10 simple truths smart people forget

Everyone does stupid things sometimes including smart people. Smart people also forget very simple truths. It doesn't make them dumb it makes them human. enjoy

#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.

ATS could learn from number one...rest here www.marcandangel.com...

All the best

cool i like number 6

#6 – Every mistake you make is progress.

nice list

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


Well Hells Bells! Somebody has managed to put into a short and sweet summary that describes how I try to live life.

Kudos to you for finding it.

Nice!
I got forced into doing a Covey Institute Of Successful People Program years ago.
I had to give a questioniare to 10 fellow workers, and 10 friends and family members. They had to answer questions about me, and then I had to take the test, and see how I see myself, and how others see me.

Conclusion? I hit it dead nuts on. I kinda know who I am.

The last question on the test was a write in question. "What's the one thing about Bob you like or dislike about him?"

Out of 20 answers, I SWEAR TO GOD they came back 50/50.

"Bob needs to keep his sense of humour,it's what makes his personality charming"
"Bob needs to quit trying to be a comedian,it's distracting"

Moral of the story? Be yourself, and don't be a weeny.

Great post by the way.

Oh, And I tell my kids everyday I'll be there to catch them if they make a million mistakes.

But if they make the same mistake a million times? I'll ignore them.

XxRagingxPandaxX, that website is so helpful, thanks so much for the link

Advice on there I think most people could benefit from....

Going to read it from cover to cover right now

Intelligence = Peanuts. Wisdom = Coconuts. Not that I have a whole lot of either...jus' sayin'.

Good list. I agree with almost all the points made in this post. There is just one that I disagree with, which is #9. Life-changing decisions often demand spontaneity, and intellect is not so great in that department; thus learning how to trust gut feelings is a crucial life skill. If you rely on your intellect for every decision in life, you risk getting caught with your pants down when split second decisions need to be made (plus you spend a lot of time having internal debates rather than living life). A good book about this topic is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Other than that this is a great list to keep in mind.

Here is my modification of number one

#1 – Education and intelligence accomplish nothing without money.

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 having money. There’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually having the money to do it. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without money. It’s as simple as that.

Capitalism sucks when you never have enough money to complete anything you can think of.

reply to post by theMediator


How much money did it cost Einstein to figure out that E equaled m c squared?

Working for corporate America is not running your own business. As you have no actual business of your own. You're nothing more than a contract worker. It's like night and day.

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


Love this!

My favourite was #10 - "You will never feel 100% ready when an opportunity arises" I have passed on SO many opportunities because I felt I wasn't ready. This statement has really inspired me to just go for it instead of holding back and convincing myself I'm not good enough.

Great post! S&F!

I liked number 11: Writing a book containing the bleeding obvious will make you rich...

Originally posted by theMediator
Here is my modification of number one

#1 – Education and intelligence accomplish nothing without money.

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 having money. There’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually having the money to do it. Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without money. It’s as simple as that.

Capitalism sucks when you never have enough money to complete anything you can think of.

Socialism sucks when you run out of other people's money. And you don't have a choice. You WILL work for the government.

#9 is misleading. Think of your logical mind as a pocket calculator, sitting on top of a supercomputer, which is your emotional mind. Hunches, instincts, how you "feel" about decisions - this is your emotional supercomputer at work, and you should ignore it at your peril. The reality is that some situations require logic, and some require experience, and you simply have to be smart in the sense that you can tell the difference and use your brain to your greatest advantage.

Removed, not in a proper frame of mind to contribute to the debate.

Thanks for this OP

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


#7 – People can be great at doing things they don’t like to do.

#8 – The problems we have with others are typically more about us.

#9 – Emotional decisions are rarely good decisions.

Everything else about that list I can agree with except those three. # 7 may be true, I know someone who's great at what she does but she doesn't really like it, but you can be even better at what you DO like. I think I have a problem with # 7 because it implies to people that they can settle for second best when they don't have to if they have a choice. And we always have a choice.

#8 I don't buy at all. That's for the weak. I have problems like everyone else, but you're not going to see me project them onto other people. That I can guarantee. And the people who try to project their issues onto me I have very little patience for. Their reasons are paper thin, they annoy me and I like to screw with them in return. Maybe that's childish, I don't know, but that's how I deal with them. I know what my strengths and weaknesses are and I know how to deal with them effectively. If I see someone who's lazy and I have a problem with them, it's not because I'm "secretly" lazy and won't admit it to myself. I'll have a problem with them because I'm not lazy and I see them as a waste of breathing space.

# 9 applies to those who don't use their emotions a lot. If you're an emotional person who knows how to be practical as well, you're going to know by instinct whether an emotional decision is right or not. You've got the experience to tell you. If on the other hand you've been pragmatic and businesslike all your life, then no, don't make hasty decisions based on emotions because you're not used to dealing with them. If anything, take a cue from someone else you know and learn from them.

I know a guy who waited almost his whole life to be emotional about things. He spent all his time being studious, business minded and impersonal. Very, very book smart. Then one day he woke up, decided he wanted to let someone "in", didn't put a lot thought into what he was doing and now he's living in a personal disaster zone. And it's that way because he was trying to be personable for the first time in life, acted rashly about it without a lot of practical thought, and now he's paying the price. I guess he thought his book smarts were enough to be able to deal with a woman effectively. Wrong answer buddy.

# 10 though, You will never feel 100% ready when an opportunity arises, I can get behind 110%. I've never known anyone, myself included, who was so cock-sure about themselves that they were ready for an unknown opportunity. You can act like you are, but you can't fool me. You jump in and take it, of course, no guts no glory, but we're all going to be a little unsure of ourselves when we do something unexpected or for the first time. That's just natural.

All in all though, that's a very good list.

I dig them all except number 8. I call garbage on that logic, i always have, and I always will.

My problems with somebody breaking in line or screaming at their spouse in public have less to do the fact that I do those things and more to do with the fact that they are being loud, annoying, unfair, or abusive. It is about me, but it's not really about a problem I have with myself.

In reference to #8, I think it is actually correct. Any external action is merely an action. It doesn't become right or wrong or annoying or whatever until you inject your view. Once you have applied your view, it is absolutely about you and your ideals. The other person does not set out to do something simply to make you upset because they know you think it is wrong. They do it because they may think there is no issue with it, or at least they don't have any issue with it. It is only wrong once you decide it is wrong and that is 100% you.