Genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.

Genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.

proverb Genius or things considered to have the quality of genius may derive from brilliant ideas or intellect, but they require a huge amount of hard work to be successful. All these successful entrepreneurs had great ideas, sure, but they worked extremely hard to realize them. Genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. He's a smart guy, yeah, but he's lazy. He won't get far, considering genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. Maybe these designers are born with some innate brilliance, but their designs are the result of hard work and dedication. Genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration, after all.

See also: 10, 90, and, genius, inspiration, percent

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Genius is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration.

Prov. People get brilliant results primarily by working hard, not because they have special inborn powers. Child: Betty always does the best drawings in art class. She must be a genius. Father: If you worked hard, you could do just as well. Remember, genius is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration.

See also: and, genius, inspiration, ninety, percent, perspiration, ten

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.