We romanticized the “genius myth.”
“Genius myth?”
Here’s the idea: “real genius” is alone in a room. Once inspiration “hits,” the artist works on a problem until completion.
The “genius” doesn’t take the time to think about anything, she just walks in and gets to work.
After completion, the world has a beautiful piece of art, and she can relax, knowing she made something awesome.
It was an inspiration!
It’s also nonsense.
This framework sounds fantastic, but in life, it is dangerous.
That feeling leads us to rely on “inspiration” to get something done.
“Inspiration” is fleeting, and runs the moment fear pops up. That keeps us from the work we want to do that creates and leads us to the work that sustains.
It’s ironic that inspiration leads us to a life of subsistence, and nothing about subsistence is inspiring.
Always remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was it built all at once.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 