I'm at the Mensa's
Annual Gathering all week. It's a fun, phenomenally eclectic gathering with
presentations from speakers on a huge range of topics (so far I've learned
about cryptography, leadership, video game design, etc) as well as social
events (game tournaments, organized debates, symphonic music, even a dance).
You might think that
a genius convention (to be a bit melodramatic) would be a veritable who's who
of successful people. Maybe they're not all famous, but they should all be
exceptionally successful, right? Isn't intelligence the key to success in
modern times?
Side note: My nerds
friends and I got through high school by consoling ourselves that smarts was
the key to success in life. This T-Shirt was our unofficial motto (see attached image).
But that's not what
I've found at Mensa--unusually successful people, that is. There are plenty of
geeks. :)
I've found witty
people, shy people, blunt people, and people who know a disturbing amount of
trivia about the TV show Dr. Who. But when I ask about their careers--they're
surprisingly regular. For example, while there might be more computer
programmers than usual, most of them work for companies as a regular employee
and I only met one of them who created any well known programs (he was the
speaker on video game design). They hold jobs like IT support analyst or school
librarian or airplane pilot. Good jobs that require real effort, but nothing to
write home about, so to speak.
But success isn't
all about great jobs, right? Maybe they chose slower-paced jobs to have richer
internal lives. In a few cases, you could argue that. But most of these people
just watch TV in their spare time--oh and they read a lot of books (that stereotype
is true). I've learned of divorce, estranged kids, and seen immature egos in
action--nothing more than usual, mind you, but that's the point.
Except for a handful
of quirks (like constant reading and way too many plaid shirts with
suspenders), Mensans look and talk and live just like everyone else.
What I'm seeing
displayed is this principle: a great life doesn't come from raw intelligence.
Studies of people's
lives do show a correlation between intelligence and a "successful"
life--up to a point. Up to 120 IQ, the smarter you are the more successful your
career. Note: these studies focused entirely on net worth and prestigious careers.
For now, I'll avoid the serious conversation about how shallow and sad it is to
defined your life by a career. Even allowing for that shallow measure, after
you get above 120 IQ, there's no advantage for being smarter.
Yes, 120 is above
average, but it's also well below the genius level. Being smart does provide
additional options in life. But by itself it means nothing.
An exceptional life
isn't dependent on intellectual horsepower. An exceptional life is built on
exceptional choices--day after day for years. Someone purposeful about their
life with "normal" intelligence can far exceed the life of a genius
who sits, consuming TV and books, waiting for life to happen to them.
Don't wait for
success to happen to you. Even being born a genius doesn't make a great life
come to you. Go find your exceptional life. Go create it.
(Oh, and we'll have
to talk later about the harmfully narrow view of intelligence that most people
have. It's far, far more than the math or English abilities most tests
measure.)
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