A few years ago, while teaching physics to a bunch of high-schoolers, I erred in deriving a formula. And in a split second, even before I could correct myself, a kid raised his hand and pointed out the error.
This kid was so brilliant that anything you explained to him — he grasped it instantly.
In light of such brilliance, you can’t deny that intelligence levels vary significantly across people. In some sense, it is a genetic lottery.
So if one loses this lottery, is all lost? Not really, and here is why.
When you think of careers, every area in life is like a different sport, requiring different talents. E.g., for short-distance running, muscular strength is critical but for marathon running, too much muscle can be a curse — professional marathoners are extremely lean.
Also, even when intellect matters, there are many other hidden success factors we tend to ignore.
Take investing. I was talking to a highly successful investor friend who has a significant investment in a bank. Recently, that bank’s stock price got hammered and in his place, most people would have panicked. But when I asked him, he said, “That is great news! We can buy more.”
Clearly, to be a good investor, psychological resilience matters as much as intellect.
The game of life is not a single game, but a wide range from which we have to choose. And we can all find things that we can be really good at.
So when building your career, no point chasing what others are doing — play to your strengths and play hard.
– Rajan