--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A genius looks at something that others…" description: "\"“A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck. So the question is: Have you ever done that?”\" — Seth Godin (Author" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/seth-godin-author-88657_genius_a-genius-looks-at-something-that-others_958295.jpg" --- # A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and… ![“A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck. So the question is: Have you ever done that?” quote by Seth Godin (Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/seth-godin-author-88657_genius_a-genius-looks-at-something-that-others_958295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/seth-godin-author-88657_genius_a-genius-looks-at-something-that-others_958295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbb/seth-godin-author-88657_genius_a-genius-looks-at-something-that-others_958295.jpg) > ““A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck. So the question is: Have you ever done that?”” Seth Godin (Author ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He defines a genius as someone who resolves a stuck problem, urging self‑assessment of such impact. **In simple terms:** A genius solves problems that trap others. Key Takeaway Seek to unlock stuck situations. Themes innovation problem solving genius Mood inspirational motivational Type creative leadership When to use this quote - startup pivots - product redesign - social reform Key Concepts creative thinking systemic change Questions to Reflect On - What problem have you helped unlock? - How can you foster genius in others? A Different Perspective Not everyone can be a genius; collaboration matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ## Related quotes > [Genius always looks forward, and not only sees what is, but what necessarily will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/genius-always-looks-forward-and-not-only-sees-what-is-but-what/) [Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/) > [But genius looks forward: the eyes of men are set in his forehead, not in his hindhead: man hopes: genius creates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-genius-looks-forward-the-eyes-of-men-are-set-in-his-forehead-not/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Madness is just what a genius looks like to a tiny mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/madness-is-just-what-a-genius-looks-like-to-a-tiny-mind/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [One good thing about being a woman is we haven't too many examples yet of what a genius looks like. It could be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/one-good-thing-about-being-a-woman-is-we-haven-t-too-many-examples-2/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [The book, the college, the school of art, the institution of any kind, stop with some past utterance of genius. . . . They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-book-the-college-the-school-of-art-the-institution-of-any-kind/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Madness is what genius looks like to a small mind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/madness-is-what-genius-looks-like-to-a-small-mind/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [One good thing about being a woman is we haven't too many examples yet of what a genius looks like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/one-good-thing-about-being-a-woman-is-we-haven-t-too-many-examples/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [Get unstuck from whatever it is you perceive is holding you back from realizing your dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/get-unstuck-from-whatever-it-is-you-perceive-is-holding-you-back-from/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [The way to get unstuck is to start down the wrong path, right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-way-to-get-unstuck-is-to-start-down-the-wrong-path-right-now/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I'm unstuck in time. Also, I juggle like mad and have made myself efficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-s-kemp/i-m-unstuck-in-time-also-i-juggle-like-mad-and-have-made-myself/) [Paul S. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-s-kemp/) > [“The first step in getting unstuck and moving forward is to examine what is holding you back from taking action. The power is yours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/the-first-step-in-getting-unstuck-and-moving-forward-is-to-examine/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [“Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/listen-billy-pilgrim-has-come-unstuck-in-time/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Are you stuck in your views & ways? Success in life is often linked to flexibility. Learn how to change with the times & get unstuck!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushra/are-you-stuck-in-your-views-ways-success-in-life-is-often-linked-to/) [Nushra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushra/) > [“Don't wait for the right answer and the golden path to present themselves. This is precisely why you're stuck. Starting without seeing the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/don-t-wait-for-the-right-answer-and-the-golden-path-to-present/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/billy-pilgrim-has-become-unstuck-in-time/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by Seth Godin (Author > [“How we respond to the opportunities and challenges of the outside world now determines how much the outside world values us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin-author/how-we-respond-to-the-opportunities-and-challenges-of-the-outside/) Seth Godin (Author > [“Artists are people with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or a new way of getting things done. That would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin-author/artists-are-people-with-a-genius-for-finding-a-new-answer-a-new-2/) Seth Godin (Author Explore all 3 Seth Godin (Author quotes ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck. 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