Member-only story
Naval: The Only True Test of Intelligence
“There’s two parts to this.”
My compass is only as useful as the destination I choose to follow. If intelligence is to mean anything at all, it can also be tied to getting the most out of life. Designing a life you don’t want to escape from. Most people confuse intelligence with just numbers, titles, or being an expert at specific things. But none of that means you’re winning at life. Investor and entrepreneur Naval Ravikant thought the real test of intelligence is figuring out what you really want. And then, building a life around that.
“The only true test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life. There’s two parts to this. One part, is were you able to hack reality to get what you wanted? But, the more important part is, were you smart enough to figure out what to want in the first place?”
Part 1: Hacking reality
For Naval, intelligence means figuring out how to get what you want. Life doesn’t owe us anything. It’s indifferent to our wants. But it’s still a system. “Hacking reality” means figuring out the rules, spoken and unspoken, and using them to your advantage. It’s knowing how to get that job, close the deal, or exit the unhealthy relationship. It’s being street smart and systems smart.
