How to Outwork Any Genius

We all have known atleast one genius in our lives. They are quick learners and are extremely good at what they do. And we always thought “I wish I was born as a Genius, then I could beat them!”

Well You don’t need another life to be born as a Genius to beat a Genius. After reading this you will know how geniuses think , their drawbacks , you you can use it to your advantage and a step by step process to beat any genius.

Who is a Genius?

A Genius is a person with exceptional Intellect and Creative ability, associated with a very high IQ.

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These so called gifted specimens are exceptionally good at pattern recognition and posses extremely high Intelligent Quotient (IQ). If you try to get into their field , they will outpace you. Not Because they are unbeatable. Because their minds have already adapted to deep specialization in that field. IQ does predict learning speed, not long-term dominance.

The famous Terman study (Genetic Studies of Genius) followed a high IQ children for decades. This Started in 1921 by Mr. Lewis Terman at Stanford University What they found out was over the decades many children did well but not everyone became exceptional achievers. This tells us that Higher IQ does not guarantee Success.

How does a Genius Think?

Traits of a Genius are simply broken down to 4 main points

• Rapid abstraction (seeing patterns quickly)
• Deep focus on specific domains
• High working memory capacity
• Curiosity-driven exploration

Most Geniuses solve problems differently than regular people. They Visualize their problem in their mind and try to recognize the pattern. Often seeking to avoid repetitive and boring tasks, driving them to find shortcuts. That's what separates them from regulars.

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Who is a “Real Genius” or a “Fake Genius”

• A Real genius produces results and fake genius produces opinions.
• A Real genius is actually willing to listen , a fake one lives in a bubble.
• A Real genius adapts with time , a fake one holds on to one method.

So you might have understood who a real genius is. Most of the geniuses we see in our life have merely fake bursts of peaks. Actual Geniuses are always learning.

Do these “Special” People have drawbacks?

Yes they do! No one is Special no one is Perfect.

You must have heard that “Geniuses are Lazy” That is not entirely true but it actually tells us something important. These ”lazy” people may actually be optimizing their efforts, a concept sometimes referred as the lazy genius approach.

• They only focus on finding the efficient answer and hate boring tasks.
• Many Argue that they are don’t show efforts in doing anything unless they really want to.
• High IQ is often linked to Overthinking and Procrastination.
• Geniuses can appear narrow-minded because they may possess so called “hyper focus” on specific areas of their field.

These can vary from people to people but these are the most common points you can observe.

How do you outperform a genius?

Yes its definitely possible. You maybe cannot outperform a genius in raw brilliance but you sure can outperform them in specific field.

1. Compare Strengths and Weaknesses.

Analyze where they are the strongest , which parts do they lack? How you can adapt to it. Work on problems they don’t care about. Genius is usually narrow. Leverage that.

2. Consistency and Work Ethic.

Geniuses don’t like repetitive activities. And often over analyze before they start something. All you need to do is just “START” And then perfect it later on. Where they get bored and stop working on something , that's when you push harder.

3. Learn to mimic the Genius

Hard work is good but is often beat by Smart work. Don’t just copy what they do , Try to modify it to your advantage. Here is a example : There is this big answer you need to memorize. a regular person will read it multiple times and try to read it by heart. But a Genius Would Read it once , Write it down , compare and then learn from the mistakes and read it again. This way they learn it in less time. You don’t need to copy exactly , some don’t prefer writing then see what worked for others like explaining the answer to a stuff toy (Studies show explaining something actually makes you understand it better). SO there are multiple methods out there to learn from. A Genius would only stick to only one method because it worked for him.

4. Build Crosslinking ability

A genius is already good in their field. To beat a genius you should come up with a different approach. Many famous and successful people have done it in the past. Apple Computers beat their competitors because Steve Jobs took a Typography Class. How did it help in the Tech Industry? Well he focused on UX which got him a edge over his competitors. This shows that Combining two or more domains to solve a problem will get you farther than most people. You can simply start by using analogies to breakdown solutions for better understanding.

5. Play the long game.

I know “Play the long game” might sound challenging to some people. But that’s one of the only ways to beat a Genius. You cannot surpass someone overnight. You need consistency , unreal work ethic to beat a Genius. That’s why its hard or else everyone would beat them. Make it a routine, not driven by motivation or envy. If you maintain Consistency and work smarter , you will slowly start seeing patterns others don’t see.

Geniuses aren’t unbeatable.

Anyone can be outsmarted. If something doesn’t work for you then you need to change perspective and make it work. The main goal should not be to beat someone , it should be “How can I make myself better than who I was?”. I know it sounds so boring , But if you keep unreal expectations like “I need to be first in my Country” or “I need to win the National Tournament” . In Theory these are all possible but can’t be achieved overnight. Your First goal should be “How can I get a 10% better grade than my current score”. After you breakdown your Main goal into smaller goals and go one after the another , You will last longer and improve. Push through it. This is where most people quit and specialists stay comfortable.