Albert Einstein was a C student. A messy desk isn't a bad thing, and it's good to surround yourself with wackiness. These were just a few of the facts and nuggets of advice that author Eric Weiner shared with District 214 students during a visit earlier today to Rolling Meadows High School. Weiner's session with the students was the first stop in a day-long visit to Arlington Heights to talk about his book, The Geography of Genius, A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Athens to Silicon Valley, the library's selection for this year's One Book, One Village community read.
"Talent is hitting a mark no one can hit. Genius is hitting a mark no one else can see," Weiner told the students who gathered in the school's Resource Center for a 45-minute session with the author during which he shared insights on creativity, genius and his life as a writer traveling the globe.
"I always feel like there is some great wonder around the corner," Weiner said, "You just have to find the corner."
More than 300 students at Rolling Meadows High School read The Geography of Genius as summer reading or for a class this fall. Following his talk, the students had an opportunity to ask Weiner questions including, "What is the hardest part of traveling?"
"The hardest part of traveling is trusting the universe to provide you with experiences," he said. "Traveling is not about a place but rather it's a new way of looking at things and coming away seeing things differently."