Discover Your Genius: How to Think Like History's Ten Most Revolutionary Minds

by Michael J. Gelb

Book Overview

Imagine unleashing your creativity by letting your imagination enjoy the benefits of the type of mental play that helped inspire the theory of relativity. Or evaluating your business climate with the combination of keen observation and an open mind that yielded the theory of evolution. Or navigating your life path with the same love of knowledge and truth that spawned all of Western philosophy. The individuals behind these revolutions of thought...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0066213762
• ISBN13: 9780066213767
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

More than just a great idea...10 Greats who just did it.

This was a fun and entertaining book. Focused on innovation and how to unleash your abilities to be creative, this book provides insight into 10 Famous people that dramatically influenced the world with their ideas and actions. I will immediately say that I naturally enjoy learning from history, particularly from the people that influence history. To understand why historical figures acted in difficult times, how they adapted, what aspects of their upbringing formed their thinking and how they influenced others to accept their thinking has always intrigued my mind.The stories will not give you a full life biography on each person...just a synopsis of who the person is, what they did that was so revolutionary and how you can apply their actions to being innovative.From Plato, Brunelleschi, Columbus, Copernicus, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Jefferson and Darwin to Gandhi and Einstein...each will challenge you to reflect on your own gifts and how you might see things differently.I especially liked how the author provided with each story sections for personal reflection and excercises that allow you to share thoughts with others.Even before I finished the book, I was already enjoying the discussions with my kids about their views on the subjects and quizzing their minds about how they would have handled the situations these great people were a part of.I highly recommend this book, especially to those that are involved with consulting or facilitating others through innovation or creative expression in business.

Engaging biographies and life-improving advice

Much like Michael Gelb's brilliant "How to Think Like Leonardo DaVinci" this book succeeds in giving the reader engaging and informative biographies, while at the same time encouraging you to live and think like them. The book is written in an easy, conversational style that gives the reader the feeling that he/she is having a delightful talk with the writer about the world's greatest thinkers.Many times I have attempted to read up on geniuses like Plato, Darwin, and Ghandi with the intent of modeling my life after their examples, but I couldn't find the time to finish the marathon-length biographies I came across; "Discover Your Genius" is exactly what I was looking for--it gave me vast amounts of interesting information on each of the 10 geniuses and immediately showed me what I can do to improve myself with their examples.I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever wondered what a genius is like and how you can enrich your life everyday by emulating them.

Being The Best That We Can Be!

Tonight, on television, Tonya Harding is fighting Paula Jones.I won't be watching. Instead, I'll be re-reading my favorite parts of this extraordinary, uplifting book. In a world that tries to dumb us down with a never ending stream of lowest common demoninator nonsense, Gelb's book stand out like a Perfect Lotus in a muddy pond.The valuable lessons in history, art, politics, psychology, architecture, philosophy, literature, science, and music are more than just academic, they're brought home in a highly personal and engaging manner. I've also been listening to Gelb's "Discover Your Genius" music cd. as I read. Reading about Thomas Jefferson while listening to the "Jefferson" selection on the cd (Beethoven's ninth) on the night that the lights came up from Ground Zero, gave me a sense of appreciation for his "genius quality". "Celebrating Freedom in the Pursuit of Happiness"-- that, I won't forget.

Useful book that helps you unleash your creativity

I must admit to being a big Michael Gelb fan . . . I've heard himspeak (he is great!), and I loved his previous book: HOW TO THINK LIKE LEONARDO DA VINCI . . . so naturally, when his latest effort (DISCOVER YOUR GENIUS: HOW TO THINK LIKE HISTORY'S TEN MOST REVOLUTIONARY MINDS) became available, I tore into it--and was not disappointed . . . it is equally great! Imagine being able to draw upon the collected wisdom of Plato, Brunelleschi, Columbus, Copernicus, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare,Jefferson, Darwin, Gandhi, and Einstein . . . Gelb looks at these great thinkers to help you unleash your own creavity . . . each of the invididuals profiled embodies a special "genius" charactersitic, ranging from optimism to courage . . . you then get to integrate these principles into your daily life through a series of self-assessment questionnaires and a complete program of practical exercises.There were many memorable passages; among them:[on how to read a Shakespeare play]Each Shakespeare play offers a master class in emotional intelligence and the lack thereof. As you read each play approach it with the following questions in mind:What can I learn from this play that will help me know myself better?What can I learn from this play that will help me understand others better?(It's useful to think of specific people you might wish to understand better.)[Thomas Jefferson's ten-point plan for personal improvement]1. Never put off til tomorrow what you can do today. (Jefferson rosebefore sunrise each day to get a head start on his massive to-do lists.)2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself. (Jefferson believed in the spirit of personal as well as political independenceand thought that it began with the ability to solve one's own problems.)3. Never spend your money before you have it. (Jefferson learned this the hard way by violating this advice repeatedly and sufferingthe consequences.)4. Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap; it will bedear to you. (Jefferson loved life and saw material objects as means to experience rather than ends in themselves.)5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold. (At the centerof power for many years, Jefferson witnessed the disastrouseffects of egotism and believing one's own publicity on many powerful people.)6. We never repent of having eaten too little. (Jefferson's extraordinary vitality was in part a function of his healthy diet andhis practice of leaving the table before he was full.)7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. (As a natural optimist, Jefferson was able to choose to see the best in all life'scircumstances. This was his way of saying, "To get what you choose, choose what you've got.")8. How much pain has cost us the evils which have never happened. (Jefferson reminds us that worry is pointless. Hisoptimism helped protect him from anxiety about the future.)9. Take things away by their smooth handle. (Jefferson was anelegant mind with a talent for finding the path of least res

Brilliant! Michael Gelb does it again!

After reading and loving his book "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci," I was thrilled to find "Discover Your Genius." Each chapter was a unique personal gift that that will enrich my life both personally and professionally. This is a must-read for anyone in search of personal or professional growth! Thank you, Michael!