10 Simple Truths Smart People Forget

By Marc and Angel Hack Life, DivineCaroline

Some of the smartest people I know continuously struggle to get ahead because they forget to address a few simple truths that collectively govern our potential to make progress. So here’s a quick reminder:

1. Education and intelligence accomplish nothing without action.
It doesn’t matter if you have a genius IQ and a PhD in Quantum Physics, you can’t change anything or make any sort of real-world progress without taking action. There’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action. It’s as simple as that. For some practical guidance on taking action, I highly recommend The Now Habit.

2. Happiness and success are two different things.
I know an extremely savvy businesswoman who made almost a million dollars online last year. Every entrepreneur I know considers her to be wildly successful. But guess what? A few days ago, out of the blue, she told me that she’s depressed. Why? “I’m burnt out and lonely. I just haven’t taken enough time for myself lately,” she said. “Wow!” I thought. “One of the most successful people I know isn’t happy.”

I also know a surfer who surfs almost all day, every day on the beach in front of our condo complex in San Diego. He’s one of the most lighthearted, optimistic guys I’ve ever met—always smiling from ear to ear. But he sleeps in a van he co-owns with another surfer and they both frequently panhandle tourists for money. So while I can’t deny that this man seems happy, I wouldn’t classify his life as a success story.

“What will make me happy?” and “What will make me successful?” are two of the most important questions you can ask yourself. But they are two different questions.

3. Everyone runs their own business.
No matter how you make a living or whom you think you work for, you only work for one person—yourself. The big question is: What are you selling, and to whom? Even when you have a full-time, salaried, Corporate America position, you are still running your own business. You are selling one unit of your existence (an hour of your life) at a set price (the associated fraction of your salary) to a customer (your employer).

So how can you simultaneously save your time and increase your profit? The answer is slightly different for everyone. But it’s an answer you should be seeking. The 4-Hour Workweek is a good read on this topic.

Next: choices, mistakes, and more

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Kathy P.

1:32PM PDT on Aug 16, 2012

thank you so much for this. I needed to hear a few of those

August 16
send a green star

Sarah M.

3:59PM PDT on Jul 10, 2012

thanks

July 10
send a green star

Lika S.

1:05AM PDT on Jun 22, 2012

Oh, amen to #1... My mom (and my sister to an extent) just think they're OH SO SMART, because they got straight A's in school. My sister can't keep up with her own housekeeping, nor can she hang on to a boyfriend.

Straight A's means you have high intelligence, which doesn't always mean you're smart enough to live your life to the fullest extent.

I'm also having a problem with #8. Most people think that it's my problem that I don't always like my mother. Well, she sexually abused me in the past. So no, it's not about me, it IS all about her, thank you. I just get sick of people trying to tell me that caring mothers get on your nerves sometimes.