“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ― Albert Einstein
You’ve heard me talk about leveraging strengths, and you’ve probably heard me tell the story of the poor little bunny who ended up in a gang and addicted to crack. While this great quote certainly speaks to playing to our strengths, it also reminds us to pay attention to the strengths in others.
If you’ve ever dismissed someone because of the uniform they were wearing, the position they held, or because after a conversation you thought to yourself, “Now he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed”, I’d encourage you to look again.
Everyone is a genius…in some way. There’s a great story about Johnny the bagger. If you haven’t had a chance to watch this video, I’d highly recommend it. Click here to see the video.
While identifying your strengths and talents is critical to success, your ability to see the best in others plays a huge part in determining your happiness. In every interaction, we have a choice. We can be judgmental and look for the flaws in others, or we can take the time to find their genius. Which do you look for?