Steve, every suggestion to become like those guys is welcome, LOL.
You're right about focus, these people were extremely focused, and right now I remember Yogananda writing that this often caused them to be forgetful about wordly matters and things.
Focus is surely a vital ingredient and I've experienced its power in some instances. The geniuses though have applied focus incarnation after incarnations for centuries.
Like EricB writes, they must have suffered at times as misfits, when they could not cultivate their specialty.
The lifetimes of application of extreme focus evidently are able to interact with the brain in such a way to make it a channel to draw from the causal world, tapping details of God's blueprint of creation, or to draw unusual creative expressions in art.
Now Steve, you see how a chain of thoughts develops: my first thought, your add-on, my further thought based on your add-on.
This led to a novel aspect which I never found cited before: focus as a means to enable the brain to be a channel of the real Power. The mind retains the ability after reincarnations.
Isn't the reason behind the season? I mean they cannot cultivate their specialty as mccoy has pointed out because they are considered misfits in their outlook. Until of course general society finally recognizes their contribution. At that point they are called geniuses. Still separated, in a sense, from society. Because... they stand out. Once we find our unique destiny we no longer can follow the common raod. We must forge ahead with our vision until it is eventually realized.
