“Every body is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
–Albert Einstein
The labels we place on people can sorely limit them in life. Even our education system forces people into a one-way-fits-all system. One way to learn. One way to test. One way then, to tell if people are smart. Or not smart!
A great example is the IQ test. IQ is very narrow, testing a very limited amount of knowledge, yet it has become the standard by which we label people. Really really smart. Really really dumb. Everyone else fits nicely in between.
But we don’t fit. It’s sad that we try to make people fit. God never intended for us to fit in with everyone else.
Richard Branson left school a failure. Given little hope for future success by the people who should have encouraged and empowered him, his teachers, he made his own way in the world. May be you’ve heard about his wildly successful multi-national Virgin companies? He has thousands of companies.
He is so successful, the Queen of England Knighted him. I bet his school teachers were very surprised they now have to call him, Sir Richard!
Sir Richard Branson has become a multi-billionaire.
There’s a little known story about Albert Einstein, whom we know as one of the most brilliant minds. In the third grade, nine year old Albert, could not dress himself. He couldn’t keep his shirt buttoned or even tie his own shoes. He received a lot of criticism for this. His mother too, had to bare the brunt of people’s condemning opinions.
We should not impose our own judgments on people. We will sorely limit a person. Instead, look for the gold inside. God has created every person with amazing gifts and talents. Dig deep and look hard for the gold in people, encouraging and empowering them to get up and do the things God has planned for them to do.
Related post:
Don’t put people in a box
