I once heard a very thought-provoking definition of genius. The idea is simple and to me quite compelling. I don’t imagine it’s a complete picture of what we consider genius, but I think it’s a very neglected component. The idea is, genius is love.
Paul McCartney is one hundred times better than me at writing songs. Why? It’s not because he has magic or was touched by God or has superpowers. It’s that Sir Paul loves writing songs one hundred times more than I do.
Toni Morrison was a far, far better writer than I am. The reason? She simply loved it that much more than I do.
Sure, I understand that talent is a thing. But love is a thing, too. And I think in a lot of cases it may explain more of the difference between weekend warriors and legends.
All of which reminds me of a comment McCartney made in the documentary Get Back. He recounts that in his youth he was often asked by people “what are you into?” He would say “writing songs.” In response they would say “that’s great. So what do you think about football?” But when he met John Lennon the conversation went a little differently. When Paul told him that he loved songwriting, John was the first person who replied “me too.”