Why Do Intelligent People Struggle To Succeed?
You would imagine that being intelligent would give you an edge when it comes to being successful, but this is not necessarily the case.
If someone has a million dollars in their bank account, most intelligent people would consider that person successful, however if the respective person inherited ten million dollars and lost nine million over 5 years in a failing business, then would you still class that person as successful?
Firstly it will depend on how you measure success. Intelligent people who aspire to be successful tend to have higher standards for themselves and therefore a much higher personal benchmark to aim for. On that basis, success must be a relative term and must be very personal and specific to each individual.
Since success is completely relative it can be hard to summarise for everyone, but for argument’s sake, let’s say:
Success = Doing Something You Love & Being Financially Independent At The Same Time
Unfortunately many intelligent people end up in professions that focus on their predominant skills rather than their passions. Throughout their lives, as intelligent people aim for their self imposed benchmarks, this can leave them feeling unfulfilled and having aspirational stagnation as time passes.
Sadly this is common place and where the majority of intelligent people live their lives; being too good at what they do, they develop complacency, but are too scared of change to go it alone and follow their passions.
It’s strangely ironic, especially since intelligent people are best equipped to follow their dreams. They tend to have a clear and definable desire or passion, and they tend to have the money since they should have well paying jobs. So what stops them waking up and making the conscious decision to make a change?
If you study some of the most successful people and ask them what they did to propel themselves towards success after periods of being unsuccessful, they all tend to agree and proclaim that once you decide to follow your dreams, structure was the most important ingredient to add to their planning, desire and determination. The Success Journal
Having a structure is very different to having a plan because structures tend to be much more definitive, especially since the aim of implementing structure is to focus on the doing, rather than planning the when and how.
Once you have crafted a structure that works for you, then next step is making it habitual.
“Successful people are simply those with successful habits” — Brian Tracy
Actioning continual structure in your life is how they turn to habits! Habits are very powerful because they tend to stand the test of time. Doing something is easy, but doing something consistently (let alone well) can be very difficult, even if you know it’s good for you, like physical exercise for example.
So ensuring you have good habits will serve you well. The same way having poor habits like smoking or overeating can lead to long term problems.
So why don’t you (an intelligent person) adopt successful daily structures, turn them into habits, and make them routine?
If, like me, you’re on your own journey of self-discovery and growth, you will find a wealth of value in my new “Reprogram Your Mind For Success” e-book.
You can download your free copy here.
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