What is it like to work with extremely intelligent people
It’s annoying.
And not just annoying because you constantly feel like the dumbest person in the room when you are standing next to them, but annoying because they seem like they constantly need to tell everyone exactly how smart they are.
I’ve worked in financial markets for the last 16 years of my life, with some of the most “brilliant” minds in the world. People that can literally make money out of thin air trading financial markets. We’re talking millions and millions of dollars a minute.
These people are always on top of the ball and always know the most about every subject area no matter how obscure, from who is trending on Instagram that week to who the great impressionists of the 19th century were. Yeah. Annoying.
Sure, it’s awe-inspiring when you sit on the side lines and watch them run complex calculations in their head and actually put them into action like Bobby Axelrod in Billions. But that gets old real fast.
Out of exhaustion, I recently started interviewing people outside of finance to see what made them tick. I was fed up with the “Mr. Know It All’s” of finance and was desperately searching for hope that all is not wrong with this world.
By a stroke of luck I had the rare opportunity to interview some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the entire world such as Gary Vaynerchuk, James Altucher , Ramit Sethi, Ryan Holiday , Lewis Howes, Tom Bilyeu and Seth Godin. And all I can say is… I am relieved. All is not wrong in this world.
Want to know what I discovered that made me not want to give up on humanity?
Not a single one of them said they achieved success because they were smart. Not a single one of them said they achieved success because they were born attractive. Not a single one of them said they achieved success because they were born wealthy. Or could operate on little sleep. Or had a photographic memory. Or had a fast metabolism. Or had nurturing parents. Not a single one of them said they achieved success because they got lucky.
These “brilliant” entrepreneurs all achieved success because they had one thing in common and that is hard work.
The beauty of this simple truth is that it levels the playing field for the entire world.
It’s a basic notion that every person can take advantage of regardless of what hand they were dealt with in life and parlay that hand into achieving their dreams.
It doesn’t matter what level of intelligence, aptitude, or natural talents and gifts you were born with. Find comfort and joy in the fact that the key to unlocking your potential and living an exceptional life is much more accessible than you think.
It’s about perseverance, hardiness, resilience, ambition, stamina…and hard work.
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