genius

series

tony alessandra
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© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
 through an inductive approach. In my Nightingale-

© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media

Releasing Your Conant program, The Ten Qualities of Charismatic
People (http://alessandra.com/products/productde-
Inner Genius tails.asp?productid=27), for example, I looked at spe-
cific individuals who were clearly outstanding leaders
Hi. My name is Tony Alessandra—and I’m a genius.
and achievers. Then I asked, “What defines these peo-
ple? What qualities do they share and in what ways
Please think for a moment about what you’ve just
are they different?” In other words, the theme moved
heard me say. What impression does it make on you
from specific focus on individuals to a broader look at
when someone describes himself as a genius? How do
the many ways charisma expresses itself.
you feel about that person—in this case, me?
I used a similar approach to create this and other eRe-
Somehow I think the impression is not exactly posi-
ports in my Genius Series. I began by making a simple
tive and the reason is simple. Genius is a word that has
list of names based on a single question: Who were
very powerful connotations. It’s a word we may use
the greatest geniuses of all time, in any field? I asked
fairly often, but good manners dictate that we apply
myself that question and I also asked many other great
it to other people rather than ourselves. And usually
people for their thoughts. Out of this came a list of
the people we call geniuses are public personalities
names that are very important in shedding light on
or historical figures. They’re not the people we see
what it really means to be a genius.
in the supermarket checkout line. Isaac Newton was
a genius. William Shakespeare was a genius. But the
Many of the names will be familiar to you, and some
guy across the street mowing his lawn is just your
will be less so. But the overall purpose is to show how
neighbor.
the qualities that make these people geniuses are actu-
ally present within yourself—if only you learn to rec-
I’m not going to back away from what I said, though.
ognize, access, and develop those capabilities. You’ll
I, Dr. Tony Alessandra, really am a genius.
see how you can tap into the same powers of genius
that defined the greatest minds of all time in their re-
But here’s the part you may find more interesting: so
spective fields. By doing so, you can definitely revo-
are you! And if you don’t believe it now, you will by
lutionize your life—and who knows—you might even
the time you reach the end of this eReport.
bring about revolutionary change in the larger world
as well.
In these next pages, you’re going to learn what the
word genius really means ... what it doesn’t mean ...
Have you ever heard of William James Sidis? Perhaps
and how you can tap into the power of genius to make
not, but everyone who knew him considered him to
practical improvements in the most important areas of
be the smartest person in the world (and perhaps the
your life. I want to emphasize the word practical—be-
smartest person who had ever lived). Just to show you
cause one of the myths I want to dispel is the idea that
that God has a sense of humor, Bill Sidis was born
a genius is somebody whose head is up in the clouds
on April Fool’s Day in the year 1898. It was not long
all the time.
afterward that IQ tests became accepted and Bill’s
score was estimated at 250 to 300. To give you more
Click here to discover
perspective, the average score is 100, 140 and above
your visionary genius.
is considered genius and the highest modern IQ test
score recorded is 228 (achieved by Marilyn Vos Sa-
Right now, let’s talk for a moment about how this eRe-
vant). While still in his crib, Bill learned the alphabet
port came into being. Throughout my career as a writ-
from blocks dangling above him and he spoke his first
er and speaker, I’ve focused on defining the essential
word at six months old; things moved rapidly there-
characteristics of high-achieving, successful men and
after. He started reading The New York Times at 18
women—and often the best way to do this has been

2
months, started typing at 3 years old, learned Greek at
4 and Russian, French, German, Hebrew, Turkish, and
Armenian by 7—the same year he passed the entrance
exam to MIT. Choosing to enter Harvard instead, he
was deferred until the age of 11 and graduated cum
laude at the age of 16.
That was a long time ago and William James Sidis
may have been in a class by himself. He knew 200
languages, after all, and he could learn a language in
just a single day. But there are still some very bright
people around and it’s fun to think about them—so
let’s meet one more.
A January 2003 story in The New York Times described
a typical day in the life of a rather atypical college
student. She was a senior studying physics, biology,
and mathematics—and she got straight A’s in all her
courses. This is impressive, of course, but it’s a de-
scription that could apply to a lot of bright, motivated
students across the country. The difference is that this
college senior was 13 years old. She started reading
when she was 8 months old. She read Charlotte’s Web
as a toddler, and by age 5, she had finished the entire
reading curriculum at her school. In second grade, she
was taking eighth-grade math. By fourth grade, her
teachers felt they could no longer accommodate her
special needs. Her parents couldn’t find a university
that would accept such a young student, so she took a
year off, which she spent reading and earning a black
belt in karate. The next year, at age 10, she began col-
lege. She read at a rate between 70 and 100 pages an
hour, depending on the material. She also played the
clarinet at the level of a professional musician.
Does this sound like you at the age of 13? Do you
find it easy to identify with this young woman? May-
be not—but I think you’d agree that she’s definitely a
prodigy and perhaps a genius. That’s certainly a word
that’s already been applied to her many times over.
Although you may not see yourself in the same league
as the students I’ve just described, you probably re-
member kids from your school years who were much
more advanced than average. For this eReport, those
are very important memories because when those
memories were created, you began to see yourself as
something other than a genius. That was when you de-
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
cided that certain other people were smarter than you.
That they learned faster. That they did their homework
without a single mistake.
And maybe you weren’t wrong about those things.
Perhaps you just drew the wrong conclusion. You
generalized a rather broad lesson from a very narrow
set of experiences. You confused what might be called
giftedness with genius.
To learn about applied genius,
Click here.
I’d like to spend a moment looking at this distinc-
tion—because it’s basic to how many people see
themselves and evaluate their capabilities. But just
for a moment, let’s assume that giftedness and genius
really are the same thing. In that case, a person who
jumps very quickly through the hoops of elementary
school should continue jumping for all the years to
come. But very often this isn’t what happens.
You see, our perception of giftedness and genius has
often depended to some extent on the age of the per-
son we’re considering. Sooner means smarter, in other
words. The sooner a child learns to read, or learns to
play the piano, or learns to do long division, the more
genius-like that child is perceived to be.
There are a couple of things wrong with that percep-
tion. First, as you’ll discover in some of the other eRe-
ports in the Genius Series, a number of the world’s
all-time great geniuses were at first thought to be any-
thing but gifted.
Secondly, it’s by no means the rule that prodigious
children turn out to be genius adults. To some ex-
tent, this may be because of the extra stresses that are
placed on obvious prodigies. A lot is expected of them
and burnout is a frequent consequence. But it’s also
possible that many seemingly gifted children aren’t
really gifted—or, rather, they’re no more gifted than
the boys and girls around them. The fact is, childhood
is simply a time when there’s a lot of emphasis on
measurement—and it’s also a time when things are
pretty easy to measure. Standardized tests are a staple
3
of American education, as they have been for almost
50 years. There are all kinds of instruments for mea-
suring a child’s achievement levels, as well as his in-
nate capacity to reason and to learn. And sometimes
there’s a dramatic difference between those two mea-
sures. When that difference exists, the concept of the
“underachieving child” comes into play. It’s the defi-
nition of a child who has unusual potential which is
not showing itself in equally unusual achievement.
Click here to explore your
artistic genius.
But at some point, we stop measuring people in the
same way. If we kept it up, we would see some things
that are obvious to the casual observer, but are rare-
ly documented by the kind of standardized tests that
we’re constantly giving to children. Even as casual
observers, we see that often other people catch up to
the gifted and the prodigious. The child, who finished
his math workbook before everyone else even started,
did something impressive—but sooner or later every-
body else finished their math workbooks too. Sooner
or later, everybody learned to read and to spell. I might
mention, in fact, that a huge and very profitable indus-
try has grown up around the idea of giftedness in chil-
dren, but there’s no such profit motive in the grown up
world. Sure, we know there are highly talented adults
who don’t access all of their capabilities. Or who
don’t get the recognition they deserve. We know that
Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime and
that Emily Dickinson only published three poems in
her lifetime. Still, there is no readily accepted concept
of the “underachieving gifted adult.”
Which is a pity, since I can almost guarantee that
that’s exactly what you are. I can virtually assure you
that you’re a latent genius—and once you understand
what genius really means, I’m certain that you’ll come
to agree with me.
The word genius happens to have a very rich heritage.
Today, we talk about people being geniuses, but in
the past people had genius. Instead of something that
you were, genius was something that you possessed
or that possessed you. For the Romans, the word ge-
nius referred to a guardian spirit that protected people
throughout the journey of their lives. Every individual
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
was born with a unique genius that looked after him,
helped him out of difficulties, and inspired him at
crucial moments. At someone’s birthday, the Romans
celebrated the birthday of the genius as well as the
person. They celebrated the mysterious power with
the person as well as the physical human being.
To make this eReport work for you, there’s only one
thing you absolutely must have. You must have the
belief in the idea that amazing powers are within you
and that through an understanding of great geniuses
you can awaken those powers. This kind of belief in
your potential—this confidence, this certainty—is
easy enough to say, but really connecting with it re-
quires self-understanding and self-assessment. There
are some inner obstacles that need to be overcome,
and we’ll address them later in this eReport.
For example, you may think that you can’t possibly
put yourself in the company of Newton or Shake-
speare. You may think it’s impossible to identify your-
self with the great minds of human history. Why not?
Well, to put it very simply, you may think you’re just
not smart enough.
On the other hand, you may think you’re too smart.
You may think you’ve already outsmarted this eRe-
port. Right now, as you’re reading this eReport, you
may think you’re too sophisticated and well-informed
to accept what I’m telling you. As you read about the
great powers that lie within you, you may think that
this is just another version of self-help voodoo, and a
very inflated one at that.
So these are two obstacles. I would describe the first
one as rooted in a kind of child-like fear, and the sec-
ond as an aspect of the cynicism that often develops
over the course of our lives, and that eventually be-
comes a very self-limiting belief system.
To help you address these two obstacles, let’s look
at some ideas about the meaning of the word genius.
Then we’ll see how the most comprehensive defini-
tion of genius includes you—regardless of how un-
likely that may seem to you now.
4
 Unearth your philosophical I think you can see how each of these three categories

© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media

genius—check out my new seems quite legitimate—but it’s the fourth category
that’s really most important for this eReport. And you
eReport by clicking here.
may be surprised to learn that the fourth category
questions, or even completely refutes, the other three
Paul MacCready is a writer and inventor who has
because the fourth category includes everybody, in-
carefully studied genius and the ways people under-
cluding me. That’s why I said at the beginning of this
stand this concept. MacCready has evolved several
eReport that I, Dr. Tony Alessandra, really am a ge-
categories of what genius seems to mean and these
nius.
can be useful starting point for defining what genius
really is.
This fourth category of genius is based on the idea
that we all have the potential for achievements that
In the first category are what Paul MacCready calls
are wrongly considered possible for only a few. And
the “everyone agrees” geniuses. These people are
there’s plenty of evidence for this. After all, the physi-
the great icons of civilization, including Einstein,
cal and mental challenges of learning to walk and talk
Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, and Michelangelo.
are more difficult than anything we face later in life—
Is there anybody who believes Einstein wasn’t a ge-
yet the vast majority of human beings meet these chal-
nius? I don’t think so—so this category is for the ge-
lenges successfully.
niuses who are elected by unanimous consent. These
are many of the same people who were mentioned in
True, it’s been argued that these primary skills are
my own informal research. Most of our models I use
hardwired into our genetic makeup. But there are many
for the various genius categories, such as philosophi-
things that the genetic argument can’t account for. In
cal genius or artistic genius or spiritual genius, I draw
the 17th and 18th centuries, for example, in Western
from this group.
societies, it was simply expected that every member
of the educated class would be able to read and speak
MacReady’s second category is the officially designat-
several different languages, write poetry, play a musi-
ed geniuses. These are the people who have won No-
cal instrument, and know much of the Bible by heart.
bel Prizes or other highly respected awards. Whether
Furthermore, all these skills were performed at a very
or not we understand what they’ve accomplished, we
high level and at very early ages. In other words, thou-
think of them as geniuses based on their recognition
sands of people routinely displayed abilities that to-
by people who are supposed to know one when they
day would be considered truly amazing—and perhaps
see one.
even evidence of genius. But in those days, what we
call genius was just the fulfillment of society’s expec-
A third category includes people who haven’t yet
tations.
gained national or international prominence, but who
have done something so remarkable that they seem to
When we speak of everybody being a genius in this
be in a different realm from ordinary mortals. Some
sense, it doesn’t mean everyone has to get 800s on
of these are the prodigy young people I mentioned
their SATs or have an IQ of 150 or above. It doesn’t
earlier—students who have won national science con-
mean everybody can play the violin or create beautiful
tests or gotten perfect scores on standardized tests.
oil paintings. Those are other ways of looking at the
Often, they’re not the best in the day to day conduct
concept of genius. But right now, let’s go back to the
of school or business, but they have some special gift
origin of the word itself.
that eventually reveals itself. Quite often, these peo-
ple are underachievers who struggle with shyness and
A researcher by the name of Thomas Armstrong has
low self-esteem. Their surprising success is surprising
done some excellent work on this. He points out that
only because they’ve deliberately tried to stay in the
the word genius is closely related to the word genesis.
background.
It comes from Greek and Latin words meaning “be-

5
get,” “be born,” or “come into being.” It’s also related
to the word genial, meaning “festive” or “jovial.” In
the Middle East, the term has been linked to the word
jinni, or genie, the magical power that lay dormant
and hidden in Aladdin’s lamp until a secret method
released it.
Combining all these roots leads to a very powerful
and beautiful definition of genius. It means “giving
birth to your joy.” In this sense, genius is a word for
an individual’s hidden potential. It also includes the
process of discovering that potential and transform-
ing it into action. But the first step is belief. The first
step is certainty that you have greater capabilities than
you thought. Not only do you have those capabili-
ties—you also have a responsibility to develop them
and put them to use.
Click here to explore your
spiritual genius.
As you start revealing the genius within yourself, be-
gin by putting aside the limited view of genius that’s
become so common. Instead, adopt an idea of genius
based on inclusiveness—an inclusiveness that in-
cludes you.
An open mind is the one essential quality you need
to reach your genius. Release all the assumptions that
you’ve built up about yourself. Just as important, let
go of the idea that you’re not smart enough or gifted
enough to qualify as a genius. And even more impor-
tantly, let go of the idea that you’re too smart or too
sophisticated for the premise of being a genius. Try
to embrace the idea that by learning about the great
geniuses, you can reveal the powers of those men
and women in yourself. Just think in terms of mak-
ing incremental positive changes based on what you
learn—not going the extra mile, but going the extra
inch, and going the extra inch every day. Try it and
see for yourself how it will take you where you want
to go.
* * * else.
Earlier in this eReport, I referred to the list of genius-
es that I compiled through conversations with great
people I genuinely respect. My question was, “When
you hear the word genius, what names occur to you
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
regardless of category or historical period?”
Actually, with a few exceptions, I wasn’t really sur-
prised by the names that came up. They were mostly
the same ones I would have mentioned, and many of
them would probably also occur to you. So here are
the genius all-stars from my research question: Ar-
istotle, Socrates, Plato, Michelangelo, Leonardo da
Vinci, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Shakespeare, Benjamin
Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Beethoven and Mozart
are names that were frequently mentioned from the
more or less distant past. From the more recent past,
people brought up Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud,
Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Charles Dar-
win, Louis Pasteur, Stephen Hawking, Jonas Salk,
Thomas Edison, Bill Gates and Peter Lynch. It was
interesting also that many people invoked names from
popular culture—including Walt Disney, Elvis Pres-
ley, John Lennon and Stephen Spielberg.
I’m not sure why this was true but, on the first go-
round, virtually all the names were male and almost
all were of European or American heritage. When I
specifically inquired about women of genius or peo-
ple outside the Western tradition, here are some of the
names that came up: Emily Dickinson, Golda Meier,
Helen Keller, Confucius, Eleanor Roosevelt, Duke
Ellington, Colin Powell, Martin Luther King, Mother
Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Compiling this list of names was an all-important step
in creating the Genius eReport Series, but it was only
the first step. Next, I used the names as the basis for
identifying various categories of genius.
Here are the various genius categories that I came
up with. Which areas are indicative of your areas
of genius?
• Visionary genius, exemplified by Al-
bert Einstein—someone who sees things that other
people don’t see; the person who looks around and
recognizes possibilities that are invisible to everybody
To improve your visionary genius, take a vacation
from the details and literally step back to broaden
6
your point of view. Think about the big picture. Ask
yourself where you came from, and where you’re go-
ing. Try to identify the true purpose of your life as
an individual human being—or even the meaning of
life in general? As you start thinking along these lines,
don’t censor yourself. Don’t worry about the rightness
or wrongness of the answers you come up with. Don’t
worry about whether you come up with any answers at
all. Concentrate on the questions. Have the intention
of sending your thoughts to places they’ve never gone
before. That in itself has tremendous value. That in it-
self is what being a visionary genius is all about—and
you can do it. It’s just a matter of mental flexibility
and getting intellectually loosened up.
• Leadership genius, with Lincoln as
a prime example.
Lincoln saw himself as a leader long before he was
one. In fact, he saw himself as the leader, right from
the first. This wasn’t arrogance or empty ambition. It
was a sense of ultimate purpose in service of a worthy
cause. How can you bring that sense of mission into
your own life? What are your big, worthy dreams? If
you’re fortunate enough to be like Lincoln, are there
goals that you recognized from the first, and that
you’ve continued to pursue no matter what setbacks
have intervened? If that’s the case, then you’re already
a leadership genius—you’ve already mastered the art
of leading your life in the direction you want it to go.
On the other hand, you may be one of the many peo-
ple who have put aside any ideas about changing the
country or the world. That’s fine—but what are your
big, worthy dreams? And I want to emphasize wor-
thy. Having a big car or a boat doesn’t count. Those
things are great, but can you see the difference be-
tween wanting material success and wanting to make
a truly big difference in the world, the way Lincoln
did? It’s the difference between just being successful
for your own sake, in very conventional terms—and
being a leadership genius, not just for yourself, but for
other people too.
• Creative or Artistic genius
features diverse talents such as Walt Disney and Leon-
ardo da Vinci. Our view of artistic genius is both new
and old. It’s new in the sense that truly incredible tools
and technologies are now available for creative work.
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
It’s old because our present view of the artist’s place
in society has much more in common with the Middle
Ages or the Renaissance than with the 19th or early
20th centuries.
Many people who express creative aspirations never
get beyond the talking stage. So right now, as the most
basic element of modeling artistic genius, I’d like you
to recognize exactly what artistic genius is. It’s simply
taking a picture that’s in your heart and using some
medium to move it into the hearts of other people. It
doesn’t matter what that picture is, and—at least ini-
tially—it doesn’t matter how technically adept you
are with the medium you’ve chosen.
• Financial genius, such as Peter Lynch,
formerly of the Fidelity Magellan Fund—the ability
to make money, keep the money that’s been made,
and make even more money, especially when oth-
ers are losing. The genius of making money may be
a more ambiguous category than other categories of
genius, but there certainly are some strong arguments
for taking it very seriously. One definition of genius,
after all, is the ability to do easily something that oth-
ers find difficult. Making money is not something
that comes easily to most people. And making a lot
of money does not come to many people at all. Very
few of us ignore money. All of us have got financial
obligations, as well as hopes and dreams for financial
success. Because of all these realities, I want to end
this session with some attention to what we might call
the opposite of financial genius. It’s not really lack of
intelligence or clear thinking, but it’s a tendency that
has led millions of people into a cleverly constructed
money trap. I’m referring to the problem of debt, es-
pecially so-called unsecured debt or consumer debt or
credit card debt. There’s certainly a good chance that
this is not an issue in your life—but if it is, it needs
to be addressed before the opportunities of financial
genius can really open up. And there’s no doubt that
it is a big issue for a lot of people. So what’s the an-
swer? Take action to reduce the level of debt in your
life and to keep it from going back up. Don’t look for
magic formulas. In short, a financial genius knows the
importance of money and neither minimizes that im-
portance nor magnifies it.
7

• Practical or Applied genius,
such as Thomas Edison—people who not only have
creative ideas, but who can translate those ideas into
material reality.
Applied genius is within everyone’s range. For Edi-
son, it was a matter of looking at the world around
him, and asking himself the same few questions about
everything he saw: How can this be improved? What’s
the logical next step for this object? Most importantly,
what can I do today toward taking that step? Right
now, you can glance around the room and ask those
same questions. Try looking at the world through Ed-
ison’s eyes. What would he have seen that you might
have missed in your ordinary way of seeing things?
Just do that much and you’ll be thinking like an ap-
plied genius.
• Communication genius, such as
Winston Churchill—oral communication, speaking,
and the ability to express yourself powerfully to other
people. To be a genius in this area, you really have to
believe in what you’re doing and saying. That’s the
foundation of everything else. Focus on these eight
tips to become a communication genius—overcome
your stage fright, plan and prepare for success, know
your audience, know the specific objectives of your
presentation, focus on one BIG idea, capture the audi-
ence’s attention, have a great close, and practice and
visualize success as a great communicator/presenter.
• Philosophical genius, with Socrates
and Helen Keller as our models—not academic phi-
losophy, but the art of creating your life from the art of
knowing yourself. It’s about knowing who you really
are and what you really want in the world.
If I were to isolate one lesson from the philosophy
of “knowing thyself,” it would be the importance of
self-correction, the ability to change course when
something difficult and unexpected happens. Self-cor-
rection is made necessary by our own decisions and
actions. Very simply put, self-correction is continu-
ously evaluating results and initiating change based
on what you learn. Generally speaking, it’s based on
negative feedback. When things are going well, we
generally don’t think about changing anything. It’s
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
only when something goes wrong, or we recognize
the potential for it going wrong, that we decide to
make corrections. This is the phenomenon of negative
feedback—feedback that’s based on receiving nega-
tive information. It seems unfortunate but true that we
learn mainly by making mistakes. But fortunately, we
have a built-in sense of pride in the fact that we can
learn and we have the gift of memory that allows us to
keep somewhat of an inventory on our mistakes. That
prevents us from repeating all of them over and over
again. When you possess the trait of self-correction,
or sometimes it’s called “course-correction,” you’re
able to learn from your mistakes. You also get bet-
ter and better at spotting the need for change before
disaster strikes.
• Genius of Humor, typified by Mark
Twain or Lucile Ball—Is humor as important as phys-
ics or philosophy? Well, we might be able to get
through life without the law of relativity, but laughter
is an absolute “must have.”
Studies have shown that 3-year-olds laugh hundreds
of time each day. After 3, the laughing curve turns
downward throughout life—and in some people, the
muscles of the face are so weakened after years of
glowering that laughter is literally impossible in old
age. I urge you to do everything you can to bring
laughter into the world, for yourself and for those
around you. Nothing is more healing and healthful.
Nothing is more courageous.
• Spiritual genius, typified by people
such as Mother Theresa and Dr. Martin Luther King—
people who see beyond the material dimension that
preoccupies us every day. Over the course of time,
these are probably the ones who have had the greatest
impact on humanity.
Spirituality is looking beyond the material dimension
of your life and discovering something that’s intan-
gible but very important. For a spiritual genius, that
intangible something becomes supremely important.
There’s a reason why you’re here and a spiritual pur-
pose you need to accomplish and one of your life’s
most important tasks is finding out what that is. What
8
are the spiritual goals you can set for your own life? condemnation to hell. Instead, we’re simply shown the

© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media

All of us have goals about what we want to accom-
plish with our families or in our careers, but what do
we want to accomplish at the level of our souls? Just
be conscious that there’s more to life than the material
concerns that seem so pressing every day.
Finally, it’s important to look at a very powerful and
very unique form of genius, which is the power to rec-
ognize and bring out the genius in others. This is often
the most difficult kind of genius to recognize. But it’s
an absolutely essential one for making best use of your
full genius potential. If you want to further your depth
of genius, read all the eReports in the Genius Series,
or only the ones that interest you or that you want to
emulate, and end with the twelfth in the series, where
we’ll discuss how to recognize the strong and weak
points in the people around you and how you can help
them turn weaknesses into strengths.
full potential that existed within us during our lives—
and we ourselves will judge the extent to which we
fulfilled that potential or failed to fulfill it.
If there’s one lesson I’d like you to take away from
this eReport, it’s the understanding that your poten-
tial is much, much greater than you think. And I trust
you’re ready to accept the opportunity and the respon-
sibility that your hidden genius represents.
These are some very powerful ideas, and I hope you’ll
keep them in mind and read the remaining 11 eRe-
ports in the Genius series. So get started. You were
given talents. Now put them to use.

Here are two ideas that you can begin applying im-
mediately: First, stop shrugging off compliments that
others pay to you. There’s a high likelihood that they
are recognizing gifts, talents, attributes, and genius
that they are seeing within you! Secondly, surround
yourself with people who possess genius in areas that
are different from your strengths. Learn to admire their
gifts, appreciate your differences and let them educate
you. It’s too easy to seek out friends that are similar to
us in terms of interests, but the growth comes from ap-
preciating our differences while broadening our areas
of enlightenment.

To learn more about the

world’s greatest thinkers,
order Secrets of Ten Great
Geniuses - CD Version.

I’d like to close this eReport with a brief fable that

sums up the meaning and importance of the Genius
Series. It’s not really a religious fable, but it is a deep-
ly spiritual one. In this fable, the judgment that each of
us will face after our death is revealed. And the truth
is, there’s no judgment at all—or at least none that
comes outside ourselves. There’s no standing before
a heavenly throne where our good deeds are weighed
against the bad. There’s no acceptance into heaven or

9

Tony Alessandra, PhD, CSP, CPAE
Building Customers, Relationships, and the Bo�om Line
Dr. Tony Alessandra helps companies build customers,
relationships, and the bo�om line. Companies learn how
to achieve market dominance through specific strategies
designed to out market, outsell, and out service the compe-
tition.
Dr. Alessandra has a street-wise, college-smart perspective
on business, having fought his way out of NYC to eventu-
ally realize success as a graduate professor of marketing, an
entrepreneur, a business author, and a keynote speaker. He
earned his MBA from the University of Connecticut and his
PhD in marketing from Georgia State University.
Dr. Alessandra is president of Online Assessments (www.
OnlineAC.com), a company that offers online assessments
and tests; co-founder of MentorU.com, an online e-Learn-
ing company; and Chairman of the Board of BrainX, a
company that offers online digital accelerated learning
programs.
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
Dr. Alessandra is a widely published author with 14 books
translated into 17 foreign languages, including Charisma
(Warner Books, 1998); The Platinum Rule (Warner Books,
1996); Collaborative Selling (John Wiley & Sons, 1993);
and Communicating at Work (Fireside/Simon & Schuster,
1993). He is featured in over 50 audio/video programs and
films, including Relationship Strategies (American Me-
dia); The Dynamics of Effective Listening (Nightingale-
Conant); and Non-Manipulative Selling (Walt Disney).
He is also the originator of the internationally-recognized
behavioral style assessment tool The Platinum Rule™
(www.PlatinumRule.com).
Recognized by Meetings & Conventions Magazine as “one of
America’s most electrifying speakers,” Dr. Alessandra was
inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame in 1985. He is also
a member of the Speakers Roundtable, a group of 20 of the
world’s top professional speakers. Tony’s polished style,
powerful message, and proven ability as a consummate
business strategist consistently earns rave reviews.
To learn more about Dr. Alessandra and his services, visit
www.Alessandra.com.
10
Other products from Dr. Tony Alessandra
Email Series
The Platinum Rule 52-week Email Series
Sales Skills 52-week Email Series
Videos
Astounding Customer Service Complete
DVD Package
The Platinum Rule Two-Hour DVD
The Platinum Rule Video Training
CDs
10 Qualities of Charismatic People
CD Version
New Relationship Strategies CD version
Secrets of Ten Great Geniuses CD Version
MP3s
Alessandra on Collaborative Selling
downloadable mp3
Alessandra on Customer Driven Service
downloadable mp3
Alessandra on Nonverbal Communication
downloadable mp3
Alessandra on Platinum Rule
downloadable mp3
Alessandra on The Power of Listening
downloadable mp3
Astounding Customer Service
downloadable mp3
Dynamics of Effective Listening
downloadable mp3
How to Gain Power and Influence
with People downloadable mp3
Mastering Your Message downloadable mp3
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
New Relationship Strategies downloadable
mp3
Non-Manipulative Selling downloadable mp3
PeopleSmart downloadable mp3
Simplicity downloadable mp3
The Edge downloadable mp3
Powerful Presentation Skills downloadable
mp3
Resolving Conflict downloadable mp3
eWorkbooks
Cross-Selling 25-page PDF eWorkbook
The Platinum Rule 50-page PDF eWorkbook
Power of Listening 54-page PDF eWorkbook
Goal Setting Strategies 38-page PDF
eWorkbook
Customer Driven Service 53-page PDF
eWorkbook
Charisma 35-page PDF eWorkbook
Time Management 37-page PDF eWorkbook
Flexibility 25-page PDFeWorkbook
Paper versions
The Platinum Rule Workbook
Paper Version
The Platinum Rule Self-Assessment
Paper Version
The Platinum Rule Scoring Matrix
Paper Version
11
eReports
Conducting Powerful Meetings 33-page PDF
eReport
Time Management 37-page PDF eReport
Using Space and Time 15-page PDF eReport
Versatility 27-page PDF eReport
Writing Skills 24-page PDF eReport
Telephone Skills 8-page PDF eReport
Resolving Conflict 23-page PDF eReport
Presentation Skills 19-page PDF eReport
Speaking With Authority 17-page PDF eReport
Sending Out Your Best Silent Message 19-
page PDF eReport
Personality Chemistry: Preventing Conflict
at Work 13-page PDF eReport
Nonverbal Communication 10-page PDF
eReport
Maximizing Your Adaptability 20-page PDF
eReport
Listening Attentively 14-page PDF eReport
Interpersonal Communication 37-page PDF
eReport
Expanding Your Vision and Ideas 14-page
PDF eReport
Flexibility 25-page PDF eReport
Becoming More Persuasive 13-page PDF
eReport
Conducting Powerful Meetings 33-page PDF
eReport
The Art of Asking Questions 8-page PDF eReport
The Art of Communicating at Work: Making
Sure with Feedback 10-page PDF eReport
eBooks
The Platinum Rule 163-page PDF eBook
The Platinum Rule® for Sales Mastery 118-
page eBook
Street Smarts 75-page PDF eBook
PeopleSmart 269-page PDF eBook
© 2007 Dr. Tony Alessandra, All Rights Reserved in All Media
Non-Manipulative Selling 179-page PDF eBook
Collaborative Selling 133-page PDF eBook
Assessment Tools
Online Assessment Tools
Platinum Rule Assessment
True Colors Assessment
Leadership Assessment
Listening Assessment
Sales Effectiveness Assessment
Social Styles Assessment
Time Management Assessment
Paper Assessment Tools
The Platinum Rule Self-Assessment
The Platinum Rule Observer Assessment
The Platinum Rule Scoring Matrix
Platinum Rule Reminder Card
Other Alessandra
Products
The Platinum Rule Reminder Card
The Platinum Rule Training Student Kit
The Platinum Rule BrainX Digital Learning
System (So�ware)
Dr. Alessandra’s company, Platinum Rule Group LLC,
offers seminars, workshops, and on-site training to
corporations and organizations in the areas of sales,
one-to-one marketing, customer service, and interper-
sonal relationships. For more information, call: 1-330-
848-0444 x2 or email: info@PlatinumRuleGroup.com.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmit-
ted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho-
tocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without wri�en permission from the author, except for the inclusion of
brief quotations in a review.
ISBN 10: 1-933631-13-9
ISBN 13: 978-1-933631-13-4
12