A mentor of mine once got the impression during a Mastermind session that I was fascinated by famous people. But I had to correct him there, as it is not the fact that they might be famous in certain cases, but rather that they portrayed brilliance in their specific areas.
And it is brilliance that I’m particularly fascinated by. And yes, I wish to be closer to this brilliance that some of these people have and thus like to be closer to people portraying the brilliance. One never knows, it might just rub off on you. In fact I do believe that we are all easily a product of the people we are close to and the people we hang out with. This is a subject for another discussion that I will take up in future, but it’s not really pertaining to what I wanted to talk about this time round.
No, for this discussion I wanted to touch on brilliance and in fact I think this will be just the start of a string of posts to come or shall we say the birth of a new category here on my ego website blog, which I will be naming – you’ ve got it:
Brilliance.
But before we leave the subject of famous people, let me just note that without knowing a lot of them personally (in other words, I could just be making a judgement here which bears little merit or draw conclusion without offering fair discrepancy to specific individuals), that I believe there are many famous people who hold little, if any, brilliance, just as there are many people who are a far cry from being famous who are very brilliant. There are though also some, who has great brilliance without necessarily receiving the judgement by most peers of being brilliant. So as with most other things, there are variances of truths – or at least of perceptions.
Don’t quite get what the hell I’m saying here?
Well, let me explain just a tiny bit further with an example.
Take Kim Kardashian for example. She’s is super famous, right? At least she is super famous in the States (as in the United States) and as it would appear also in places such as Dubai and thus probably also some of the similar neighboring countries. For some of my Northern European friends (apparently, they don’t get Keeping Up With The Kardashians show over there), let me inform you that she is a reality show star, a business woman and has some attractions (looks). Now, while she is super famous, she is probably not the type of person who has given the majority of people an impression of being super brilliant and super smart. In fact, earlier this year in the Success magazine, they brought an article about her only to be hammered by loads of negative remarks on how Success magazine could lower themselves to such standards as bringing an article on her in their coveted magazine that usually portrays people very well know for true brilliance (examples such as: Jim Rohn, Peter Diamandis, John C. Maxwell, Richard Branson and the like).
But what some of these readers probably failed to see, was the fact that although she is probably no rocket scientist, she certainly has some very spectacular abilities for building awareness and brand. In fact it has been stated that her personal brand along with her business endeavors could be valued upward a billion dollars – billion with a B. And not to be focused on the money, but rather on the value, which in this case is measured in dollars. If you can build up your brand to a billion dollar mark then you do show some brilliance.
So OK, personally, I’m probably more focused that she has looks, more than appearance of a bright mind, but I admire the brilliance that is showing up in the results she has created. And indeed, if she didn’t do it, but is just surrounded by a team of brilliant people that made it happen, well, then she shows brilliance for aligning herself with such people. So either way, there is brilliance here.
But alas, this post was not and is not about her. But it is my commencement into mentioning people of brilliance and the brilliance that we can sometimes take joy in ourselves – even from afar.
So to start up the series (the posts of which will be coming as I get around to it or as I’m inspired to do so), why not let me start it up by something that truly lights up. Literally lights up.
I’m a very fortunately man. I have already lived through much, seen much and experienced much. I have the best little personal family, wife and so far two children (the very best!), and a few very highly valued friends. I’ve got great company relations and work with many extraordinary people some of which have demonstrated time and time again real brilliance. Through my huge and ever fast growing network and relations via my projects, business activities as well as extra curricular activities, the companies that I work with or am involved with and their projects I’m connected with, engaged with or aligned with brilliance and brilliant people and brilliant projects. In fact I see brilliance all around me. And I love it and I treasure it and I must admit, continuously crave for more of it.
If you are familiar with my ego website, you probably already have seen some of the people or learned about some of the names of whom I’m talking and yet, I have only mentioned a tiny fraction of them so far. You might have already noticed some names that you know of already, such as Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield, Dan Kennedy, Robert G. Allen, Brendon Burchard, but there so many more people that deserve mentioning in this regard and I am intend on doing so over time. A lot of them are by no means household names nor famous in any way. But it makes their brilliance no less phenomenal. If I fail to mention some, it is hopefully not because I have failed to recognized their brilliance, but rather that time prevented me, or distractions such as other shiny objects stole my attention away elsewhere or that I simply haven’t gotten there yet.
But like I said. I’m fortunate and although I didn’t always think that of myself, I have always been fortunate. Some of the brilliant people that I have met go back to early or later school years, which actually also means that I have not had much contact with many of these since. Oh, and don’t get me wrong – and I’m judging here once again, I know – it’s not that I believe everybody to be brilliant. But recollecting over my encounters I have been surrounded time and time again by brilliance and brilliant people. And my school, Herlufsholm, of my earlier years (when I was 10 thorough to 18 years of age) actually had a lot as pupils.
So the first story that lights up this category, is one of my fellow school mates. From way back in the ninth grade in the Danish school system, which I have no clue what would be called here in the US where I now live, but which is just before High School, I guess (in Denmark, just before Gymnasium).
What brings recollection to this person to me at this point is opening up the latest magazine from American Express, the magazine named Departures, and inside see a one page image and small mentioning under the headline NEW THINK and LIGHT OF THE WORLD. It’s a mentioning of a little product called Little Sun. The guys behind the product is my old ninth grade fellow school kid, engineer Frederik Ottesen, who with Danish-Islandic Olafur Eliasson, have designed a little plastic flowery shaped rechargeable lamp, that is good for 1,000 charges and can help light up in homes or where ever you are (small enough to bring with you). Little Sun uses the natural energy of sunlight where energy is unavailable or unreliable, not affordable or not sustainable and thus a lot of the company of Little Sun’s efforts are taking this little lamp to people in dire need of it in third world countries while also aiding in greening the world with more eco-friendly solutions.
Here is what the article said:
NEW THINK
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
A solar-powered lamp puts art in the hands of everyone. Plus, the new tech finds that make life better
Like all well-designed items, this clever LED light by Frederik Ottesen and Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliason is deceptively simple. Little Sun may appear to be just a bright desk object, but it’s actually a powerhouse: Good for 1,000 charges, it provides five hours of light. Not only functional, the tiny lamp also aims to replace eco-friendly kerosene lamps in developing countries like Kenya and Ethiopia, where it will be sold at a reduced price. It’s the kind of beautifully conceived piece that most any aesthete would covet, with the added bonus of doing some good for the world. $25; littlesun.com – Steven Leckart
(also in the article: Little Sun. The plastic frame’s flowery, hollow shape improves airflow, provides shade and increases surface area to help cool the lamp’s batteries while charging in direct sunlight).
I’m not much in contact with Frederick, except for the updates that come by my eyes on occasion on Facebook (which I find being a great tool for keeping a little bit in the know of what people you know or once knew are up to, how many kids they now have, what interests them etc.). But I do recall back in the day, that when Frederick wasn’t just obnoxious or irritating, then he definitely showed signs of a great mind and always had lots of fun ideas. Cheeky smile and very charming also – I knew that he had something. And now I see that he not only still has great and grand ideas, but also shows savvy with bringing them to fruition and spreading the awareness of it.
Frederick’s concept of his Little Sun seems to encompass ideas that are bigger than himself, which may just be the ticket to really big results in near future.
I commend that and I have much respect for it.
Frederick Ottesen thus gets the honor of starting off the series of Brilliance – and he will be in great company.
Learn more about Little Sun
