Intelligence can’t save you from disaster.
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People think success comes from being smart. But I think it’s only part of the equation.
Smarts can help you open doors and join big, important rooms. But being foolish will get you thrown out. Fast.
I know brilliant people who constantly fall for obvious scams. They can easily solve complex problems, but they’ll miss glaring red flags in other parts of their life and work. They're undeniably smart, but their judgment is downright questionable at best.
And this matters. Because in life (and work), intelligence solves problems, while wisdom avoids creating them.
When someone says, "This investment guarantees 15% returns with little to no risk...", your intelligence might start looking at the math. But your wisdom and experience ask, "If this is so good, why are they sharing it with me? Have results like this been too good to be true in the past?"
Since wisdom prevents problems, its victories usually go unnoticed. We don't celebrate all of the little disasters we avoid. We don’t give out awards for not joining pyramid schemes. There’s no trophy for catching a phishing email. Yet these little victories can actually be your greatest achievements.
Victories from wisdom help form the foundation of your success. Expertise is a little bit like a skyscraper. The taller it gets, the more impressive it looks. But if there's a crack in the foundation, it's only a matter of time before the whole thing comes falling down.
This is why you can read articles about "financial experts" who handed over their life savings to someone on the internet. I'm sure they're smart. But they lack wisdom.
A high IQ might technically make you a genius, but poor decisions can bring you down instantly.
In life, you're rewarded for making good choices, but you're punished far more severely for making bad ones. One disastrous mistake can erase years of your incredible work.
I’m not being pessimistic. I’m being practical.
There's a process to avoid disaster. Start by looking for your blind spots. Ask your family, friends, and colleagues to help you find them. Once they're in front of you, acknowledge them.
Then, surround yourself with people who think differently. Who see risk where you only see reward. Who question all of the things that you easily accept at face value. They can help protect you from yourself.
When you come to a tough decision? You now have your personal Board of Directors to help.
The most successful people I know aren't always the smartest. They just avoid catastrophic decisions when it matters.
So maybe you should focus less on being brilliant and more on managing your vulnerabilities.
Because how far you go isn't determined by how smart you are.
It'll be determined by your worst judgments.
What’s your take on today’s topic? Do you agree, disagree, or see something I missed? Share your insights, challenge my thinking, or ask a question that moves the conversation forward.
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So, so true.
Quite often that wisdom is built from failing.
It’s one of the reasons I like reframing “fail” -> “learn.”
Right in the moment I needed this. Thanks, Justin.