Trezește geniul din tine

by Ozan Varol, Justina Bandol (Translator)

Descoperă geniul ascuns înăuntrul tău. Învață să lași în urmă cine ești acum pentru a deveni cine ai putea să fii.

Oamenii extraordinari, cei pe care îi admirăm sincer, își scriu propriile povești devenind lideri și creatori. Ei gândesc critic și acționează independent, fără să încerce să se strecoare prin șabloanele impuse de societate, îndrăznind să-și arate toate culorile într-o lume alb-negru.

Îi numim pe acești oameni genii — de parcă ar fi o altă specie. Dar genialitatea nu este doar pentru câțiva aleși, este la îndemâna tuturor din momentul în care acceptăm să fim pe deplin noi înșine. Iar această carte îți arată cum o poți cultiva.

Autorul său, Ozan Varol, specialist în astrofizică, profesor de drept și autor, a învățat pe propria piele cât de important este să-și croiască propriul drum. Iar acum îți oferă și ție instrumentele și motivația de care ai nevoie pentru a lăsa în urmă ceea ce nu îți mai servește și a redescoperi calitățile care te fac unic, puternic și genial.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Psychology, Personal Development, Leadership, Productivity

320 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2024

Reviews

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars; known, boilerplate life-hacks, popular psychology ideas, stitched-together in a more or less coherent narrative; not too bad, but not original at all; nothing new; if this book never saw the light of day, nobody would be the lesser for it.

[Jennifer Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

had the wonderful opportunity to read an advance copy of "Awaken Your Genius - Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity, and Become Extraordinary" by Ozan Varol. This book was impossible to put down - and that's saying a lot when I'm reading digitally vs. my preferred hard-copy medium.

This was such a well-written book serving up inspiring and practical advice, and replete with reinforcing, succinct quotes from my favourite thought leaders, past and present. If you love the lyrical yet evergreen, time-tested insights of the great poets (Whitman, Dickinson), yet strive to break the algorithms seizing our mindshare today, this is nourishment for your brain (you know who you are and I've already pre-ordered your copy when it releases on April 11, 2023).

I am now eager to complete the associated chapter exercises and videos to fully appreciate the new lessons learned and those I want to unlearn.

Without ruining the evocative appeal of the wisdom in this beautiful and empowering read, I will leave one teaser quote "focus on things that age well". I believe this book will be one of them.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great book that opens up your mind and conventions and allows you to become more creative and innovative.
I found more value in this book than Ozan Varol's Think like a rocket scientist book.
This book is a great reread to keep your mind unconventional.

[Sara Zia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read so very many self-improvement and productivity books, and this is by far one of the best ones.

[Hetal Sonpal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book 😍
Enjoyed reading this one 😀

[Catherine Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

AYG gives me:
—Reassurance that though my journey feels slow in some ways, it’s going along just as it should. I’m doing ok, no rush, to everything there is a season.
—Validation that my thoughts and ideas are original—by definition, because they are mine! I get feedback every day that they are also valuable, so I can confidently and justifiably tether my fear and insecurity gremlins to the floor in the closet. They are cousins of humility, and serve some purpose, but need a leash.
—Validation that it’s ok to try new things and see what happens, to trust the universe while doing my part.
—Confidence to keep walking and letting the path emerge as I do so. That is one of my favorite quotes by Rumi (and now I have to go check that he really said it).
—A place to come back to for all of this moral support, in the inevitable times when I forget and get discouraged.

I especially appreciate:
—Ozan's relaxed voice--informal, fun and casual, and also no less credible and earnest than the Ozan I know from _Think Like a Rocket Scientist_ and other writing. It feels to me that he walks the talk of being and writing more and more his true self over time.
—Poetry. It encourages/validates me to continue to take more chances with my own writing.
—THE OPEN ENDED, COACHING QUESTIONS, OMG YAAASSSS!!! And especially the piece about leaving them to be continually asked—to *live in* them—so powerful.

I recieved an advance copy of this book with an agreement to provide a review.

[Ann Venkat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I previously read Think Like a Rocket Scientist, and am subscribed to Ozan's newsletter, so had high expectations from this book. It did not disappoint and in fact exceeded what I hoped to derive from the book. This book is an organic next step to learn the principles that can help you shed conventional mindsets that hold you back and create spectacular success. Love it, esp the chapters titled 'detecting bullshit', 'uneducate' and 'look where others don't look'.
Highly recommend.

[Jordan Forester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last night I read Awaken Your Genius. Initial reaction? Fucking incredible (pardon my language). I already can’t wait to re-read it! I felt like I had to give up on my Kindle highlights since at times I was marking up yellow every other paragraph. So much of it spoke to my soul.

[NICK · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cliche self help trash that devolved into shameless self promotion.
Buy my book because I'm a beautiful butterfly.
Puke.

[Charlie Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic book on everything you need to learn to become your true self. Built on the quotes of philosophers, Ozan storytells a practical guide to creativity complete with metaphors, references and examples. I highly recommend reading it.

[Nagendra Prasad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a sense of deja vu reading this book. It is because Ozan has conveniently rehashed the material from many other authors from Malcolm Gladwell to Adam Grant.

[Hellmuth Brikisak · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels like a rehash of other books I’ve read like the Artist’s Way or Anthony Robbin’s books. No new ideas here. The Author continually familiar quotes of other Artist’s and retell stories like the success of Sylvester Stallone. Most people have already heard these stories a hundred times before.

[Malcolm Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure where to begin with this book. Every third sentence is a one-liner meant to provoke some type of aha moment in your mind. Even though throughout the book the author relentlessly argues against one-liner type advice. There are some gems hidden within these pages but I would look elsewhere if you're looking for a self-help type book.

I did finish it so there's that. Two stars.

"There's no flashlight powerful enough to illuminate what's to come." 🤮

"If you swim only in familiar waters you'll never discover the unexpected."

There, you've read the whole book.

[MIKE Watkins Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Awaken Your Genius" exhibited a level of freedom that I feel Ozan's previous book, "Think like a Rocket Scientist", somewhat lacked. Ozan admits this in this book when he follows his advice, "shedding his old skin".


One of my favorite aspects of this book is the creative use of examples/analogies. I love partaking in this form of communication myself (via speeches/sermons) yet I can only dream of using them the way he does.

For example, "a simple equation written in chalk: 0.8 * 0.2 = 0.16. To be clear: I rarely ever dream about math. When I do, it’s often a nightmare about bombing a theoretical physics final in college. Even though this was no nightmare, the equation bothered me. The middle school math checks out: 0.8 multiplied by 0.2 equals 0.16. What bothered me was the underlying implication: The product of two numbers could be less than each number (0.16 is less than both 0.8 and 0.2). The outcome makes sense to the astrophysicist in me. But in the dream I was staring at this equation as a mathematical beginner, completely befuddled by the result. How could that be? If you multiply two numbers together, shouldn’t the result be more significant than each part? Dreams are written in disappearing ink. But this one lingered for a while as if a message was embedded within it that I needed to learn. And then the message hit me: When we operate at a fraction—at a 0.8 or a 0.2 instead of a total 1.0—we compromise the output.


See what I mean? I've read several books where an author manages to pull this off once or twice, but for Ozan, it's a walk in the park.


I also love how Ozan introduces this concept of your identity being changeable. Identity is like snake skin, it serves its purpose for a season and then, like snakeskin, we are supposed to shed it and allow it to be replaced with new skin. However, unlike Snakeskin, we can always go back to that previous identity/role if called upon.



I also love how Ozan introduces various ways of rephrasing truly transformative things. Here is one example, "Write your opinions in temporary ink so they can be revised. Instead of saying, “This is what I believe,” say, “This is how I currently understand this issue.” This wording makes it clear that our ideas and opinions—just like ourselves—are works in progress, continually changing and improving. “‘What I believe’ is a process rather than a finality,” as Emma Goldman put it.10 2. Ease the blow on your ego. The hardest part about thinking differently is admitting that what you once believed is now wrong. That’s an admission that most egos are unwilling to make. So tell your ego it wasn’t wrong. To ease the blow, tell yourself that you were right given what you knew—given your partial view of the elephant. But now that new information has come to light about other parts of the elephant you couldn’t see before."


Lastly, I love how Ozan provides practical "1,2,3" steps to implement the various ideas he presents in this book.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow pretty clap for this book🧚🏽‍♀️

Disregard the title and what you think it’ll be about. Author is a rocket scientist, turned lawyer, turned author. It will take you places you dont expect to go and I simply adored his story telling and quirky examples weaved into his takes.

For example, the fun little imagery scattered in each chapter:

“Privilege, opportunity, and luck combine to give some people a head start or a Mario kart type rocket boost.”

Checking your social media feeds is the “digital equivalent of gorging on a giant bucket of M&M’s for breakfast every morning”

“The new strategy you design at work is art. the way you raise your children is art. the way you decorate your home is art. the way you talk, the way you smile, the way you live your life, it’s all art.”

If you want a book to help you break out of a digital consumption cycle this is it.

“Imagine that someone collected all the information that you and ingest daily – your friends Facebook status updates, clickbait articles, meaningless tweetstorms – put them in a book and said I want you to read all this from start to finish. You’d most certainly say no. Yet the same information handed to us in micro installments scattered throughout the day becomes more digestible. It’s death by 1000 cuts.”

If you have ANY goals or projects that are stagnant, this book will help you to break out your funk 💕 will definitely be rereading

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Awaken your Genius: Escape conformity, ignite creativity and become extraordinary” is such a good book.

Wow!

Varol Odaz offers some critical thinking skills and self-checks designed to help his readers develop self-reflection skills.

I enjoyed the numerous quotes presented throughout the book. They serve as launch points for further research.

This this is yet another excellent resource for my students to learn from. And it’s something I needed to read. Odal Varoz has collected so much wisdom in this fast, easy read. Now, taking that advice and applying it? There is my challenge. I’ll continue referring back to it because the information and advice is so dense. I find myself reflecting on the gems laid out so well.

Superlatives could abound regarding review of this spectacular book, my best advice is simply this; read it. The message resonated deeply enough that it may just be that push you’ve needed to realize all you’ve pondered or speculated upon but lacked her wherewithal to act on it. Here is your chance - take it. Or remain where you are knowing that doing do comes with far too great a cost.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book to me is a beautiful curation of ideas. Some are new, some are important reminders I’m on a good path, some are core values of mine and some are hard truths I’ve learnt along the way. It’s rare to read a book and feel so connected to the author. As it was recommended to me: do yourself a favor and read this book!

[Kiona Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! There are SO MANY good quotes from this book - I took 12 pages of notes. Really a good read and I wish I had read it instantly instead of waiting a while to read it…but it’s so good. Highly recommend to anyone, but especially if you feel on the verge of transforming your life.

[Paige Greene · Rating 1 out of 5]

“i’m not like other girls” meets the male ego

one of the most masturbatory pieces of regurgitated shit i’ve ever read. zero original ideas, which is ironic for a book that’s ostensibly about how to be original

rocket science and law degrees do not a writer (or even an interesting person) make

[Caitlin Sampsell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved listening to this book and I’ve already ordered it to read it again in hard copy so that I can better mark pieces that were notable for me.

[Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlearn the habits stifling your creativity and awaken the genius within

Picasso, Galileo, Beethoven, Curie – some geniuses need no validation or explanation.

But those are just the famous ones. The truth is, we are all geniuses. Each one of us is born into this world as a unique individual. Yet, as we spend our lives within the scaffolding of school, work, society, and family, we stop questioning who we are and what we really want, instead following a path that becomes increasingly narrow as we age.

It’s never too late to break free. In Awaken Your Genius, learn how to (gently) kill off the old bits of you that no longer work, be born into a new version of yourself, and rewrite your story.

-

We are all geniuses – we just have to remember how

Gordon Mackenzie, a Hallmark Cards artist, noticed an interesting trend when he visited schools to talk to kids. When he asked students how many artists were in the room, almost every kid in a first-grade classroom leaped up. By third grade, that number had dwindled to a third of the room. By sixth grade, barely one or two raised their hands.

What happened? What caused creativity to dry up?

Each one of us is a genius. You are completely unique, a one-and-only byproduct of a very specific set of circumstances, lineage, and environmental factors. Yet, as we proceed through life, gaining an education in a structured school, taking on the expectations of parents, friends, and society, we begin to shed that which is unique and instead add layers that obscure authenticity.

We are hiding our genius. But it’s never too late to try to get it back.

To awaken your genius, you will need to undergo an internal journey, one that requires reflection, unloading the baggage of learned thinking and expectations, and setting yourself on a path to awakening.

In this book, you’ll learn about the five steps to doing this.

In the first step, “the death,” you will learn to unload that which no longer serves you. This isn’t easy – you are probably attached to your identity – but for something new to come, something old has to go. This “death” opens the gateway for the second step: the birth of the new you. Next, we’ll talk about kindling your creativity during your inner journey, and the fourth step shows you how to adjust to the world outside. This takes us to the final step – transformation.

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The death: To awaken your genius, offload that which no longer suits you

You may know the late Gillian Lynne as the choreographer of Cats and the Phantom of the Opera. By any measure, she was a success.

But when Lynne was little, she was considered a problem child and bad student. Running out of options, her mother took her to a doctor. After some observation, the doctor asked her mother to leave the room with him, but left Lynne behind with the music turned on. Through the glass door, they watched the child leap and twirl to the music.

The doctor’s prescription? Enroll this child in dance class right away.

Like Lynne, many of us are trapped within a system that doesn’t suit us. Most of us are the products of traditional educational systems, hierarchical environments that encourage memorization and passive absorption.

To awaken your genius, the first step is to relearn. And to do that, you have to first unlearn, or discard that which no longer suits you.

Maybe you excelled in biology and volunteered in hospitals, but while applying to medical school, decided that you were no longer stoked by the idea of practicing medicine. It might be hard to throw off years of work and the identity you claimed as an aspiring doctor, but remember this: You are not your identity.

Your identity is a story you tell yourself, but it is not actually you. You may love music and play in a band, but you are not just a musician. You may drive a Mercedes, but that is what you have, not what you are. Choosing one aspect by which to define your whole self minimizes your vastness and reality.

Become comfortable in the gray area of uncertainty. Entertain and accept contradictory thoughts. Reject a tribal mentality that dictates that you always align your thoughts with a particular group. Treat your attention as the most important commodity you have – don’t give it away cheaply to every alert on your phone, the demands of the 24-hour news cycle, or the siren song of social media.

Once you have created the space within, sit still. And wait to be reborn.

-

The Birth: Identify your building blocks and put yourself back together in new ways

On Valentine’s Day in 2005, three bored young engineers decided to create a website for singles to post videos and introduce themselves to prospective significant others. The idea didn’t take off, but the effort wasn’t a complete waste of time. Today, you’d know it as YouTube.

YouTube’s first iteration may not have worked, but by taking it apart and retrieving usable building blocks, those engineers were able to build something that did.

What are YOUR building blocks? Your skills? Your talents? It might be something that comes so easily to you that you don’t recognize as a talent. It might be something that made you think of yourself as “weird” or different, but is actually a superpower. And don’t limit yourself to one facet. You can be an athlete who writes, a musician who practices law, a chef who climbs mountains and runs marathons. Discover and combine the multitudes that live within you.

While undergoing this process of rebirth, ask yourself: What is my mission? My purpose in life? Keep an energy journal to note what energizes you – and, conversely, what drains you. What is exhilarating, and what makes you feel heavy?

Dive into possibilities by exploring other careers and ways of being. Talk to those who do what you might be interested in and try to experience their world a little.

While you undergo this wondrous journey of experimenting with what you might like to do or become, here’s one thing you do NOT need to take along for the ride: external validation. Consider that Jason Alexander was nominated eight times for an Emmy for playing George Costanza on Seinfeld, and never won. Or that Isaac Asimov didn’t make the New York Times bestseller list until he’d written 262 books. Imagine if either Alexander or Asimov had decided that the lack of accolades correlated to a lack of talent, and stopped producing their work.

In relying on external validation, you allow others to set your agenda. Things like beauty, compassion, and creativity can’t truly be measured, and therefore, no award or medal truly captures their fullness.

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The Inner Journey: Unlock the playful, creative, wise person within

Here’s one quick way to do this: DON’T Google.

Don’t oversaturate your mind with other people’s thoughts, opinions, and ideas instead of germinating your own. Instead, keep a Word document open on your computer so you can put ideas down as they come up. Keep your ideas private and honest. Listen to your gut instinct. Connect with others to brainstorm, but make sure you collect a diverse group of thinkers.

Go for long walks – this is especially helpful in the lull between having a good idea and actually working on it. In a Stanford study where two groups of people were given a divergent creativity test, the group that walked on a treadmill before the test scored higher than the one that had spent the time sitting down.

Ignore your inner critic who crankily points out the inconsistencies and lack of reason in your ideas. You don’t need that guy to put a lid on your creative juices as they are flowing – of course your new idea is unreasonable. It doesn’t exist yet!

What fosters creativity? Play! At any age. Checklists are great when you’re performing surgery or flying a plane, but when you’re trying to make a new thing happen, sometimes you need to follow your interest, like Charles Darwin did when he read books about geology for fun. Or like the cast of The Office did when they got stuck: They wrote an episode of another show! (Next time you’re stuck at work, maybe try to come up with an idea for a competitor’s product.)

Think about where you do your thinking, and consider playing with whatever noun you answered that with. Office? Boring! How about an idea lab? Instead of a meeting, how about a collaboration cave? At Brazilian can-manufacturer Brasilata, there are no employees. Everyone who works there is an inventor.

Not knowing (and not over-researching or over-preparing) can help you launch something truly new and creative. Ignore the critics; they are the same people who called Galileo, Stephen King, and Walt Whitman stupid, prejudiced, and blasphemous. “Care about other people’s approval, and you become their prisoner,” said Lao Tzu.

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Engage meaningfully with the world outside

In this Information Age, most of us have become consumers of what we assume are facts. But how many of us question them? “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” we parrot to our children, not bothering to do the research that would show us how that theory was proposed by cereal-maker Kellogg.

Skepticism is important, especially today when misinformation can be instantaneously transmitted without fact-checking. Questioning also exposes us to different ideas and viewpoints that are otherwise easily avoided by algorithms that choose what we view.

When seeking to engage with the world meaningfully, it is tempting to reach out to guides and leaders. But beware the guru – for what you see of them is what they want you to see.

Take one of America’s most beloved icons, Henry David Thoreau, who built and lived in a cabin by Walden Pond to experience and write about life at its most basic. You may have admired him while reading Walden – but did you know his cabin was two just miles from his home, or that his mother brought him pastries on weekends, or that he often popped by his buddy Ralph Waldo Emerson’s nearby house for dinner? Kind of puts a different take on Walden, doesn’t it?

You rarely see the full truth of someone else’s trailblazing path, whether it’s an Instagram influencer, a writer, a musician, or a scientist. You don’t always need to follow other people’s advice, either – remember that when they advise you, they do so based on their personal experience, not yours. So seek out multiple and diverse voices, and then apply their suggestions to your own situation to see if it works for you.

Remember also that when we look at heroes, we see only survivors. Not every person who dropped out of college and moved to Silicon Valley ended up founding the world’s biggest computer company. Steve Jobs’ success may have come to him regardless of whether or not he graduated from college. We have no way of knowing – so it does not make sense to drop out of college because he did.

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Let go of the future to truly embrace your own

“Will it help?”

Three small words, one simple question.

Will it help … to read another article about the college your child did not get into? To check out statistics about plane crashes before a big trip? To see what the experts have to say about a new pandemic?

The truth is, even “experts” don’t always get it right. No one can predict the future. Worrying about what may never come to pass is a complete waste of time and energy.

To move toward your transformation, it is necessary to let go of your notion of your future. Having a general idea is one thing, but trying to force life along a predicted, planned path will often not work because of things beyond your control. A life that works out exactly as you planned is not just unlikely, it may not be as satisfying, as you have removed the potential for growth and exciting possibility.

The only constant is change. Consider the peppered moths of Britain. Before the 1800s, 98 percent of them were light-colored and two percent were dark. Over the 50 years of the Industrial Revolution, the ratio flipped to the total opposite. Why? Soot from coal-burning factories darkened the bark of trees, so the light-colored moths that had previously been camouflaged by the light-colored lichen were now easily spotted by predatory birds. No one could have predicted such a thing, but what was once the most favorable thing to have – the light camouflage – was no longer desirable at all in this new world.

If you tie yourself too tightly to a particular version of yourself, you are stifling the potential of the future versions of you that cannot come into the light until you have extinguished the present version of you. It is painful to leave the familiar, especially when the familiar is so closely tied to your identity. If you are thinking of leaving a career in law to teach, for example, you may wonder if you are still yourself if you are no longer a lawyer. Others around you may react negatively, resenting you for removing your “old” presence, or for reminding them of their stagnation. Their discomfort is not your burden to bear.

Consider that for the butterfly to unfurl, the caterpillar has to no longer exist in its form. Living up to the full potential of your genius life means letting the old one go – the one that is bound to all sorts of preconceived notions – and truly embracing the unique brilliance of you.

-

You are a genius, even if you’ve never thought of yourself as one. By truly examining your life, values, and choices, and by listening closely to your true voice, you can be reborn into an authentic version of yourself that interacts meaningfully with the world around you.

[Sharlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for a wonderful book. It inspired me not to be afraid to find myself.

[Carlotta Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have already read this book twice, it has changed my life! I was looking for something that would tell me more than just “dO wHaT yU lOvE”, as that generic message has not been helpful at all. It is not a book that is drawn out and requires deciphering, which I enjoyed. The author gives exercises as well to aid the reader in discovering more about themself. Such a good read, highly recommend.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was timely during my current career transition. It’s definitely worth several re-reads and reflecting as there is so much to unpack and apply. While it started slow and somewhat predictable as a “self-help rah-rah” book, it took an unexpected turn for me and started to shift my thinking towards my career journey and the next phase. If you are a deep thinker who has stagnated, this will give you something new to ponder.

[Flopperstein (Shajeela) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I loved his last book. Its one my Significant* books that I have read. But with this one I was heavily skimming through. Sometimes bored. Ironically he encourages people to quit even if its something they think they should follow through - like sitting through a bad book they started. This was not a bad book. This book might be more powerful to someone who hasn't been introduced to these ideas before. So this review is very personal to my point of view. However, every book has its nuggets of wisdom. So did this one. And, being reminded of things you already know is also something to appreciate in a book. As always, thank you for sharing references! Once an academic, always an academic huh? ;)

*Books that drastically shifted how I view things.

[Steve Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Stevo’s Novel Ideas, I am a long-time book reviewer, member of the media, an Influencer, and a content provider. I received this book as a free review copy from either the publisher, a publicist, or the author, and have not been otherwise compensated for reviewing or recommending it. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This book is Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 4/30. Unlock your originality and unleash your unique talents with this simple guide from the acclaimed author of "Think Like a Rocket Scientist."

When you're a child, you learn to be like your parents. In school, you are taught to be like your teachers. At work, you are told to be like your managers. In the social realm, you are pressured to be like your friends, influencers, and thought-leaders. When do you get to be you?

When you discover who you are and are able to be an independent thinker, you become a genius. Not someone with extraordinary talent or intelligence but someone who channels their own energy into outcomes that no one else can take credit for.

In "Awaken Your Genius," Ozan Varol shows how you can become a puzzle piece, unlike any other, that is necessary in order for the big picture to be complete. The book is divided into five parts: The Death (deprogramming traits that don't define the real you), The Birth (discovering what traits make up the real you), The Inner Journey (tapping your inner wisdom to find original insights), The Outer Journey (linking your insights with those of others in the outside world), and The Transformation (stepping forward without the need to plan every move or to hold on rigidly to your safety net).

You can't trust those around you until you trust yourself, knowing that you are independent and your inner wisdom has validity and worth. That you have the confidence to start walking before there is a path. When that happens, you have become a genius.

Find more Business Books of the Week on my Goodreads Listopia page at https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9..., and find many more reviewed and recommended books and products by searching for me on Google.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

5-star self-help? Bullshit. I know, but hear me out...

I read a lot of self-help, especially about "finding your passion", likely to my detriment. And the vast majority of it is shit, let's be honest. It's usually one concept spun and repeated 80 times to get the author to 300 pages. You have to cut through the writer's noise to get to their signal. And, yes, it drives me up the f-ing wall, and yet I still keep reading it. Addict much? But I digress...

This book is clear, researched, and concise, all while keeping the author's voice and storytelling abilities intact. Hot damn! It CAN be done.

Varol does for midlife crises and stuck creatives what James Clear did for habits: Pulled all the best advice out there into a shortened manual of clarity. And I am here for it.

There are a lot of things you've heard before in here, much like any habit junkie got in Clear's Atomic Habits. But as it was with Atomic Habits, it's the way it's pulled together makes ALL the difference. And, like Clear, Varol has his own spin on some age-old advice and puts it in a new light that makes the idea stick this time.

The biggest aha moment for me after reading this book is that I think I can stop reading “find your passion” books. I no longer read habit building books after Atomic Habits, because I finally read the be-all book on habits. And I don’t think I need to read anymore purpose books after this one. I can stop procrastinating and just go do the damn thing. And if that doesn’t tell you what I think of this book, well, I don’t know what will.

Bottom line: If you struggle with feeling stuck in your career choices. If you feel like there's something else in life you want to be doing, but you're just not sure what it is or you're too scared to start, pick this one up. It will give you hope and a path forward.

[Neil Pasricha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A broad, sweeping, accessible put-in-your-pocket self-help book that pairs Ozan’s whale-like ability to suck up wisdom plankton from our endless sea of overwhelm together with his rocket-scientist brain’s powerful distillation and organization skills. For those feeling sort of dazed, confused, and meandering, this is a helpful kick in the pants. I loved his “Detox” chapter which opens with the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “There are many things of which a wise man may wish to be ignorant” and then brings us into the obvious-not-obvious wisdom-punishing effects of our social media-addled brains: “The average person spent 145 minutes per day on social media in 2021. The average adult reads 200 to 260 words per minute. The average book is roughly 90,000 words. So if the average adult read books instead of using social media, they would read anywhere from 118 to 153 books a year.” Aspirational, sure, but Ozan is a humble, earnest, and helpful guide who just keeps pulling you forward. In Chapter 4 about becoming “spectacularly you” he asks “What is something that feels like play to you – but work to others?” In Chapter 5 on “discovering your mission” he asks “In your ideal life, what does a Tuesday look like?” and then shares 3 questions to ask when trying life experiments – “What am I testing?”, “What does failure and success look like?”, and “When will the experiment end?” In Chapter 7 he talks about the “power of play” and shares how writers for The Office would work themselves out of ruts by writing plotlines for other popular shows. He weaves all the advice through a field of business nuggety stories and the result is a fun, fast-paced, helpful read. If you liked The Happiness Equation, you’ll like this book.

[Claudia N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awaken Your Genius is one of those rare books that doesn’t just inspire you — it interrupts you. Ozan Varol challenges every comfortable pattern and predictable habit you’ve slipped into and replaces them with a powerful, liberating question:
What if the real you is still waiting to be discovered?

Reading this felt like someone flipping on the lights in a room I didn’t know I was sitting in. Varol dismantles conformity in a way that’s both razor-sharp and deeply compassionate. He doesn’t ask you to be “creative” in the trendy sense — he shows you how to reclaim the curiosity, intuition, and bold thinking the world trained out of you.

What makes this book life-changing is its practicality. Varol gives you the tools to:

Think independently

Break mental autopilot

Challenge the stories that keep you small

Rediscover the parts of yourself you've ignored

And ultimately, create things that matter

Every chapter feels like an invitation to wake up — not someday, not when life slows down, but right now.

By the end, I wasn’t just motivated; I felt expanded. I caught myself questioning my routines, rewriting tired narratives, and giving myself permission to take up space in ways I’ve avoided for years.

If you’re tired of living inside a box you didn’t build, or if you know you’re capable of more but can’t figure out how to unlock it, this book is a catalyst. A spark. A quiet revolution disguised as a paperback.

Awaken Your Genius doesn’t teach you to think better.
It teaches you to think like yourself — fully, unapologetically, and brilliantly.

Absolutely extraordinary.

[Tomás Portas · Rating 5 out of 5]

- audiobook sum up only
- we stop asking who we are and follow a narrow path of life as we get into society
- We are all genius, we just need to remember how
- Set yourself on a path to criativity
- You need to discard what no longer suits you;
- you are not your identity, that’s only the store you created for yourself;
- Become comfortable in the area of uncertainty
- Discover and combine the different parts of you
- You don’t need external validation ; it’s only allowing other to influence your agenda;
- write down your ideas; go for a walk; Listen to your ideas and stay loyal to them; hear your gut feeling; care for other people’s approval and you become their prisioneer, Lau tzu
- Playing fosters criativity
- when your stuck with ideas, maybe try to create an idea for a competitor
- when you look at heroes, you are only seeing the survivals
- Will it help? Is the thought you need to have before spending time and energy in each task
- the only real constant in life is change; if your life goes exactly as you planned, then might not be the one that will give you the most joy, maybe is just the easy one