--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never thought of myself as being a…" description: "\"I never thought of myself as being a genius. I don't know what genius is. I think a far better expression is a retriever, a lovely strong golden retrie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/martha-graham-2832_blood_i-never-thought-of-myself-as-being-a-gen_593038.png" --- # I never thought of myself as being a genius. I don't know… ![“I never thought of myself as being a genius. I don't know what genius is. I think a far better expression is a retriever, a lovely strong golden retriever that brings things back from the past, or retrieves things from our common blood memory” quote by Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/martha-graham-2832_blood_i-never-thought-of-myself-as-being-a-gen_593038.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/martha-graham-2832_blood_i-never-thought-of-myself-as-being-a-gen_593038.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/martha-graham-2832_blood_i-never-thought-of-myself-as-being-a-gen_593038.png) > “I never thought of myself as being a genius. I don't know what genius is. I think a far better expression is a retriever, a lovely strong golden retriever that brings things back from the past, or retrieves things from our common blood memory” [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She describes genius as the ability to retrieve and reconnect with collective memory rather than a mystical trait. **In simple terms:** Genius is recalling shared past. Key Takeaway Value memory and shared experience. Themes creativity memory humility Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - teaching - storytelling - cultural preservation - team collaboration Key Concepts collective consciousness retrieval identity artistic inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor collective memory in your work? - What does “retrieving” mean to you? A Different Perspective Genius may be overemphasized; not everyone can retrieve equally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Golden retrievers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-retrievers/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Retrievers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retrievers/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“This thought is genius "Everybody dies. It's the one thing human beings can be relied upon to do. How can it still come as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/this-thought-is-genius-everybody-dies-it-s-the-one-thing-human-beings/) Deyth Banger > [But I think Cybil was my biggest fan. She cut out my articles and hung them in her locker and we were always cracking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-nelson/but-i-think-cybil-was-my-biggest-fan-she-cut-out-my-articles-and-hung/) [Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-nelson/) > [Keep your baby eyes (which are the eyes of genius) on what we don't know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/keep-your-baby-eyes-which-are-the-eyes-of-genius-on-what-we-don-t-know/) [Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/) > [“When hit with a genius idea, people tend to say, "Well, if I sat down in a chair and really thought about it, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/when-hit-with-a-genius-idea-people-tend-to-say-well-if-i-sat-down-in/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Am I crazy or am I a genius? I don't think I'm either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/am-i-crazy-or-am-i-a-genius-i-don-t-think-i-m-either/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [“People think it’sfun to be a super genius, but they don’t realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots.” -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharma-hazari/people-think-it-sfun-to-be-a-super-genius-but-they-don-t-realize-how/) Dharma Hazari > [Genius. It's a word. What does it really mean? If I win I'm a genius. If I don't, I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/genius-it-s-a-word-what-does-it-really-mean-if-i-win-i-m-a-genius-if/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [Every thought which genius and piety throw into the world alters the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-thought-which-genius-and-piety-throw-into-the-world-alters-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Mediocrity has no greater consolation than in the thought that genius is not immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/mediocrity-has-no-greater-consolation-than-in-the-thought-that-genius/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Todd Rundgren is a genius, and I don't use that word a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-steinman/todd-rundgren-is-a-genius-and-i-don-t-use-that-word-a-lot/) [Jim Steinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-steinman/) > [There is something at the bottom of every new human thought, every thought of genius, or even every earnest thought that springs up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/there-is-something-at-the-bottom-of-every-new-human-thought-every/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Don't bother about genius. Don't worry about being clever. Trust hard work, perseverance and determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-bother-about-genius-don-t-worry-about-being-clever-trust-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If the poet is not a real genius, I do not know what a genius is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/if-the-poet-is-not-a-real-genius-i-do-not-know-what-a-genius-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [You've got to invest in the world, you've got to read, you've got to go to art galleries, you've got to find out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/you-ve-got-to-invest-in-the-world-you-ve-got-to-read-you-ve-got-to-go/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [I don't fool myself; I know I'm not a genius... I have good ideas, but also many great partners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-don-t-fool-myself-i-know-i-m-not-a-genius-i-have-good-ideas-but/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) ## More by Martha Graham > [The body never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-never-lies/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You have no right to go before a public without an adequate technique, just because you feel. Anything feels - a leaf feels, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-have-no-right-to-go-before-a-public-without-an-adequate-technique/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-a-vitality-a-life-force-an-energy-a-quickening-that-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Misery is a communicable disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/misery-is-a-communicable-disease/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. I was chosen to be a dancer, and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/people-have-asked-me-why-i-chose-to-be-a-dancer-i-did-not-choose-i/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [All things I do are in every woman. Every woman is Medea. Every woman is Jocasta. 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What makes a great dancer is passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/what-makes-a-great-dancer-is-not-technique-what-makes-a-great-dancer/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [The body is a sacred garment. It's your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-is-a-sacred-garment-it-s-your-first-and-last-garment-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-are-unique-and-if-that-is-not-fulfilled-then-something-has-been/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-see-when-weaving-a-blanket-an-indian-woman-leaves-a-flaw-in-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery - what it all means, the way the little bone near the ankle relates itself to the floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dancing-is-just-discovery-discovery-discovery-what-it-all-means-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Theater used to be a verb; it used to be an act. But nowadays it is just a noun. It is a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/theater-used-to-be-a-verb-it-used-to-be-an-act-but-nowadays-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [There is a force, a quickness that is translated through you into action. If you block it, the world will not have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-a-force-a-quickness-that-is-translated-through-you-into/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) [Explore all 148 Martha Graham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) ## More Blood quotes > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Don't trust everyone, because one day you will shed tears of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-trust-everyone-because-one-day-you-will-shed-tears-of-blood/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [I have no intention of retiring. Even my blood sugar is better when I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-even-my-blood-sugar-is-better-when-i/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [What about you three, where are you going?" Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [A day without blood is like a day without sunshine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/a-day-without-blood-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. 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