the concept of genius

“the divine insanity of noble minds that never falters nor abates but labors and endures and wait till all it foresees it find and what it cannot find creates” Longfellow.

“every special calling in life, if it is to be followed with success, requires peculiar qualifications of understanding and soul. Where these are of a high order, and manifest themselves by extraordinary achievements the mind to which they belong is termed genius. It is a very difficult task to define the essence of Genius;  we must be allowed to keep to the meaning usual in ordinary language, and to understand by "genius" a very high mental capacity for certain employments” Clausewitz

“War is the province of uncertainty: three-fourths of those things upon which action in war must be calculated, are hidden more or less in the clouds of great uncertainty. Here, then, above all a fine and penetrating mind is called for, to grope out the truth by the tact of its judgment” Clausewitz

“two qualities are indispensable: in the first place an understanding which, even in the midst of this intense obscurity, contains some traces of inner light, which lead to the truth, and then the courage to follow this faint light where ever it may led” Clausewitz

“Then skillful commander is circumspect. He prefers to win by strategy” Sun Tzu

“The supreme excellence in generalship are a clear perception, the harmony of his host, a profound strategy coupled with far reaching plans, an understanding of the seasons and an ability to examine human factors” Sun Tzu

Brushing thru the pages of history, we can find titans and greats in various human endeavors - politics, business, warfare, social and religious movements. They have lighted their century. Carved in stones and subjects of legends and myths – their stories were told centuries and decades after. They have defined the world as we know it. Legends were told about their exploits and their godly feats. As an antagonist or a protagonist in the annals of history, their genius have defined what civilization we have today. Human civilization will never be the same again, our country will never be the same again.

Sun Tzu* Gen. Hannibal Barca of Carthage*Scipio Africanus of Rome*Alexander the Great*Julius Cesar*Alexander Suvaruv of Prussia*Napoleon Bonaparte*Christopher Columbus*Duke of Wellington*Carl Von Clausewitz* Mao Tse Tung*Chiang Kai Check* Gen. George Patton*Winston Churchill* Gen.Dwight Eisenhower*Gen. Douglas Mc Arthur*Abraham Lincoln*Benjamin Franklin* Henry Ford*Bill Gates*Vince Lombardi* Steve Jobs*Jose Rizal*Andres Bonifacio*Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo* *Juan Ponce Enrile*Ferdinand Marcos*Fidel Ramos*John Gokongwei*Lucio Tan*Manny Villar*Henry Sy*Peter Unabia*Rolando Hortaleza*Rosa Gesalem*Marciano Bitara*Richard Camelon

“Lives of great men all remind us
    We can make our lives sublime,
  And, departing, leave behind us
    Footprints on the sands of time;

  Footprints, that perhaps another,
    Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
  A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
    Seeing, shall take heart again.

  Let us, then, be up and doing,
    With a heart for any fate;
  Still achieving, still pursuing,
    Learn to labor and to wait” A Psalm of Life, Longfellow

We give tribute to this page to the great men who have inspired us.  We honor them for their greatness and for the hope they give us. We thank them for the wisdom they have shared with us. Their lives have re affirmed our humanity. We are, indeed, made in the image and likeness of God.  They have invented and re-invented themselves with relentless determination. Their legacy will be remembered until the end of time.

“footprints” which are subject of our analysis and study in the present time. We seek the mystery behind their circumstances and their humanity. In scientific approach, we pursue understanding of the anatomy of their greatness. We seek to understand how their contemporaries saw their genius as Gen. Hannibal, the scourge of Rome, in the Second Punic War was seen as an antagonist by Roman historians while seen as a hero by his countrymen. Centuries after, we are given the luxury to treat these two perspective with indifference so as to understand the reason for the schemes and shrewdness of the Generals behind the Second Punic War.  Nevertheless, to wage war in enemy territory and stand undefeated is a feat regarded to this day as Genius. 

As Clausewitz proposes, “critical analysis”, which is a much needed competence to achieve victory in warfare,  requires familiarity of history, experience and depth of intellect extending to the realm of the “soul”.  A “fine and penetrating mind” that will invest understanding of history as much as manage a resolute and calm disposition amidst “friction of war”.  Competence is achieved thru experience, knowledge and conceptualization.  By conceptualization, logic and analysis is used to make reasonable conclusions and theories into complex situations the relevant materials for which we find thru experience and knowledge, constructed thru history – how similar situations were handled in the past, cause and effect, consequences of specific practices, best practices - strategies and tactics employed in the past that proved effective. As they say, “wise men learn from others mistake and fools from their own”.  If in the study of history, a student of warfare or business learned that planning an operation is a crucial process in ensuring victory  and as such,  great leaders in history have employed this process with precision to achieve an objective – by logic a student of warfare applies this process to ensure his victory. 

In learning history, our imagination will be defined according to the facts that support the proposition that Genius is as ordinary as we are. As such, it can be pursued realistically. A third world country as ours must aspire for Ingenuity. This is the only path available to a politically and economically challenged country. Strategy and Leadership is the most practical and decisive solution to the load of adversities our country faces. There is a call for Ingenuity in our century. Hero is an over used word and perhaps, obsolete while ingenuity can be found every where. Perhaps, Heroism shares the same principles as the concept of Genius. However, the layman’s understanding of heroism suggests godly virtues too heavy on the shoulder of the regular Filipino. My object in this page is to make the concept of Genius practical and realistic to the average Filipino. The concept of heroism has undertones of taking a bullet while the concept of Genius merely demands day to day measures as commitment to excellence, continuous improvement, pursuit of competence to one chosen field of specialization. While the hero in Rizal was signed by the martyrdom at Luneta, the Genius in Rizal is his ability to create contraptions in Dapitan and Europe despite want and adverse circumstances.

In our own chosen professions, we can aspire for Ingenuity. Commitment to excellence, passion for growth, continuous improvement, product innovation, entrepreneurial strategy formulation, competence development and other initiatives on development – personal, family, community and organization.

The best books have yet to be written. The best business and political generals have yet to be made. The best marketing strategies have yet to be constructed. The best products have yet to be created.

Life is what we make it. 

Rene Bitara, Prometheus Consultants