Brilliant - Really

Is brilliance within our grasp? There seem to be paths to brilliance for us; executive coaching, life coaching, personal coaching, performance improvement programs, etc. I'm pretty sure that the self-help section of the bookstore is still the largest. I googled "self-help" and got close to 25 million hits. Are these the same thing as "becoming brilliant?" I'm not sure. It's about becoming something.

Often it seems to be about "becoming dependent." Not that that's the intent of all the authors, coaches and consultants but people who seek these resources often look for the "silver bullet" that will launch them toward success and happiness. They look for an easy external fix. At the first sign of difficulty we blame that failed approach and, since it is external, we need not take any responsibility for it's failure. We then can easily move to the next disconnected approach to improvement. If we experience any hint of success we then desperately run back to that source for more of the same. Success may be one of the most addictive drugs. When someone else is "holding," the dependence can have an incredibly strong pull on us.

I don't think the path to brilliance opens up when we press the "easy-button." Searching for the immediate, external fix may take us in the opposite direction. Just as the failure of a system may be put on the outside source. Your success will be owned by the other as well.

The desire to become brilliant may come easy and be common to all of us but the first step down that path can be elusive.

Comments

Lance said…
Well said, John. Makes sense. And it explains why early success is so destructive to some people – change is always hardest when you have easy ways out.
9:22 PM
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