Being a Genius

A friend just posted the following Radiolab clip:
http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2010/07/26/secrets-of-success/

It's a conversation with Malcom Gladwell about the existence of geniuses.

This post will also explore a little bit of ageism, inspired by the TED talk list the DBBlog posted today:
http://derrenbrown.co.uk/blog/2010/08/childish-thinking-todays-tedtalks-playlist/

I'll give you a moment to listen to these while I continue after the jump.
Okay, so most of my childhood has been spent in those gifted programs. (Note that I'm almost always the youngest in all my classes, and I never skipped a grade. My siblings that are older in their classes do worse than me and my sister who are younger in our classes. Obviously, there's more at play here than birth month. But that's besides the point.) Over and over, I get told that I'm a great student, that I've got potential. And you know what?

I fucking hate having potential.

All it means is that teachers love having me in class. It means I'm good at learning, and good at school. It means that, at some point in the future, if I don't become an alcoholic, I'll probably do something with my life.

In short, it doesn't mean much.

What I want to be is a person who has created something, who has made myself known in a sphere of people to be pretty awesome at something, at the very least. And this relies upon me, but adults don't help much. "You're too young to take that class." "That's nice, dear. Go read your book." "That's too much work, and it's risky. Not a good idea." And so I'm sitting here wondering just what WOULD be a good idea. Adults tend to think things more impossible than they really are. They're not risk takers. I need to be a risk taker to become the person I want to be.

Enter the 10,000 hour part of being a genius. Now, there's something to be said about initial resources. One of my talents is being able to figure out how to do anything, and then do it well. It's a very useful talent. And I guess that's why I have potential. But seriously, what do you DO with potential? You find something worth 10,000 of your hours.

I have no idea what that is. We all have hobbies, and I'm no different. I have tons of interests. But I'm not going to spend 10,000 hours knitting. I don't have that kind of motivation for it.

Am I destined for averageitude if I can't find something to hold my passion, or do I have to decide on something and just go with it?