Secrets of Genius

Of late, I have been getting this vibe from the extraordinary achievers, who are regarded genius in their own field, due to the contribution they made in their respective areas, that there is nothing called genius. Word genius, which is mainly associated with one being incredibly brilliant with high Intelligence quality.

Recently, I read a quote by Thomas Alva Edison, that, “genius is, 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” This line coming from the person who, himself is one of the most prolific inventor of our time; with 1,093 invention that has patent registered in US, Germany and France.

I do remember, reading a story, when I myself was young, about this very genius inventor of our time. When Thomas was young, he was so curious and inquisitive to find out, how hen hatches eggs ? So, one day, he took several eggs - about a dozen or so - and put it in a makeshift nest and sat down on it; to find out how they hatch ? I let you use your imagination to guess, what happened next. Once he responded, to those who thought, he have failed in many occasions, he told them that, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

So, now it does not surprise me about his take for the word, genius. Just a couple of weeks before, I was watching the interview of N. R. Narayan Murthy, one of the richest man listed in Forbes with more than a billion dollars earning. He is a self made man and first Indian to lead a software company to Nasdaq from India. At one point during the interview he said, quoting Yogi Bear;  “harder I worked, luckier I became.”

There were gymnast from China during Beijing Olympic, who gained international popularity overnight, just at the age of fifteen. But as I was watching CNN some time later during that time, they revealed the secrets of those perfectly performing gymnast on the beam at that kind of young age. In China parents have to submit their young child in the hands of coach[s] at the age of 5 - 6, and their training session starts from then onward. Therefore, should it surprise us the result after ten years ?

Jackie Chan is a somewhat daredevil, because he does all his movie stunts on his own without the help of body double, as its known in Hollywood for the action movies. No international insurance company, will take the risk of insuring him, because of what kind of stunts he does, he says in his interview; because, there is nothing, he has not broken yet in his body parts, while doing his stunts for movies. But martial art is his biggest strength, which gave him the international name, fame and secure place in Hollywood movie industry. But before becoming the world famous name in Hollywood or Hong Kong, he had spent his training days in one of those Chinese martial art school for ten years, and his training started, when he was just seven years old.

UK, top selling writer of Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling may have become international sensation after the wizard series, but, she has started writing at the age of five and her first story Rabbit was filled with interesting characters.

Most of the TV chefs today, including Nigella Lawson, whom I watch on my TV sets, fell in love with cooking when they were small and their affairs with food and cooking started, when they were too young to enter in the kitchen. Yet, they did what they loved and today they cook for us on our TV. Their grandmother were their favorite person at home, when they were young.

Reading Rich dad Poor Dad gives us the clear cut idea, that training should start very early in life, in every thing and the writer of the book Robert Kiyosaki's own training lasted 30 years, until he was thirty nine years old; in his quest to become rich. Remember, his father was PHD holder and working as a high ranking position in Government office yet he choose his best friends father as his mentor.

World most richest man Warren Buffet, who is famous for his knack in share market investment started buying share at the age of eleven and he kept buying ever since, which made him not just billionaire but richest man who joined hands with another richest man and genius like Bill gates to donate huge chunk of of their earnings to various charity.

Most of big stars in Hollywood and Bollywood started their career when they were very young. Oscar winning actress Jodie Frost, started her career as a child artist and Daniel Craig [the current James Bond] whose latest movie skyfall, became the highest grossing of all Bond movie in its 50 years history, started his acting career at the age of six.

Although, Tiger wood is trying to make it to the top again after his fall from grace, but just a couple of years ago, he was the first man to hold the highest number of PGA trophies; his training has started at the age of three and his father was his coach. Today we know him one of the greatest golfers of our time.

In the music and entertainment worlds, known as King of Pop, Michael Jackson, has joined his Jackson 5 band, when he was young and performed on stage, when he was just eleven years old. He had started singing and dancing from very young age. While watching a movie based  on real life story, about a Latin singer Selena, gives us more hope that some people  with proper training and coxing at very young age can live a dream of their parent’s unfulfilled dream. Whatever the case is, training started early and young to become a huge singing sensation when she was in her 20s.

Today, in the Hollywood industry, there are so many actors and actress and who made it to the stardom also, are second, third or fourth generation of movie stars of yesteryear's. Their parents were in movie industry from that long. These new generation stars grew up watching, what their parents did and dreamt of becoming one day, as big as their parents or grandparents. Their ‘day dream’ became a reality after years of observation. But on the other hand, if you think otherwise on this matter, my earlier post on Its all in the Blood will help you to see it, from a whole different angle.

So it seems that early training from very young age, proper guidance, hard work and patience that help us to see green grass converting into milk, is what makes a genius not that high I.Q. which distinguish one from other.

However, there is one more core thing, in all this that we need to understand, when Thomas Alva Edison sat down on the eggs to see, how it hatches; he was not judged or scolded by his sister, who came to see him doing that. Michael Jackson had all family members, who loved singing and performing in front of public, therefore had huge support from all of them. Tiger wood, Jackie Chan, Selena had their fathers to encourage them in what they were doing. Warren Buffett’s father ran brokerage company. But JK Rowling, Daniel Craig were self inspired to get into what that wanted in life. N. R. Narayan  Murthy, those young Chinese gymnast and Robert Kiyosaki were inspired by their teachers/ mentors approached to be interested in what they aspired.

So, its more important in life; to find out what you love and want to do and keep doing what you want to do. But it would be a lot better, if you find those support and encouragement at your home. Start early and keeping doing what you love doing and one day someone somewhere will call you; you are genius !

Another genius of our our time, who was on the top of list of 100 most influential man in the last century, as compiled by TIMES, Albert Einstein says, “everybody is genius, but if we judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend it whole life believing its stupid.”

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Note : This post was already published in nepaliadvocate.com

What are you buying product or an advertisement ?

Last year around this time, I bought a bottle of Sunsilk after seeing its TV commercials, that featured seven world class hair experts. I was so convinced of it that its the most superior brand of shampoo in the market. However, it was not even close to what it claimed to be in its advertisements, because when I used it, it made sick to my stomach towards this brand, because the day I washed my hair, I got dandruff. It had taken me years to get rid from it, using its rival companies shampoo like Pantene and Head & Shoulders.  

Just like me, you must have watched the cute boy on TV commercial polishing his grandpa's shoes, when he is about to go out. But what is worth observing is, he brushes the black shoe polish more on his white tee shirt and light colored half pant and even on his face more than his grandpa’s shoes. Quite interestingly, his mom does not even scold him for messing his fresh dress like that. But should this surprise you ? because she is the TV commercial   mom, who is selling you - all the moms in the world who has clumsy yet adorable children like hers - detergent power,  who wants to help grandpa to polish shoes.

Before that advert, there was a boy, who falls more on the wet muddy ground, while playing football than he hits the ball to play. Again, his TV mom does not lose her cool, because she too is detergent powder selling mom.

Both TV commercial is Unilever product, advertising to sell its Surf brand. It seems they are teaching children to get dirty in subtle way, that even a smart watchdog can't do anything after it gets aired on TV. Therefore, they can keep selling mums their detergent powders, who have responsibilities to keep their children’s dress clean all the time. That's why they keep sending  message to mass that, dirt or stain is good.

I find Unilever's advertisement a little more provoking to my conscience, but I know this, its only to my sharp observation; because its their biggest strength and they do hire biggest advertising company to sell their products, who are well aware of the loopholes of the trend and know very well the weakness or strength of watchdogs as well as the buyers behavior.

If you pay close attention to their Fair & Lovely cream ads, it injects inferiority complex to brown colored girl like me. Its the bad luck to the corporate giant that, my weakness is not inferiority complex, at least not based on the color I am born with. I know that its not a disease and it sure can't be cured just because a multinational company like Unilever wants me to sell their fairness cream. They make the advertisements, showing fairer girls getting every imaginable success like a good career, a date with a dream boy or a good man to marry. We will be denied of all those things, if we don't use their cream,  which is secured only to those who have fair complex. Now, even their Vaseline healthy white is promising dusky brown colored Indian girls [women] to give them fairer skin instantly, that can happen only in imaginary world, but they are claiming it on broad daylight TV across the world, because they can do it.

To sell their body deodorant Axe, they are even showing women going crazy after good smelling men. Tell me which man doesn't want woman to go crazy, when they pass by them ? they are shown grabbing the butt of man, it would have offended if its man grabbing butt of woman but because she is the one who is grabbing his butt so watchdog must have got confused here what to do with this kind of advertisements. I am also hoping, you do remember the chocolate man, whom every hot and sexy babes wanted to take a bite from the place only a man can imagine, in his wildest dream. Oh, let me tell you he was converted into a dark chocolate after spraying axe, the dark temptation over his body, another product from Unilever.

Its not that, thousands of other companies are not advertising. They too have pressure to sell their product[s] to us. Then why Unilever feels most pressured to sell their brands like no other ? Fine, it has more products to sell than any other companies and due to its vast range it has competitors, which happens to be almost every other company in the market but its biggest rival is P & G for shampoo and face creams, that's why compared to other company its adverts has to have beep word in their ads, or has to show girls travelling trains and getting dust covered on their face, so that they need Lakme face wash, to wash their face, another brand of Unilever.

Colgate is its other rival company when it comes to toothpaste and its advertisement seems so obvious that, how frustrated it is, for not being able to beat its rival company. It really amaze me to watch that, Colgate still maintains the dignified rivalry with more convincing yet not much desperate ads to keep its number one position in its own area. In 2003 or 2004, Unilever had spend about 8 corod only to make the TV commercial on its closeup brands. This price does not include on how much they spent on playing that ad on TV or other mediums. Interestingly, I used to sing its catchy song, while I brushed my teeth with Colgate.

As if airbrushed ,exaggerated promise and lower price is not enough, Unilever also gives many freebies to sell its pepsodent and towel to sell its shampoo brands and many other products. I still have the towel with me but decided not to use its product, as its products did not proved any better than the brand I was using before.  

Lifebuoy always seem to be competing with Dettol soap on low range of soap to cater its huge middle class Indians or developing country like mine. Have you noticed, lifebuoy is trying to make us germ freaks in its ads. However, I avoid both products for making me scared of the germs that may not exist in real life, except in their ads.

They are also teaching girls to smear dirt on each others face - on the ad its the dark chocolate cake - so that they can sell their face wash faster than it actually moves. Its again Ponds face wash TV ads, another Unilever product.

My common sense tell me not to use Unilever brands, that’s why I avoid it to the max due to its overly airbrushed and high delivery of promise. However, huge middle class people do fall on easy traps of its net, it spread over them, which they injecting them through their ads like false pride, confidence and air brushed advert. Good packaging and good advertisement its huge strength too which makes it one of the biggest multinational company which sells its potential consumer almost everything  and if not that, they even feed the greed of the public like recently Fair & lovely is running an ad to give 5 corod to anyone whose expensive face cream is any better than theirs.

Feed the greed, to greed of public or infuse the confidence to the mass which they lack grossly in real life is what their advertisement is doing mainly.  They are selling anything, from toilet cleaner to tea, toothpaste to ice cream, making huge population hard to resist. But if you pay close attention then you will realize that, they are selling advertisements to its consumer than its products.

About six months before Kajol came on TV doing its Rin Brand commercial, challenging middle class housewives to use the detergent bar. What I could not help but notice is it was Kajol who seem to be Rin washed than the white dhoti she was wearing. Did you missed that ?

A couple of years ago adverts of Domex, toilet cleaner annoyed me to the max specially, when I sat down to eat my meal in front of TV. They were using all kinds of germs in toilet which I was never ever aware of its existence, to scare me to use their brand of toilet cleaner. Interestingly, despite pumping huge advertising budget to take the bigger pie of the existing brand, which is Harpic, they just could not buzz a bit to its rival product from Market, as Harpic still promotes its brand on its biggest strength to sell product not story as unilever's domex did. Now a days I can't even see its ads in the market, which may mean, they may not be producing and selling it anymore. I know this for sure, corporate giants like Unilever can't take risk not to advertise the product that is FMCG [ fast moving consumers goods] used on daily basis in every households.

Other companies product advertisements do meet what they commit on their commercials, but Unilever sells more of an ad than a promise its product can bring us. It seems to me that they have the arrogant attitude of being a giant and a presumption they can sell us anything. and they are right also they are selling anything I mean they really have been quite successful in selling their ads to us, otherwise who do you think made them corporate giant  like that ?

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This article has already been published in nepaliadvocate.com