Keys to Success: Average IQ Achievers

[Lisa!]

I've met some successful(at education, job, making money...) people and I have to say that most of them didnt seem to be very intelligent. So what's that make a person with an avarege IQ a highly achiever person? I think it's mostly something in their attitudes and personalities. What do you think?

 

[Evo]

They're usually driven, ambitious, unscrupulous to some degree and know how to delegate things they can't do to someone that can. Then they take all the credit.

 

[Astronuc]

They're usually driven, ambitious, unscrupulous to some degree and know how to delegate things they can't do to someone that can. Then they take all the credit.

Certainly there are persons like that, and I've encountered a few.

Attitude and personality are factors in being successful.

Some of it may be the person's social IQ or social skills, with which one is perhaps more adept at achieving a positive outcome in interpersonal relationships.

I had a classmate who took the Dale Carnegie course on "How to Win Friends and Influence People". That to me sounded disingenous and manipulative, but apparently the program is successful in the some parts of the business community - particularly sales.

I prefer people who are genuine and sincere, and I find most are.

 

[SpaceTiger]

I've met some successful(at education, job, making money...) people and I have to say that most of them didnt seem to be very intelligent. So what's that make a person with an avarege IQ a highly achiever person?

Hard work. Yes, some people get by being manipulative, attractive, or charismatic, but it doesn't matter who you are, hard work gets you everywhere. You might be surprised by how much time you waste on a given day and how much more productive you could be if you just made more of an effort. A lot of people succeed because they care enough to work for it. Smart people have the advantage of being able to get by without working very hard, so I sometimes wonder if they're less prone to do so.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Hard work and persistence is a winning combination. I love what Calvin Coolidge had to say about "sticking with it":

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Hard work. Yes, some people get by being manipulative, attractive, or charismatic, but it doesn't matter who you are, hard work gets you everywhere. You might be surprised by how much time you waste on a given day and how much more productive you could be if you just made more of an effort. A lot of people succeed because they care enough to work for it. Smart people have the advantage of being able to get by without working very hard, so I sometimes wonder if they're less prone to do so.

I agree but would add that one has to be smart about what hard work one chooses to do. One trait that I see in highly successful people in the business world is the ability to avoid getting bogged down by the details or irrelevant problems.

There is a saying in my business: If you ever want to finish the project [and make money] you have to shoot the engineer.

 

[Lisa!]

Good points in everyone's post!
As you mentioned perseverance and hard work is the most important factor! These people are very motivated and ambitious. But now the question is why? Is it because of what they've experienced during some point of their lives? I see people who've been very poor in their childhood are very motivated to make money as much as possible
Something that I noticed is that they are usually narcissist and confident! They think that Earth is moving because of them. Everything and everyone must help them to get what they want. They just concentrate on their own plans, so not surprising if (as Evo mentiond) they're unscrupulous to some degree !

Hard work. Yes, some people get by being manipulative, attractive, or charismatic, but it doesn't matter who you are, hard work gets you everywhere. You might be surprised by how much time you waste on a given day and how much more productive you could be if you just made more of an effort. A lot of people succeed because they care enough to work for it. Smart people have the advantage of being able to get by without working very hard, so I sometimes wonder if they're less prone to do so.

Wow! Nice to see you here!

 

[zoobyshoe]

I agree but would add that one has to be smart about what hard work one chooses to do.

Absolutely. A janitor might be the hardest working person in a given company but also the lowest paid. Edison worked very hard on his direct current distribution system until Westinghouse snatched his glory and money from under his nose with the vastly smarter idea of an alternating current distribution system.

 

[qspeechc]

Wow. I would have to disagree with all of you. Probably the main factor in what makes a person successful is 'luck'. Luck being the myriad forms of statistical randomness that occurs in life. Many people have the qualities you have listed: hard-working, ambitious, attitude etc. You need to look at how many failures also have those qualities. A damn lot!

You need to read the book "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb. Ok, it is a business book, but still worth a read.

Wiki says:

Taleb sets forth the idea that modern humans are often unaware of the very existence of randomness. They tend to explain random outcomes as non-random...
...Survivorship bias. We see the winners and "learn" from them, while forgetting the huge unseen cemetery of losers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fooled_by_Randomness

Ok, those qualities may influence whether an individual tastes success or not, but randomness is also a big part.

zoobyshoe, Nikola Tesla came up with AC, Westinghouse financed and marketed it.

 

[zoobyshoe]

zoobyshoe, Nikola Tesla came up with AC, Westinghouse financed and marketed it.

Tesla didn't "come up" with AC. It's the natural output of rotating a magnet near a coil: north, south, north, south etc. Tesla invented the induction motor, which was the first really viable AC motor. No one really knew what to do with AC before Tesla, but he didn't invent it.

 

[SpaceTiger]

I agree but would add that one has to be smart about what hard work one chooses to do.

In my experience, considering your course of action is a part of the work...a particularly important and often time-consuming part. Though it can be difficult to get your nose to the grindstone, it can be even more difficult to continually step back and ensure that you're at the right one!

 

[SpaceTiger]

Absolutely. A janitor might be the hardest working person in a given company but also the lowest paid.

I'm pretty sure our janitor is paid more than I am. :P

Regardless, if someone is forced to be a janitor (i.e. didn't strive for it), it often suggests that they didn't work as hard as they could have in school. Even if they want to start working hard and change their career, it's not simply a matter of taking an office job, they have to start small. Working hard at their current job is often an important part of moving forward.

I have a great deal of respect for janitors. They work tough hours, deal with nasty things, and are often looked down upon by those around them. It takes a lot to put up with that and keep a smile on your face.

 

[Lisa!]

Oh I forgot to mention that successful people are usually risky type! I mean they're not afraid of taking big risks.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I'm pretty sure our janitor is paid more than I am. :P

Regardless, if someone is forced to be a janitor (i.e. didn't strive for it), it often suggests that they didn't work as hard as they could have in school. Even if they want to start working hard and change their career, it's not simply a matter of taking an office job, they have to start small. Working hard at their current job is often an important part of moving forward.

I have a great deal of respect for janitors. They work tough hours, deal with nasty things, and are often looked down upon by those around them. It takes a lot to put up with that and keep a smile on your face.

And the ones who work hard at it are really successful! Well, they're successful janitors.

 

[SpaceTiger]

And the ones who work hard at it are really successful! Well, they're successful janitors.

I'd try talking slower, but this is the internet...

I guess someone has a custodial future.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I'd try talking slower, but this is the internet...

No. I know janitors, and I know kids who are going to end up as janitors (if they're lucky enough to stay out of jail). These people are not smart. That is, they're not socially smart: they don't have any idea how to jocky themselves up to head of the janitorial staff and to somewhere better from there. They are the ones who are always used and manipulated by more ambitious, smarter people around them. They live in a kind of ADD world where it's impossible to get their attention long enough to explain anything of importance to them. As for working hard in school: people who "get" sports in school, that is: the politics of the teamwork of sports, always do much better in real life, not the academically superior students.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

In my experience, considering your course of action is a part of the work...a particularly important and often time-consuming part. Though it can be difficult to get your nose to the grindstone, it can be even more difficult to continually step back and ensure that you're at the right one!

Absolutely. This is probably the most valuable lesson that I've learned over the years: Good planning often leads to good results! Who woulda thought?

Ivan's modification of Confucius: A journey of a thousand miles begins not with the first step, but with a map.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Ivan's modification of Confucius: A journey of a thousand miles begins not with the first step, but with a map.

And a trip to the bathroom.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Do you mean because of my deep philosophical insights, or because of the long trip?