Hidden Genius by Polina Marinova Pompliano
Date read: 4/8/24. Recommendation: 9/10.
After interviewing thousands of top performers, Pompliano has assembled the mental frameworks they use to navigate life and understand the world. This book surprised me in all the best ways because it feels like a practical, modern-day philosophy book. There’s no fluff, and it doesn’t rely on hacks, it’s about systems. Pompliano gives readers a no-nonsense guide to the art of living well. I loved the chapters on creativity, mental toughness, risk-taking, and embracing the constant act of self-discovery.
Check out my notes below or Amazon for details and reviews.
My Notes:
Creativity:
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect the experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” Steve Jobs
“But here’s the catch about doing something truly original: It’s sometimes messy, which makes it vulnerable to criticism—especially by incumbents.” Polina Marinova Pompliano
Mental toughness:
Accountability mirror: Face your insecurities to overcome them. When David Goggins wanted to become a Navy SEAL, he looked at himself in the mirror and said, “You’re fat, you’re lazy, and you’re a liar. What are you going to do about it?”
Voluntary hardship: Do something that sucks every single day. Helps you shift to offensive mindset and gets you out of comfortable routines. “I brainwashed myself into craving discomfort.” David Goggins
Choose the path of most resistance: “To exist in this world, we must contend with humiliation, broken dreams, sadness, and loss. That’s just nature. Each specific life comes with its own personalized portion of pain. It’s coming for you. You can’t stop it. And you know it.” David Goggins
Listening to yourself vs. talking to yourself: “When you listen to yourself, you hear all the negativity and all the reasons why you can’t go on…but when you talk to yourself, you can tell yourself the things you need to hear in order to overcome the challenge ahead of you.” Polina Marinova Pompliano
Control your inputs:
“Who wrote the software running in your head? Are you sure you actually want it there?” Elon Musk
Multidisciplinary approach:
“We think we are in this one-room house. Books help us realize we are in a mansion. Reading is a way to find the lost parts of us.” Matt Haig
Moving target:
“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished. The person you are right now is as transient, as fleeting and as temporary as all the people you’ve ever been. The one constant in our lives is change.” Dan Gilbert
“In order to understand who you are, you must first understand who you are not.” Polina Marinova Pompliano
“Once we’ve reached a certain level of success, we get comfortable and complacent. We wrap our identities around jobs, relationships, and material possessions—all things we could lose. Over time, we begin to trust ourselves less, and leave our destinies in other people’s hands. It’s the one thing preventing us from unlocking our own hidden genius: We are scared to bet on ourselves.” Polina Marinova Pompliano