Is there more to you than meets the eye? What hidden talents and passions are waiting to be unleashed?
Your true self is a wellspring of creativity and potential. Ozan Varol’s Awaken Your Genius: Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity, and Become Extraordinary explores how to tap into your authentic core, shedding societal pressures and embracing your unique gifts.
Continue reading for an overview of this inspiring book.
Overview of Ozan Varol’s Awaken Your Genius
Do you ever feel like you don’t know who you really are or like you’re not living up to your full potential? This may be because you’ve repressed your true self—the authentic, original, and creative version of yourself that emerges when you strip away outside influences. Ozan Varol’s Awaken Your Genius: Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity, and Become Extraordinary (2023) explains how to embody your true self. Varol argues that, once you do, you’ll open doors to creative fulfillment and personal growth.
Varol is the author of Think Like a Rocket Scientist, which is based on lessons he learned when he was a rocket scientist working on the Mars Exploration Rovers. He’s also a former law professor, a career he gave up to become a writer and public speaker.
In this overview, we’ll explore what it means to be your true self and the reasons you’ve abandoned your true self so far in life. Then, we’ll discuss Varol’s tips for becoming your true self and explain how this can help you achieve a more meaningful, successful life.
The Value of Your True Self
Varol argues that embodying your true self—what he calls your “genius”—is key to living your best life. But you might be wondering what exactly it means to embody your true self. We’ll explain what your true self is and why it’s so valuable.
Varol suggests that your true self is the authentic, original, and creative version of yourself that emerges when you strip away outside influences. Your true self is what makes you great—nobody else is capable of taking up space in the world the way you do because no one is exactly like you. You have distinctive talents and interests; your personal history allows you to see things differently than others do, which gives rise to innovative ideas. This means your true self is innately creative—so embodying it allows you to infuse every undertaking with uniqueness.
According to Varol, embodying your true self makes your life more meaningful—you feel more freedom to explore the things that matter to you, you fulfill your creative impulses, and you make the world more beautiful by contributing something special to it. In contrast, when you’re disconnected from your true self, your opportunities for creative fulfillment and personal growth are limited. You spend your time on things that don’t matter to you, you feel bored or empty because you’re not creating, and the world misses out on what you have to offer.
How to Become Your True Self
Although being yourself is rewarding, Varol says that most people don’t embody their true selves because outside influences get in the way. We’ll discuss how you can stop abandoning your true self by pretending to be someone you’re not. Then, we’ll explain how to discover who you truly are.
Stop Abandoning Your True Self
Varol describes three forces that may have caused you to abandon your true self—conformity, consumption, and education—as well as counterforces that can help you overcome them. Let’s explore those forces and counterforces now.
Conformity
When you were a kid, Varol says, you wanted to fit in, so you conformed to others’ expectations and imitated their ideals. Then, you never stopped conforming. The ways you conformed became part of your identity—the collection of traits that you think define you, like your job, community, and belief system. Varol argues that your identity is an illusion that prevents you from seeing your true self, which is more complex than any identity could capture. Say you identify as a punk; the punk scene values rebellion and anti-establishment attitudes. This could restrict you from exploring anything perceived as mainstream, like classical music or entrepreneurship, even if it genuinely interests you, leading you to suppress your true self.
To overcome the pressure to conform, Varol recommends detaching from your identity. He says you can accomplish this by embracing open-mindedness, doubt, and nuance:
- Embracing open-mindedness involves becoming aware of your own biases, trying to understand others’ perspectives, and being willing to acknowledge when you’re wrong. For example, if you’re a punk, you might try recognizing the cultural value of pop music.
- Embracing doubt involves questioning your assumptions and beliefs, as well as those held by others who share your identity. For example, you might question the effectiveness of anti-establishment practices in the punk community.
- Embracing nuance involves recognizing that most issues are not black and white. For example, maybe you can be a punk and an entrepreneur.
Consumption
Varol argues that, in the digital age, you’re constantly tuned into others’ thoughts. You probably don’t go very long without consuming various forms of media, which consists of other people’s ideas. Additionally, Varol says the quality of the ideas you’re consuming is likely poor. Social media, news outlets, and entertainment often prioritize sensationalism and quick gratification over depth and originality. This flood of low-quality content can crowd out the space and time needed for deep thinking, reflection, and the development of your own ideas. You can’t access your true self when you’re preoccupied with others’ superficial selves.
Varol offers a few tips you can use to stop your media consumption from distracting you from your true self:
Consume media intentionally. According to Varol, you likely turn to certain forms of media impulsively, not intentionally—for example, you might scroll through social media whenever you’re bored. Take some time to consider the impact this has on your well-being—you might find that you waste a lot of time and energy on media that doesn’t help you. You might even find that it harms you by taking a toll on your mental health. This knowledge may motivate you to become more intentional about your media consumption.
Choose high-quality media. Varol says that you should choose reflective, longform media like books and documentaries over lower quality media like news, podcasts, and social media. The former tend to contain ideas worth serious consideration, while the latter are designed to grip your attention and keep you focused on frivolous things, like what your college roommate ate for lunch.
Create space to do nothing. Varol argues that instead of allowing others’ thoughts to flood your brain all day, you should create quiet moments that enable you to explore your own thoughts. During this time, you should do nothing—resist the urge to be productive and let your mind wander instead.
Education
Varol says you’ve been taught to repress your true self since you started school. In school, you experienced pressure to put aside your own interests and original ideas and learn to replicate the status quo. You were expected to memorize facts about the world instead of indulging in wonder and critical thinking. For example, you were probably taught that bees make honey without being encouraged to explore why this is true or question how this knowledge was discovered. This approach to education crushes your natural curiosity and diminishes your ability to think independently (which are two facets of your true self).
Since your education crushed your natural curiosity and discouraged you from thinking independently, Varol suggests that you reclaim these aspects of your true self using two techniques.
Discover your authentic interests. Varol explains that often, your authentic interests overlap with your talents. For instance, if you have a green thumb, you likely have an authentic interest in gardening. But you shouldn’t always stay in your comfort zone—by experimenting with new ideas and activities, you can discover new interests and hidden passions. For example, say you notice bees buzzing around your flowerbed and allow yourself to wonder about their behavior. This curiosity could lead you to explore beekeeping as a new hobby. Varol says that having a wide range of interests enhances your creativity, as you draw connections between different fields and experiences, and ensures that you always have something innately fulfilling to do.
Find out what you think about your interests. Once you discover your authentic interests, practice thinking independently about them. Say you’re curious about beekeeping. Before seeking outside information on the practice, take some time to explore your own ideas about it. What do you find intriguing about beekeeping? How do you think it works? Varol says this approach helps you engage deeply with your interests and develop a personal connection to them. You can then turn to outside sources—but don’t accept what they say as fact. Think about how their ideas compare to yours instead. According to Varol, this kind of deep, independent thinking is where innovative and meaningful ideas come from.
Discover Your True Self
Once you counteract the external influences (education, conformity, and consumption) that cause you to abandon your true self, you can discover who you truly are. Varol recommends that you focus on answering two questions: What makes you special, and what do you want out of life?
What Makes You Special?
As we’ve discussed, your true self is special. Now that you’ve developed greater self-awareness and new skills, like open-mindedness and independent thinking, you’re ready to figure out what makes you special. Varol shares two tips for accomplishing this.
Remember your child self. Think deeply about any strange qualities you exhibited as a child (or any childlike qualities you exhibit now). What do these qualities suggest about your unique skills or talents? For example, maybe you had (or still have) an inexplicable fascination with ancient Egypt or a talent for building intricate LEGO structures. These qualities could suggest that you have a natural inclination toward history or an aptitude for design and engineering. You can use this knowledge as a basis for exploration and discover how else you can apply your special skills.
Understand what’s special about you now. It’s tempting to replicate ideas and strategies that made you special in the past, but your current commitments and activities should reflect what makes you special now. Instead of repeating the past, Varol recommends that you reflect on your previous experiences, identify what worked for you then, and adapt those strategies to suit your current situation.
For example, maybe your childhood interest in ancient Egypt has morphed into a passion for writing historical fiction. It wouldn’t make sense to become an Egyptologist, even if that’s what you wanted as a kid, because you’ve changed too much over the years. But you can draw on your knowledge of ancient Egypt to infuse your historical fiction with authenticity and depth, creating narratives that uniquely reflect your current interests and perspectives.
What Do You Want Out of Life?
Once you know what makes you special, Varol says you can use that information to discover what you truly want out of life and then shape your life’s direction. Varol recommends making sure that your desires are aligned with what you know about your true self instead of aiming to achieve what others tell you is worthwhile. Most life advice is based on generalized assumptions about success and happiness—for example, your parents might advise you to pursue a business degree instead of an art degree because they value financial security. But, if your true self is an artist, taking their advice might stop you from fulfilling your creative potential.
For this reason, Varol recommends taking an avant-garde approach to success. This approach involves:
- Coming up with your own definition of success. As you zero in on what fulfills you, you might find that it doesn’t align with traditional markers of success. Varol says that’s OK—these markers are arbitrary, and you don’t need others’ approval to be successful.
- Seeing life as an endless experiment. Varol says the best way to determine what’s truly important to you is by experimenting with different career paths and other activities. It’s OK to repeatedly change course—always prioritize what matters to you right now.
- Defining a clear end goal. If you don’t, you won’t be able to recognize when you’ve achieved success. You’ll never feel fulfilled, and you’ll fall into the trap of always seeking more.
- Going off the beaten path. Varol says that in some cases, taking traditional paths forward won’t help you pursue your desires. Say you’re interested in an unconventional career, like ASMR artistry (a popular YouTube-based career). You may have to invent your own career path, since you can’t take traditional career steps like majoring in ASMR or interning at ASMR firms.
Tips for Creative Fulfillment and Personal Growth
Once you’ve returned to your true self, Varol says you’ll have new opportunities for creative fulfillment and personal growth. We’ll explore some techniques you can use to enhance your creativity. Then, we’ll discuss what personal growth looks like when you’re in touch with your true self.
How to Enhance Your Creativity
Varol recommends three practices for enhancing your creativity: building creative confidence, playing with your craft, and mining for ideas. Let’s discuss each practice now.
Building Creative Confidence
Many people are held back by self-doubt when it comes to creativity—they worry that they don’t have good ideas, that they can’t create anything worthwhile, or that others won’t like what they create. If these blockages are preventing you from following through on your creative impulses, Varol offers a few techniques for building creative confidence:
Share your ideas. Varol explains that we tend to be more critical of our own ideas than others would be. If you share your ideas with others—even the ideas you think are bad—you might be surprised at how well they’re received. This feedback can boost your confidence and encourage you to further develop your ideas.
Use your inexpertise to your advantage. Varol says that while not knowing how to approach a creative project can feel daunting, it can also help you. When you understand how things are usually done, you’re more likely to replicate the status quo. When you don’t, you have more mental freedom, so you can experiment with new ways of creating. As you create, keep in mind your unique advantage as a novice. Say you want to write a romance novel, but you don’t know how. Rather than wallowing in self-doubt, use what you already know about romance novels as a starting point and then improvise the rest. What you come up with could break the mold in delightful ways, drawing in readers looking for a unique romance novel.
Welcome failure. Instead of letting your fear of failure stop you from creating, Varol highlights two kinds of failure you should welcome. The first is failure to please everyone. Varol argues that when someone tells you they’re not pleased with your work, they’re doing you a favor: Either they’re telling you how you can improve your work, or they’re telling you that your work isn’t what they expected—which can be a good sign that you’re thinking outside the box. The second kind of failure you should welcome is informative failure—the kind that teaches you an important lesson about your craft by alerting you to a mistake you must correct in the future. You can use informative failure to refine your skills and grow creatively.
Playing With Your Craft
Varol argues that many creatives spend too much time trying to improve their craft and not enough time playing with it. Play is experimental and process-driven, rather than predictable and outcomes-driven. Since you’re not focused on accomplishing anything specific, playing enables you to explore new ways of doing things and discover new things to do. This makes play helpful for activities like brainstorming. For example, say you want to write a new song. Instead of starting with a specific theme or structure in mind, you could experiment by humming spontaneous melodies or using unconventional instruments and sounds. You might stumble upon unique combinations and creative ideas that lead to an innovative and original song.
Mining for Ideas
Creativity requires original ideas. Varol offers a few techniques you can use to mine for those ideas.
Make time for contemplation. Varol argues that the ideas that come to you most quickly tend to be conventional, not innovative. Spending time in contemplation allows you to explore less obvious connections and possibilities, which can help you develop truly original ideas.
Use your body to think. Most people conceive of thinking as a purely mental process, but Varol argues that you can use your body to come up with original ideas: Studies suggest that movement can stimulate creativity, and you can also tap into your body’s wisdom to evaluate your ideas. For example, if the thought of pursuing a particular idea makes you feel physically energized and excited, it’s likely a good direction to follow. Conversely, if an idea makes you feel tense or uneasy, it might be worth reconsidering.
Seek others’ opinions. Varol says that most great ideas aren’t developed in isolation. Getting feedback on your ideas from people whose thinking you respect can provide valuable insights and perspectives you may have missed. Additionally, someone else might have expertise that enhances or completes your idea. For example, if you come up with an idea for a new mental health app, you might benefit from collaborating with a software developer who can turn your concept into a functional product.
How to Pursue Personal Growth
When you’re in touch with your true self, personal growth looks different than usual. For example, as we’ve discussed, you might take a nontraditional career path that prioritizes creativity over financial success, which others might disapprove of. Let’s discuss the two factors that define the kind of personal growth you’ll experience—staying true to your true self and embracing endless change.
Stay True to Your True Self
Resisting outside influences can help you become your true self. Varol suggests that this work never ends—you’ll always experience pressures to conform or stray from your authentic path. He offers three tips that can help you overcome those pressures and stay true to your true self:
Pay attention to the sidelines. Varol notes that mainstream media companies curate and recommend the media they think will be most profitable, not the media with the most intrinsic value. To discover the valuable ideas that escape most people’s attention, he recommends paying attention to the sidelines: What great people, ideas, and events are going unnoticed? This approach decreases your chance of falling back into conformist patterns. For example, instead of watching all the latest blockbuster movies (a kind of conformity), choose independent films or documentaries that explore unique perspectives or marginalized stories.
Don’t mimic the great. Varol says that many people assume that history’s greatest figures had it all figured out and try to mimic their habits, strategies, and ways of thinking. The same goes for people they know and admire, like teachers and mentors. However, most people don’t have it all figured out, and even if they do, what works for them might not work for you. Instead of mimicking your heroes, consider all your options—then, choose the option that feels right for you. For example, say you admire Steve Jobs’ success; rather than mimicking his tyrannical leadership style, think critically about which leadership style best suits you.
Think like a scientist. Traditional education primes you to accept what others tell you as fact, a bad habit that could cause you to develop false beliefs. False beliefs prevent you from seeing the world accurately, leading you to make decisions that are less than ideal. To avoid developing false beliefs, Varol recommends that you think like a scientist. This requires that you watch out for biased sources, ask for proof or at least sound logic before you accept an idea, consider alternative points of view, and acknowledge that sometimes the truth changes as science progresses (for example, parenting advice changes as we learn more about children’s health).
Embrace Endless Change
Varol argues that your true self is bound to change over the course of your life. You may develop new interests and passions, try new hobbies or a new career, and arrive at new conclusions about the world that change your dreams and priorities. Although certainty about the future is appealing and it’s tempting to resist change, it’s important to allow these changes to unfold—many of the best things in life happen spontaneously, and rigidity can prevent you from making the most of your life.
Worrying about change, which Varol warns is a waste of your time and energy, can also box you in. If you over-prioritize stability and security, you might resist making changes that would improve your life. Rather than worrying about change, Varol recommends that you embrace it. When you embrace change, you accept that although everything in your life has its purpose, nothing is meant to last forever. You’re grateful for the experiences you’ve had, but you’re also capable of letting them go to make room for new experiences. Personal growth requires loss; leaving behind what no longer serves you helps you evolve into something better.
