There are definitely geniuses. Da Vinci comes to mind. Socrates. Einstein. Mother Theresa. Helen Keller. People whose very existence has such an impact on the world that they’re remembered for centuries.
There are also people who are famous, powerful, rich, or some combination thereof. These people are highly regarded for their impact. Some people may call them genius now, but time is still testing the merit of that descriptor in many cases.
In either case, we are really celebrating persistence.
What it takes to be a genius is showing up, putting in the work, and doing it again tomorrow. Focusing on incremental change. Getting back to it after a stumble. Refocusing on the most important thing after a distraction.
Most of us are geniuses (who’s to say you aren’t?) – we just might have a persistence problem.