Does a Genius Lurk Within You?

If you believe that true genius is a rare gift possessed solely by irreverent madmen who challenge the norm, you aren’t in touch with your inner genie. Most people aren’t since it’s hard to get in touch with something you don’t know exists. But maybe you were acquainted with it as a child (that fun, invisible friend your parents quashed as a silly fantasy).

Our inner genie is an inherited, benevolent force of nature that courses through our thoughts as purposefully as blood moves through our veins. Often referred to as the “inner voice” or “still small voice,” it is revolutionary to its core, brilliant, and divine. Politely, it simmers on the back burner of our conscious mind, cooking up new ideas for us to act on. Too often, we’ll dismiss those ideas as useless nonsense, pie in the sky, or unimportant diverges from the important stuff—before sinking back into the rut of our comfort zone.

Scientific studies have shown that people who do brilliant things don’t always have high IQs, but they always love what they do and spend lots of time exploring new ways to do what they love. If you don’t feel the motivation to act on your passions or fleeting desires, you may ask, what drives the genius? The simple answer is they are in touch with their inner genie and, like madmen, “touched” by it.

Moving your genie to the front burner and letting it cook up something good for you is not only fun, it may ultimately give you a reputation for being brilliant. In fact, your Youtropolis city, being a microcosm of your life, is the perfect environment in which to play with your genie and let it run free.

Your city’s Municipal Fund is a great place to start. Actions taken within its Genius Fund category are purposefully designed to shake loose your creative marbles and taint your city with the beautiful “madness" of You. But a word of caution: if you censor the rambunctious ideas that first jump to mind as you’re creating your impressive profile, motto, charter, or tags, chances are you’ll be shutting out the brilliant originality infused by your genie and quashing its magical voice all over again. Isn’t it time to give it a free ride and let it run loose?

Living a brilliant life, doing what we love most, is pure liberation. Walt Disney’s genie imagined a little mouse. He let it run loose and built an empire. What will your genie imagine for you?