliant. Come up with an idea
then criticize it. Find out why its not as interesting as it originally
sounded. Why should people care about your idea? Maybe they wont,
but why? Dont just make up reasons, find out. Do the research to
criticize your idea. Do enough people care? Is the idea in line with your
beliefs and passions? Iterate through the process until you come up
with something amazing!
Monosolution
Thinking
Polysolution
Thinking
Appropriate when there is
only one solution
Appropriate when there are
lots of possible solutions
Suitable for simple problems
Suitable for complex
problems
Often encouraged in school
Not typically encouraged in
school
Can be used without critical
thought
Relies on self-critical thinking
Does not lead to brilliance Leads to brilliant results
Has little effect on your self-
development
Pushes you to grow and
develop as a person
Points to Remember
Make every iteration count! At each iteration of polysolution
thinking, make an effort to come up with the best possible idea. The
more time and effort you spend on each and every idea, the more
you will gain from polysolution system.
The more time and effort you spend criticizing your ideas, the more
you will gain from the process.
If you make every iteration count, then every iteration will lead to
an improved understanding of the problem, and eventually, to a lot
better solutions.
The first few solutions are usually the hardest to find, even though
they are the weakest solutions. Eventually solutions begin to come
faster.
For your first idea, forget that you are doing polysolution thinking.
Until the self-criticism step, pretend that you are doing
monosolution thinking.
When finding a solution, apply the same amount of time and effort
as if it were the last solution youll need to find.
Dont spend a lot of time criticizing ideas that are obviously weak.
Self-criticism is meaningful only when criticizing ideas that you
really like and want to go for. If you already dont like an idea, just
move on and look for another one. You are looking to criticize ideas
that you initially find very appealing.
You dont need to finish the polysolution thinking process all at
once. You can stop at any point and get back to it at a later time.
Brilliant scientists spend months polysolution thinking about the
same problem. If you are willing to do the same, you too can reap
enormous benefits from this process. But even three quality
iterations should be very helpful.
Ezra Pound once said that genius is the capacity to see ten things
where the ordinary man sees one. Polysolution thinking will help you
find 10 things, 100 things, and in fact as many as you want. But more
importantly, one of those things will be brilliant.
Step 3: Sell Your Results
Genius is not so much about new ideas as it is about clarity of ideas.
Two people can have the same idea yet it will be genius in the one
and mediocrity in the other. - Kevin Solway
The world is full of highly intelligent people. Many of them have
incredible ideas. But these people, while brilliant, are not known as
such to the rest of the world. Why? They dont know how to sell their
ideas.
And by selling, Im talking about convincing others that your ideas
matter, not necessarily making money.
I could tell you so many stories about how selling your work makes a
difference. But I dont need to, because the evidence is abundant.
The best selling products are those with the best marketing
Popular musicians arent only masters of their art, but they also
know how to put on a good show
Successful politicians are expert spokespeople with sizable
advertising budgets
It isnt any different when it comes to ideas.
If you have a brilliant idea (or solution, or plan), it is your job to sell
it. You need to convince others that you have something worthwhile to
contribute.
The best researchers spend about half their time promoting their
work. Half! Thats a lot of time for a brilliant mind to spend on
marketing. But they do it because they know that there is no other
way. Otherwise, no one would know about their brilliant ideas, and all
their effort would have been in vain.
It is important to understand that other people are busy with their
own lives and their own ideas. They dont have the time to try to figure
if or why your ideas are brilliant. Theyre only going to look at what
you have to offer if you can manage to spark their interest.
I have isolated the main components for effectively selling your ideas.
They apply for live or recorded presentations, as well as written
material. The size of your audience also does not matter. Most of these
also apply to one-on-one conversations.
The ABCs of Selling Your Ideas
Accentuate the Main Points
Whether you are presenting your work in written form, or talking
directly to your audience, it is absolutely essential to accentuate the
main points. If you are selling your ideas in written form, then design
your document so that the main points stand out and make it easy to
skip the details if the reader chooses to do so.
The most common presentation mistake is overloading the audience
with details. During a talk, there usually isnt enough time to
understand details, and frankly, most people simply dont care. In a
presentation, details occlude the main points, clutter the talk, and
more often than not, annoy the audience. So get rid of as many details
as possible. If the details are not going to be made available online,
you could provide a handout. But the talk itself must focus on the big
picture.
Be Your Own Biggest Fan
People pick up on your emotions before they notice anything else.
How you communicate your message is at least as important as its
content.
You are probably very enthusiastic about your idea. Let your
enthusiasm show. It can be highly contagious, which is precisely what
you want! Others dont know your work. They dont know why its
brilliant. Show them why its brilliant! Explain it in a way that will
light up their eyes. This way, they too, will see the brilliance.
Enthusiasm can be communicated in both written and oral form
through your choice of words. But if you are presenting, take
advantage of your voice and body language also. They should all
communicate your excitement about your work, making it that much
more likely that the audience will feel the same way about your ideas
as you do.
Connect with Your Audience
Your audience could be the people physically listening to your words,
or readers who learn about your ideas from written material. Whoever
your audience is, make a special effort to connect with them.
Connecting with your audience begins when you design your
presentation or sales pitch. Take the time to learn about your
audience, and tailor your presentation or written report to them. Your
focus should be on aspects of your work that would interest them the
most.
If you are giving a talk, make eye contact with the audience. Speak at a
comfortable speed, neither too fast nor too slow, so that they dont
have to strain to understand you. Look at how they react to what you
say. If their eyes light up on a certain topic, give it extra attention. If
they seem to doze off at another part, make it short. If they look
confused, clarify what you are saying.
Ask your audience for their feedback. Let them know that you care
what they think! If you are communicating with your audience
through written material, provide your contact information and
encourage your audience to contact you. When giving a talk, I usually
allow the audience to interrupt me to ask questions, and I inform them
of this at the beginning of the presentation. Generally speaking, if
someone asks a question in the middle of a talk, half the other people
in the room are wondering the same thing. Show enthusiasm and
exude confidence when answering questions. This is your best
chance to connect with your audience. Show them that you care about
their opinion and appreciate their feedback.
Finally, take every opportunity to present your work. The more you do
it, the better youll get at it! It will also get the word out. Let the world
know about your brilliant idea. If you can make people see the
brilliance of what you propose, then they will thank you for it.
Summary: 3 Steps to Awaken
Your Inner Genius
In this book, I shared with you the three steps used by brilliant people
to achieve incredible results. Before we wrap up, lets summarize these
steps.
Step 1: Aim High
Aiming high is the first step to genius. Brilliant ideas and
extraordinary results rarely happen by chance. If you are to come up
with something truly extraordinary, you first need to decide to do it.
Step 2: Apply Polysolution Thinking
Polysolution thinking is at the core of genius. Unlike the more
common monosolution thinking, which aims to find a single solution,
polysolution thinking relies on an extensive exploration of the solution
space. Polysolution thinking also utilizes self-critical thinking.
Thoroughly criticizing your own ideas enables you to discover better
and better ones, until finally you uncover one that is truly brilliant.
Step 3: Sell Your Results
Even the best ideas are worthless unless they are presented well. Not
only are good presentation skills necessary for recognition and reward,
but without them, others will not be able to benefit from your brilliant
ideas. We discussed three essential steps for effectively selling your
work.
Parting Words
Brilliance takes practice. But you do have the potential for brilliance.
There is a genius within you just waiting to wake up. I hope that by
now you can see that brilliance is a skill. You almost certainly also
appreciate that it takes a lot of work.
If brilliant people did not want to put in the effort and had used
monosolution thinking instead of polysolution thinking, many would
not have come up with anything worthwhile. The first ideas that
brilliant people come up with are just like anyone elses. The difference
is that they do not stop there. They dont wait for others to find flaws
with their ideas, they search for flaws themselves. Then, they go back
to the drawing board and find new ideas. They keep doing it, and they
keep doing it, giving it their all at every step, and finally, they find
something brilliant.
It is not only more accurate, but also more useful, to see brilliant
people as simply hardworking, not gifted. It makes it clear that
everyone has that potential. However, even those who know that hard
work can lead to brilliance dont always know how to use their time
and energy to achieve great results. People often use a lot of their
resources on doing a lot of work, instead of producing better work.
My answer is to use your time and energy more effectively. It may
mean that you do less, but what gets done, gets done in a better and
more meaningful way. Although, from my experience, in the long run,
polysolution thinking actually saves me time. By doing revisions in my
head, I have to do fewer corrections after committing to a solution,
which is when revisions tend to become a lot more difficult and time
consuming.
So there you go. I didnt say that being brilliant is easy. But it is
possible. Go for it. You will surprise yourself. Let your inner genius
awaken!
About the
Author
Maya Ackerman divides her time
between research, writing,
teaching, singing, and her family.
She has authored over a dozen
academic articles and holds a PhD
in computer science.
Maya is passionate about personal
development, and her mission is to provide others with the tools they
need to become the best that they can be.
Maya would love to hear from you! Let her know what you think of the
book at maya@greatlivingnow.com. You are also welcome to contact
her regarding business, consulting, speaking engagements or just to
say hi.
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