I liked this post from Fearlessstories.com.
Ever fear that maybe you're just not smart or creative or wily enough to stand out? Too bad you're not a genius. I know. Not everyone can have my luck. But what is genius anyway?
It's solving the problem fast, first, furiously, because even though you didn't have all the information and may have been slightly scientifically unsound, you trusted your experience and intuition enough to put something forward before it was too late.
It's weaving together a winning idea from thin air, in a way nobody else seems to understand, because you saw potential in or sought inspiration from an unexpected place, because you had opened your mind to it.
It's the ability to win a heated debate with the worst parts of yourself, wielding only arguments as simple as "We won't know until we try," "Well, no one else is doing it," and "Why not?" when others around you are losing that debate.
But I've obviously made a grievous mistake in my assessment. These things are as inexplicable from the outside as the feats of any conventional genius, and yet they seem utterly doable by just anyone.
Surely you've had one of these moments. And much like anyone who has ever painted anything once is technically a painter, if you've ever had a moment of genius, you are... a genius yourself! Hot dog!
Blah blah, you have the potential for greatness. You've heard that before. But maybe you'll take it more to heart once you realize that not only is that potential there, it has already been realized multiple times. There's not one good reason to suspect you're armed with only a finite number of masterstrokes.
You have beaten fear before. You are a courageous person. This is not just a possibility, it is the truth. You already have what it takes. You've given it. And that makes you stand out.
-Matt
