Wrong. If they're not getting out, nobody is. The rest of the crabs will surround the first one and try to pull him back in.
And that's how it is sometimes when you're ready to make a break for your dreams. You have the talent, or knowledge, or knowledge of the talent that God has given you -- your genius. You've made the decision to go for it. But in society everyone wants to be on equal ground, and a lot of times people will try to force you to stay on that ground -- subtly or unsubtly, consciously or unconsciously -- so it won't seem like you're better than they are. Your circle of friends, peer, and even family, will either steal your genius (the talent or knowledge or knowledge of talent that God's given you) or push you toward it.
Sometimes it's with the best of intentions that those close to you try to keep you down. A study was done on a group of monkeys by placing them in a cage that had a pole in the middle, and an apple at the top of the pole. Every time a monkey tried to climb the pole to the apple, water would be squirted into the cage until it stopped trying. Eventually a new monkey was introduced to the group, and eventually that monkey went for the apple. But the other monkeys had been conditioned to expect something bad, and physically stopped the new monkey from going for the apple. It wasn't so much that they were jealous of the monkey getting the apple as it was they were fearful of the water that they had been getting instead.
But you, in order to discover your genius and develop it, have to fight off the monkeys and crabs that would hold you back. You have to look past those who intimidate you and those you don't want to disappoint or offend. You have to stop asking, "What will they say?" and start asking "What do I say?" You have to start somewhere. Even if on the surface of your daily routine it doesn't seem like there's anything different, when you start doing even little things to focus on your genius, it starts to build.
That is what leaning into your genius is about. Sometimes it isn't obvious; but sometimes it is. It's about doing whatever you can do right now to start getting somewhere. Leaning in is pressing forward; it's realizing that you can't back down from the spot you've put yourself in. It's forward or bust. Which is why you have to lean into God, and what He says, rather than what anybody else says. Yes, God can and does speak to you through people, but He also speaks to you through you. And this is about your genius, not someone else's.
God can see what no one else can, so He can tell you how to lean in that brings success that no one else is expecting. Look at Noah; he leaned into God's genius for him, which was to build a boat. A big one. In anticipation of rain that had never happened in the entire history of the earth. It took him 120 years, but he continued to lean in despite the words of those around him. And in the end those around him who wanted to hold him back from building his genius boat -- their words died on their lips (along with the rest of them). That's how it works: the realization of your genius will shut up the mouths of the naysayers.
So find your next "lean" -- the next step toward what you dream about. And lean in. Who care's what "they" say?
__________________________________________________________What is your genius?
Who is your "they"?
What is your next lean?
