Genius Isn't a Noun - It's a Verb (the real definition of genius)

Welcome to the debut solo episode of The Everyday Genius Show with Taryn Voget - where we redefine what it truly means to be a genius.

Forget the old-school idea that genius is reserved for a select few. Taryn, after years of working with some of the world’s most extraordinary minds in her Genius Lab, reveals a powerful truth: genius isn’t about IQ - it’s about passion, strategy, and channeling your unique gifts into extraordinary results. In this episode, we unravel the fascinating history of the word genius - from a birthright to an exclusive label - and challenge the myths that hold people back.

You’ll discover why you’re already geniusing (yes, it’s a verb!) and how to fully step into your own brilliance. If you’re ready to tap into your passion, think bigger, and create like never before, this episode is for you.

00:00 Cracking the Genius Code

00:43 Inside the Genius Lab

01:44 Genius Isn’t Just for the Elite

02:17 The Ancient Roots of Genius

04:04 When Does Genius Begin?

06:07 The Three Pillars of Geniusing

06:21 Passion: The Fuel of Genius

07:50 Strategy: The How of Brilliance

09:15 Channeling the Quantum Field

11:32  IQ Tests: Genius or Myth?

15:52 You’re Already Geniusing!

🔔 Subscribe now and get ready to unleash your Everyday Genius! -> YouTube

PLEASE NOTE LEGAL CONDITIONS:

Taryn Voget owns the copyright in and to all content in and transcripts of The Everyday Genius Show, with all rights reserved, as well as his right of publicity.

WHAT YOU’RE WELCOME TO DO: You are welcome to share the below transcript (up to 500 words but not more) in media articles (e.g., The New York Times, LA Times, The Guardian), on your personal website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Medium), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “The Everyday Genius Show with Taryn Voget” and link back to the www.everydaygenius.tv/show URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.

WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED: No one is authorized to copy any portion of the podcast content or use Taryn Voget or the Everyday Genius name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services. For the sake of clarity, media outlets are permitted to use photos of Taryn Voget from the Everydaygenius.tv or tarnvoget.com websites or (obviously) license photos of Taryn Voget from Getty Images, etc.

Episode 1 Transcript - Genius Isn't a Noun - It's a Verb

Introduction

Welcome to Everyday Genius. I'm Taryn Voget, and this show is about cracking the code of genius. On this first solo episode of Everyday Genius, we're kicking things off by asking a big question: what is genius, really? We'll talk about what I've discovered in my Genius Lab working with some of the world's best, a bit about IQ tests and what they do and don't measure, and I think some fascinating history around the word "genius." So stick around, and by the end, I promise you'll discover how you have already had genius results in your life and how you can have even more genius moments starting today.

Inside the Genius Lab

I have had the amazing opportunity over the last 15 years to get inside the mind of some of the world's best and deconstruct how they do what they do on a very subconscious level. So I built the Genius Lab as a way to really unpack how exceptional people are getting their results. Because here's what happens: when we get really good at something, we do it so fast in our minds that we can't slow it down enough to unpack or to understand the difference that really makes a difference in getting extraordinary results. So in the Genius Lab, we take what looks like a split second in someone's processing of, you know, doing the thing that they do and slow that way down. And that split second might be 10, 20, 40, 50 different steps that happen like lightning in someone's mind. But by slowing it down, what I've come to discover is a very deep understanding of how genius actually works.

Genius Isn’t Just for the Elite

And so when I say that genius isn't just for a chosen few, it's for you, I truly mean that because I've come to discover that genius isn't about exceptional ability. It's really about someone taking their passion and focusing it over time and doing it in a way that might be a bit unique or a bit creative, but that can absolutely be learned. And with enough focus, people kind of tend to gravitate towards doing things in a very unique way anyway.

The Ancient Roots of Genius

So the word "genius" is so fascinating. If you really take a walk through history, what you'll discover is that the word "genius" was a Latin word used in ancient Rome, and it was this idea that not somebody is a genius, but that everybody has a genius. And it was this idea that there was, like, an attending spirit or a guardian spirit that was inspiring someone to do what they loved doing, kind of like everybody had an inner muse. And that is the origin of the word "genius"—everybody had a genius. And then over the centuries, the word changed, and it became linked to natural ability and then exceptional natural ability. And now it's like we put these people on a pedestal and think, "Oh God, that person's a genius. They're, you know, one in a billion, and they're just born that way, and I could never achieve that, and look at how special they are." And while that is true, the word changed from "everybody has a genius" to "he or she is a genius." And I think that genius is really, back to what I said earlier, about focus over time, using passion as the fuel. And so what I would offer is actually an evolved definition of the word "genius." Rather than genius being a noun, like "he is a genius" or "she is a genius," I believe that genius is better described as a verb. Now, follow me along here for a minute. But before I actually dive into genius as a verb, meaning, like, you are geniusing, let's ask a really interesting question, which is: at what point on someone's journey are they a genius?

When Does Genius Begin?

Ponder that for a minute. So let's say, take somebody, you know, Steve Jobs. At what point on the journey was he considered a genius? When he was in elementary school? When he was in college? When he had his first hit? When he had his first flop? When he got fired from Apple? Later on, when he came back? Like, at what point would you say he was a genius? Now, that's hard to say. Now let's take somebody like a Van Gogh. Vincent Van Gogh sold one painting in his life, and most people thought his painting was absolutely hideous. It was just not recognized for what it was at the time. He only became a quote-unquote genius after he died. So at what point on his journey was he a genius? Was he a genius the whole time, and just nobody saw it? Was he only a genius when somebody recognized his work? And there are literally thousands of examples of people who were not recognized in the moment for their brilliance, were recognized after they died, or they're in the early process, and they're just not being seen right now, but maybe they will, maybe they won't down the road. So it's an interesting question: at what point is somebody a genius? Because I don't think that's actually the right way to think about it. And back to genius being a verb, I believe that we are all geniusing, meaning we're all at some level of the journey of becoming the most brilliant version of ourselves. Now, whether we're just at the beginning, and we're learning, and we're mastering, or we're in the middle, and we're getting more repeatedly good results, or we've achieved some level of mastery where, you know, it looks incredible, or often that kind of what you might call a genius level is where things become kind of innovative—we've kind of gone beyond mastery into mastery plus innovation. All of those are geniusing; they're just doing it at different levels because the process that I've come to discover in my Genius Lab is the same no matter what level that you're at. So you're already geniusing. And what does that even mean?

The Three Pillars of Geniusing

Well, genius is about three things coming together: it's about passion, strategy, and channeling. And so let's take each one of those and kind of break it down.

Passion: The Fuel of Genius

Passion is this idea—maybe you could take it back to, you know, the ancient Romans—where it's like that thing inside you that you love doing. You know, it's that thing that kind of guides you forward, or it's kind of like your muse; you love doing it. Now, a lot of us have a lot of passions, and our passion may change over time, and that's all part of it. But let's say we have a passion to do something, and just for argument's sake, let's say we've made it a career, right? And by the way, not all passions are careers; lots of them are hobbies or fun things we do or creative expressions that we have just because we love doing it. But in this case, let's talk about it as a career. So we've got a passion that we really love, and because we love it, we want to get better at it. And so we, you know, we improve over time, and it's because it brings us joy to do so. We love getting better; it brings us delight to take it to the next level. But passion is really the fuel around genius and getting exceptional results at anything. And that passion is so important because it's like an animating force inside of us, and it lights us up—that sense of excitement, that sense of love, that sense of joy, doing what we kind of came here to do in a way. So I believe that the fundamental principle or foundational element of genius is passion.

Strategy: The How of Brilliance

But passion plus strategy is when things start to get interesting. Now, strategy is like the "how" we do something. You know, how do you go about doing that thing? Now, I've had incredible people come through my Genius Labs—whether it is a wine taster, copywriters, animal communicators, shamans, preachers, CEOs—I mean, it's really interesting to me to see how, no matter what discipline someone's in, the strategy to get better at the thing is so important for getting good or achieving exceptional results. And so strategy has a bunch of elements that I've noticed to it, and in each one of those elements, we'll do a deep dive in upcoming podcast shows here where we'll break each one down. But let's just, for purposes right now, say that strategy is the "how"—how does somebody do it, and what are kind of the patterns within that? And then the last element—actually, one more point on strategy, which is: strategy gets better over time. It's like when you're first learning something, it takes a lot of focus to do the basics. And then, once you master the basics, you kind of move those to the subconscious processing, and you take it to the next level and master that, and then take it to the next level, and the next level, and the next level. And so strategy gets better over time, which is a key thing about focusing over time because, with focus over time, that strategy gets better and better and better.

Channeling the Quantum Field

But now here's where I think genius really kind of comes together, which is: you've got passion plus strategy, but anyone I've seen getting incredible results is doing something which I call channeling. Now, that sounds mystical, but it's really something that we all do on a very regular basis; we just don't realize we're doing it. And so what is channeling? Channeling is about accessing the quantum field, where it's that larger part of what we're connected to when we tune into it. And it's a place that has infinite intelligence, infinite possibilities; it is truly this quantum field where magical things can happen. And when we can tap into it and source from that quantum field and pull it back into this reality, really incredible ideas, inspiration, moments come through that feel genius—they feel kind of otherworldly. And so when somebody gets good enough with, you know, passion being their driving engine, great strategy, and then those channeled moments that they can do consistently and repeatedly, and they can do that enough, that's what looks to the world like genius. And the thing with channeling that I find so interesting is that we all do it. It's kind of like: you ever have those really brilliant ideas in the shower or when you're driving? It's kind of like when your mind is not thinking about anything; it kind of wanders into the quantum field, and something just drops in, and you're like, "Oh, light bulb." Or maybe you've had those moments where time just absolutely stopped, and you felt totally connected to a field much larger than you, and, you know, something really cool came through. Athletes talk about this a lot, about kind of being in that zone. Maybe you've had that experience when you're writing or doing something that you love, like time stops, and you're just in this incredible zone, and really amazing work or moments come through. And that is really channeling—we all do it. It's just people that, quote-unquote, look like geniuses are doing it repeatedly and consistently and bringing all those elements together, you know, the passion, the strategy, and the channeling. And so that is what geniusing is: it's the process of doing all of that. And you are already doing this, I promise, on whatever it is you enjoy doing.

IQ.Tests: Genius or Myth?

So, you know, then you have to ask yourself, "Well, what about IQ? I thought that IQ tests measured genius." I will tell you, working with some of the world's best, I have not seen any correlation between an IQ test score and someone's exceptional results in the world. Now, the IQ test is actually pretty interesting. A lot of people don't know this, but it was founded in 1905 in France by a French psychologist, and he was tasked with creating kind of the first standardized test in the French school system to identify which students were struggling or needed more help. And it tested basic—like super basic—things like problem-solving, memory, and reasoning skills. It wasn't really scored with, like, levels; that didn't come until about 10 years later when this guy from Stanford sort of tweaked the test and then introduced these scoring levels. And anybody that scored above—I think at the time it was a 140—was a quote-unquote genius. But here's the funny thing that literally nobody knows: that only lasted, like, 10 years because, in the 1920s, the psychologists that were working on the test realized that the test didn't really test real-world things like creativity or imagination or perseverance or grit or all of the things that go into creating something extraordinary. And so they dropped the term "genius" from the test. And so, for, I don't know, over a hundred years now, the genius level isn't even the highest level on the test; it's called something like "very exceptional." So things persist, and people think, "Oh, there's a genius level on the IQ test." No, there's actually not. Now, the other funny thing that people think of is that Einstein scored really high on the IQ test. But here's a fun fact: Einstein never took the IQ test. So people think what he might have scored is, you know, the number that's thrown out there, but he never took the test. Another really fun fact about IQ tests is Richard Feynman, who maybe you know, is considered probably one of the world's most brilliant physicists. He took a version of the IQ test in high school, and I think he scored something like a 125, which is above average but not, like, at the highest level at all. And it was a very kind of, again, above-average but not crazy, brilliant score. And yet he went on to be this incredible—I think by anyone's standards—genius in his field. And so I believe that genius is a lot more than a test. And I actually think the test is not a great way for anyone to measure their worth because here's what I've noticed that happens: people think, "Oh, am I a genius? Let me take a test and find out." And then they score average, below average, slightly above average, but not, quote-unquote, the highest level or the genius level, which, again, doesn't even exist. And then they make all these decisions about themselves, like, "Well, maybe I'm not brilliant. Maybe I can't do something extraordinary. Maybe I'm not a genius." And so I would just love to rip that up and throw it away because nothing could be further from the truth. You know, back to what I was saying earlier, genius is about focus over time and getting better and tapping into the quantum field. It really has nothing to do with the things the IQ test measures, which are, like, patterns and logic. Now, there are people that are very good at thinking in that way, and those people that think in that way can often go on to do some really great things in, like, math and sciences and other fields, but it is by no means any measure of genius. Now, like, and I love to ask people this: how would you take someone that can create miracles—healing miracles with clients—like this shaman I had in my Genius Lab, and how would you even measure that on an IQ test? And I would argue that is genius. Or a wine taster that can take any wine in the world and deconstruct it and tell you exactly where it's from, what the quality is, the age, you know, all the things—like, can you measure that on an IQ test? And you go through every single discipline—you know, Michelangelo—I mean, what if he took an IQ test and scored below average? Was he any less of a genius? So I am, as you can tell, not a big fan of the IQ test—not because it doesn't measure some things, but it measures a very specific way of thinking that I don't think is tied to geniusing. So that's my opinion on IQ tests.

You’re Already Geniusing!

Now, that's a lot for our first episode. But what I want to leave you with is this idea that you are already geniusing. You're at some level on your journey to genius, and we all have the ability to take our passion and create something really extraordinary and bring through really incredible results. So, on the next episode, we are going to do a deep dive into passion and talk really deeply about: where does it come from? What is it? Why is it important? And what are the magical things that happen when you tap into your own passion? So subscribe to join this channel and get notified of when the next episode drops. As always, reach out to me with questions, ideas, guests you might like to see, and I look forward to continuing our conversation about your genius on the next episode.