--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Genius is a vastly overrated commodity." description: "\"“Genius is a vastly overrated commodity.”\" — Stephen King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/stephen-king-13_genius_genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-2_2725551.jpg" --- # Genius is a vastly overrated commodity. ![“Genius is a vastly overrated commodity.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/stephen-king-13_genius_genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-2_2725551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/stephen-king-13_genius_genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-2_2725551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/stephen-king-13_genius_genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-2_2725551.jpg) > ““Genius is a vastly overrated commodity.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Genius is often overvalued; hard work and persistence matter more. **In simple terms:** Genius is overrated. Key Takeaway Focus on effort over talent. Themes talent hard work valuation Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career development - creative projects - education - self-improvement Key Concepts creativity societal myths Questions to Reflect On - Do you think talent still matters? - How can we recognize genuine skill? A Different Perspective Dismissal of true brilliance can demotivate gifted individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Genius Vastly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius-vastly-2797968/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Overrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overrated/) [Overrated Commodity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overrated-commodity-2914764/) [Vastly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vastly/) [Vastly Overrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vastly-overrated-1876154/) ## Related quotes > [Civilization is vastly overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/civilization-is-vastly-overrated/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“I've become convinced that genius is a vastly overrated commodity. I think this country is full of geniuses, guys and gals so bright they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-ve-become-convinced-that-genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-i/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The truth is that intelligence, knowledge, and domain expertise are vastly overrated as the driving forces behind competitive advantage and sustainable success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-truth-is-that-intelligence-knowledge-and-domain-expertise-are/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [In his opinion, working was vastly overrated. Particularly as a way to build character, for everyone who engaged in it was far too snappish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilari-bell/in-his-opinion-working-was-vastly-overrated-particularly-as-a-way-to/) [Hilari Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilari-bell/) > [Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/modesty-is-a-vastly-overrated-virtue/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In my opinion, moderation is a vastly overrated virtue, particularly when applied to work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-taylor-bradford/in-my-opinion-moderation-is-a-vastly-overrated-virtue-particularly/) [Barbara Taylor Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-taylor-bradford/) > [The imagination of the genius vastly surpasses his intellect; the intellect of the academic vastly surpasses his imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/the-imagination-of-the-genius-vastly-surpasses-his-intellect-the/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I think the 20s are a vastly overrated decade. We promise kids that once they get out of school, life will begin and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyne-daly/i-think-the-20s-are-a-vastly-overrated-decade-we-promise-kids-that/) [Tyne Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyne-daly/) > [In the Western tradition, the first writers were teachers and historians, vastly traveled, who spiced their reports with fantasies. They were also poets who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/in-the-western-tradition-the-first-writers-were-teachers-and/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [I feel deeply my responsibility to teach sacred things. I am so aware that the world is changing and will be vastly different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/i-feel-deeply-my-responsibility-to-teach-sacred-things-i-am-so-aware/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [No age, sex, or condition is above or below the absolute necessity of modesty; but without it one is vastly beneath the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-barton/no-age-sex-or-condition-is-above-or-below-the-absolute-necessity-of/) [Bernard Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-barton/) > [Post-human intelligence will develop hypercomputers with the processing power to simulate living things - even entire worlds. Perhaps advanced beings could use hypercomputers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/post-human-intelligence-will-develop-hypercomputers-with-the/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [The rumors of Radziwill fortune have been vastly overstated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-radziwill/the-rumors-of-radziwill-fortune-have-been-vastly-overstated/) [Carole Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-radziwill/) > [If you're 35, 45, or even 55 - you have a very long time horizon - 40 years or vastly more. That is you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/if-you-re-35-45-or-even-55-you-have-a-very-long-time-horizon-40-years/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [When I was trying to find work after drama school in London, it felt like the same actors always got the plum roles, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bamber/when-i-was-trying-to-find-work-after-drama-school-in-london-it-felt/) [Jamie Bamber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bamber/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## 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": "“Genius is a vastly overrated commodity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Genius" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/stephen-king-13_genius_genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-2_2725551.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/stephen-king-13_genius_genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-2_2725551.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ed/stephen-king-13_genius_genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity-2_2725551.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Genius is a vastly overrated commodity.” — Stephen King", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Genius is a vastly overrated commodity.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/genius-is-a-vastly-overrated-commodity/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```