Practical Genius by Gina Amaro Rudan—read an excerpt!

8/4/2019 Practical Genius by Gina Amaro Rudanread an excerpt!

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Practical GeniusTh Ral Smarts You Nd to Gt

Your Talnts and Passions Working or YOU

G i n a A m a r o R u d a n

A Touchston Book

Publishd by Simon & Schustr

Nw York London Toronto Sydny Nw Dlhi

A Karn Watts Book


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TouchstoneA Division o Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue o the AmericasNew York, NY 10020

Copyright 2011 by Gina Amaro RudanForeword copyright 2011 by Kevin Carroll

Illustrated by Francesca Prado

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portionsthereo in any orm whatsoever. For inormation address

Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department,1230 Avenue o the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Touchstone hardcover edition October 2011

TOUCHSTONE and colophon areregistered trademarks o Simon & Schuster, Inc.

A Karen Watts Book (www.karenwattsbooks.com)

For inormation about special discounts or bulk purchases,please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949

or [email protected].

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event.For more inormation or to book an event

contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 866-248-3049or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Designed by Ruth Lee-Mui

Manuactured in the United States o America

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Library o Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rudan, Gina Amaro.Practical genius : the real smarts you need to get

your talents and passion working or you / by Gina Amaro Rudan.p. cm.

1. Sel-actualization (Psychology) 2. Genius. 3. Sel-perception. 4. Success. I. Title.BF637.S4R837 2011

158.1dc222011011987

ISBN 978-1-4516-2604-9ISBN 978-1-4516-2606-3 (ebook)


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For my Beloveds

My husband, Stephen, whose love and support permeate this book

And for my son, Lucas, whose life is empowered by inventive play and

from whom I learn something amazing every day


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1

A Spark of GeniusWhr th Journy Bgins

Do you ever eel as though you are two separate peoplethe ace you

present at the oce and the authentic sel you are in the rest o your

lie?

Do you eel as though theres a whole set o your skills, talents, and

assets that youre not using every day because youve allowed what

you do or a living to become what you are?

So many o us wake up every day to a dreaded alarm clock thatdrags us rom the comort o our cozy beds to pitch us into daily

routinesroutines that we have willingly chosen but oten cant quite

remember why. Many o us go to jobs, earn a living, maybe were even

doing what we are good at or eight hours a day (or more).

But most likely were not doing what we love. We march through

the stages o liecollege, career, marriage, kids, more careerand we

wake up one day and twenty or thirty years have passed, and we won-der, Hey, what was that? What do I have to show or it? Who am I?


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2 PRACTIC AL GeNIUS

How do smart, motivated, accomplished people like us, who are

walking around with all the human assets one could ever hope or,

end up in this no-mans-land? How did we ool ourselves into believ-ing that this was the best we could do?

The DeGen iused SelfThe great American engineer and uturist Buckminster Fuller once

said, Everyone is born a genius, but the process o living de-geniuses

you. Thats a act, Jack, and its why we have two types o problems:

Problm A

Youre going through the motions, armed with the latest technology

and a closet ull o career wear, and youre thinking This is okay,

Ive got a good lie while ignoring the act that there is a whole other

side o you that lies dormant, eager to be released rom the tidy cage

o your conormity. You are one o the millions battling with the Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome, checking hal o yoursel at the revolv-

ing doors o your oce building, walking through your workday with

an unconvincing smile, sitting silently in one too many meetings doo-

dling a masterpiece in your Moleskine notebook.

I this sounds like you, you have allowed yoursel to be de-geniused.

Problm BYoure a die-hard creative person working rom a home studio, swim-

ming though lie with the imaginative right side o your brain leading

the way while the practical let side is unactivated. You pass your

days, months, and years waiting patiently or a lucky break. You

bounce rom inspiration to inspiration, passionately invested in the

creative process but not in the business o being creative.

I this is who you see in the mirror every day, you, too, have al-lowed yoursel to be de-geniused.


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A SPARK OF GeNIUS 3

So many o us are unconsciously compromising some o our greatest

natural assets because o external actors, past hurts, or current ears.

Or, even worse, we have sacriced our skills, strengths, and passion tothe expectations and infuence o others. Or were consciously hitting

the snooze button, rolling over and going back to sleep every time

were reminded how ar rom eeling happy and ullled we are in our

work and personal lives.

I call this the de-geniused sel, and he has been allowed to sit in

the drivers seat o our lives or ar too long. The de-geniused sel sab-

otages your potential, holds you back, and accepts mediocrity. This isthe side o you that operates rom ear and shines dimly, i at all. This

is the person who has allowed people, organizations, environments,

and circumstances to beat the genius out o you. Enough already!

Are You a Gen ius?Will all the geniuses in the room please raise their hands? I ask thisquestion at every corporate training session I acilitate, and it aston-

ishes me how ew hands go up. Regardless o the industrywhether

I am speaking to an auditorium ull o bankers, marketers, or scien-

tistsmost people hesitate, look around to see who else has raised

their hands . . . and shyly choose notto outwardly demonstrate their

belie in their own genius.

I I asked you the question right now, how would you respond?Would you condently say, Here I am! and acknowledge the spark

o genius within you? Or would you hesitate and stammer that youre

not so smart, not so special, not really.

The second response was the one I most oten received when I

rst started my Genuine Insights practice, and I must admit it drove

the marketer in me crazy. When I discovered how many o my clients

had no idea i they even had a drop o genius inside them, I realizedI was looking at both a crisis and an opportunityan opportunity


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A SPARK OF GeNIUS 19

The Anatomy of a

Pract ical Gen iusPractical genius is your jillion-dollar personal portolio o brilliance.

Its the secret code within you that only you can crack. But once you

do, the possibilities are endless.

Contrary to the traditional belies about genius, practical genius

is based on the truth that each o us possesses genius deep inside and

its just waiting to be activated and set in motion. Thats what practical

genius is all about: identiying and leveraging both the sot and hard

unique personal assets each o us possesses. O course, its also about

using those assets to open doors, attract opportunity, leverage personal

power, and succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Hrs how it works:

Identify your genius. This mans consciously acknowldging and taking

activ rsponsibility or your uniqu strngths, skills, xprtis, passions,

crativity, and valus. Hint: th intrsction o ths quantitativ and

qualitativ charactristics is whr your practical gnius lis. It rquirs

a particular kind o sl-assssmnt, a sris o rfctiv xrciss that

nabl you to idntiy th gnius ingrdints that you possss. This x-

traction phas o work rprsnts your vry own gnius ull-body scan. I

promis it wont hurt.

Express your genius. Th gratst challng or most poplwhich

is rarly addrssd in ladrship modlsis visibility. I you ar not

activly, purposully sharing your uniqu narrativ with th world, your

compromising your prsonal and prossional impact. This chaptr is all

about your story and how you shar it. Think o this as a long-ovrdu

opportunity to tll th realstory.exprssing your gnius is about turning that swt spot whr your


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20 PRACTIC AL GeNIUS

hard and sot assts mt into th story you tll othrs. A prson without a

story is invisibl. Its hr that I will ask you to considr a rang o aspcts

o your xprssion, including your narrativ, your thms, your vocabulary,and your visuals. exprssing gnius is about not laving any sid o your-

sl out o th gam. It all mattrs. enough with th sam narrativs; hr

w will push th bar and bgin to tll nw provocativ, daring, inspiring

storis about who you ar and why you mattr.

Surround yourself with genius. You ar who you walk with. Rais th bar,

and build your ntwork with othrs who ar living purposul, inspird

livs. This is about raching out in a nontransactional way and cultivat-

ing maningul, dply valuabl rlationships. Rais your xpctations,

lvat your standards, and surround yoursl with popl who ar a posi-

tiv rfction o your gnius.

W hav many kinds o rlationships in our livs, and who w spnd

our tim with is critical to improving and building upon our goals and x-

princs. This chaptr will introduc you to th kinds o rlationships w

should b cultivating vry dayour Yodas (mntors), our ambassadors

(chrladrs), our at brains (smart young popl), and a trib (our

crw). Onc you hav idntid who is on your wish list or ach o ths

typs o rlationships, I will walk you through a simpl procss that has

opnd many a door in my own li. Ths ar th ruls o ngagmnt

and a bluprint or building th gnius rlationships you want to hav.

Sustain your genius. Living your practical gnius rquirs rddicatingyoursl to its mastry vry day. This mans cultivating a constant ocus

on committing to a practic that naturally suits your gnius. And as with

any succssul bhavioral modl, it rquirs applying masurmnts and

prsonal accountability. Brokn down into practical trms, this chaptr

ors you nw daily routins that will kp you halthy, productiv, and

prosprous. Its on thing to dcid to rach or gratnss, somthing ls

ntirly to sustain it. What it boils down to is rsilinc, staying ocusd

on growth, and holding yoursl accountabl to your own gnius. This


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A SPARK OF GeNIUS 21

mans making th right choics or your body and mind, kping your pro-

ssional and prsonal livs dply connctd in ordr to rap and njoy

th bnts o a li livd within a gnius zon.This chaptr is th most important; without constant sustnanc, w all

back upon bad habits. Sustaining gnius involvs a rang o actors, rom

incorporating brain ood into your dit to xrciss that work your crativ

muscls to stablishing rituals that stimulat your intuition. Youll vn crat

a mantra to hlp hold you accountabl to your daily gnius li. Sustaining ral

smarts taks disciplin and commitmnt. I nvr said it would b asy.

Market your genius. This is whr th gam rally changs. Whn you

projct and broadcast your gnius consistntly, with clar purpos and

passion, your prsonal and prossional dynamic shits into crazy growth

mod. This chaptr is ddicatd to lvraging what is distinct and origi-

nal about your gnius to attract, ngag, and grow your natural audinc.

Whn you ar living and working at th intrsction o all your assts,

your markting your gnius on all rquncis.

Its rare that someone can promise you that what they are going to

teach you will make you a better person. But that is what I am promis-

ing you. I am turning on all the lights, opening the doors and windows,

and clearing out the closets to set you on the path to the transormation

o your lie. When I decided to live my practical genius, I remember

eeling guilty about how much un I was having. Work is never un,

Gina. Theres probably something wrong with this, I told mysel. Thiswas just the de-genius devil on my shoulder, trying to throw me o my

destiny. Instead o internalizing these alse ideas, I learned to shut them

up and embrace a more natural, exciting, and truly pleasurable ap-

proach toward lie. My mother used to say, Everything that is natural

is good or you. Working rom a place o obligation and routine or a

paycheck is not natural. Working or joy, innovation, and autonomy is.

Thats it or the practical genius oreplay. Its time to get your ge-nius on.


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Practical Genius by Gina Amaro Rudan—read an excerpt!