2 years after reading Laszo Polgar's book Bring up Genius, I now consider it one of the most important and by far the most underrated book I have come across. I use or think about the contents of this book almost daily.

Background:
Long before having children, Laszlo Polgar wrote a book called "Bring Up Genius!" He explained, “Genius equals work and fortunate circumstances” and “Geniuses are made, not born.”   

Laszlo then proved his theory by raising three exceptional female chess players. One of his daughters, Susan, won the Budapest Chess Championship for girls under 11 at the age of four.  

In his book he explains his methods and more importantly, his theory on how to progress or learn, applicable in any field. Not only does this give you a blueprint for raising your children to excel in anything they want to, but you can also apply his methods and thinking in your own life when acquiring a new skill.

Laszlo considers a genius to be someone who is outstanding in their respective field. If you are good, you are 1/100, exceptional can be considered 1/1000; to be a genius, you need to be 1/10 000.   

No one is born 1/10 000 good in anything. It takes a lot of hard work. Thus, you or your child can become 1/10 000 in anything, if you put in the hours.

The secret in teaching is to keep the learner's interest. Making learning fun and engaging is the hard part. This is where you need to get creative and what you should be focusing on.

Pushing too hard or going too slow are both detrimental to learning. The level of learning should be hard enough that it is challenging but not too hard, or the learner will become frustrated or lose interest.

This is true for time spent learning and the level of content. By gauging this pace and level of learning and adjusting accordingly, you can maintain the optimal pace of learning for any given person.

If you can combine this with maintaining interest, you have a winning recipe for raising or becoming a genius.