From time to time I invite someone who has told me about the process for recognize his or her genius to write a guest post here. These descriptions of processes and geniuses have proven useful to others who are on the search for their geniuses. This guest post is…

by Tony D. Clark

I discovered the work of Dick Richards during one of my daily excursions through the blogosphere. As an admitted knowledge junkie, I spend a good amount of time exploring the Web and gathering interesting ideas, information, and resources. On one of the blogs I peruse daily, I read about Dick’s book, “Is Your Genius at Work?” I can’t remember where I saw it first, because after that article, I began to see it mentioned on several of my favorite sites. The subject was very intriguing to me, and I bought the book the same day, with overnight delivery from Amazon.

As I began to study the book and complete the exercises, my interest intensified. Though I had been through hundreds of personal development products over the years, I never felt the need to write an author. But after my first time through “Genius,” I was compelled to email Dick to express my enthusiasm regarding his work. His methodology was such an authentic and fresh way of approaching that “inner something.” What I found even more appealing is that the process is not an easy, quick-fix. If I had read the book once, done the exercises, and had my genius, I don’t know if it would have had the same impact.The fact that I had to continue to search within to articulate my genius, made the process even more compelling.

After several weeks, I had not found my genius and began to get frustrated. I saw glimpses and flashes as I struggled to grasp hold of the underlying thread that was trying to reveal itself. It was like desperately trying to remember a dream that you know has significance. The more I tried to uncover the details, the murkier it became.

One of the things I found both exasperating and intriguing was the fact that I could describe my genius in a sentence or two, but coming up with a name was so difficult. I knew early on that “Composing” was part of it. I love bringing different things together into a neat little package. I even tried “Composing Packages,” along with “Composing Snapshots,” and “Composing Scenarios.” But none of the names felt quite right. Then late one night as I was reading a novel, I saw the word “theme,” and it practically jumped off the page at me. I knew that “Theme” was the word I was looking for to capture my genius.

My genius is “Composing Themes.” It feels good to write it and to know that it’s the one - especially after considering dozens of others.

To me Composing Themes means taking in different ideas, resources, and concepts, and composing them together into a unifying theme or package. I love stories, metaphors, and analogies. I’ve used my design, presentation, and writing to simplify complex concepts by composing clear themes that summarize those ideas. I’ve rediscovered that I’ve done this my whole life, and is what I do so naturally, I often over look it. This also made it somewhat difficult to name my genius, as I continued to compose different “themes” of what it might be. The process (composing) of naming my genius (a theme) was so interesting, that it was like a feedback loop. As was the whole concept of a name for our genius, a metaphor for the way we participate in the world. This makes perfect sense, now that I’ve identified my genius.

Discovering my genius has helped me to clarify things. There is work I love to do, that I now know is an outward reflection of my genius. Knowing my genius is allowing me to better choose and prioritize projects, and helping me focus on work I truly enjoy.

Tony D. Clark is a freelance designer, writer, and the founder and managing partner of EfficiencyLab, LLC. He has a deep love of spreading unconventional wisdom, and is committed to helping others to see the interesting things going on right around them and the endless possibility of what can be. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and 3 daughters. Visit him at magnimago.com.

Note: While seeking his genius Tony was an active participant at the Genius Workshop Google Group. Go have a look!