The Myth of Genius

photo by apesara

Mark McGuinness writes in his Lateral Action blog about the Myth of Genius, the perils of hero worship, and what really separates these so-called “creative geniuses” from the “rest of us”. (Hint: it’s more like Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” and less like some bolt from the blue.)

This is a great message for songwriters who all to often fall into hero worship. Don’t believe me? Flip through any issue of American Songwriter and read about “the greats” and why there will never be another <insert tragic/revered/mythic songwriting figure here>. It’s like reading beauty magazines, “…they will only make you feel ugly”. Sure we can and need to learn a lot from other writers, but not to the point of  hero worship - and definitely not to the point that we resign hard work and perseverance because we aren’t “genius” enough, “so what’s the point”. The Artist’s Way readers will recognize this as “the critic”, procrastination, and by a few other names.

I have touched on this issue before, and odly quoted Edison at the same time. Maybe, in the intrest of fairness, I should get Mr. Tesla’s take on songwriting next time.

Technorati Tags: effort, genuis, inspiration, songwriting, The Artist's Way, Thomas Edison, work

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