August 28, 2025 • 41 mins
We've all been sold a lie: that being the smartest person in the room is the key to success. But what if your high intelligence is the very thing holding you back from building real wealth?
In this episode, we're tearing down the myth of the genius millionaire and exposing the dirty little secret of success: execution is everything. We'll explore the hidden trap of analysis paralysis—how being "too smart" can lead to endless planning and a crippling fear of failure. You'll discover why the world is filled with brilliant people who are broke, while others with seemingly average IQ are building empires.
We're shifting the focus from brainpower to the two real superpowers of wealth creation: radical action and Social Intelligence. Learn why your ability to persuade, connect, and learn from mistakes is infinitely more valuable than a perfect business plan. This is the argument for a new money mindset.
Stick with us to the very end for the one-question-test that will instantly reveal if your intelligence is your asset or your anchor.
It's time to stop thinking and start building. Subscribe, share this with every smart overthinker you know, and let's start a movement of action-takers. Join the conversation!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/life-hacks-diy-more-transform-your-everyday-with-simple-tricks-and-diy-magic--5995484/support.
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In this episode, we're tearing down the myth of the genius millionaire and exposing the dirty little secret of success: execution is everything. We'll explore the hidden trap of analysis paralysis—how being "too smart" can lead to endless planning and a crippling fear of failure. You'll discover why the world is filled with brilliant people who are broke, while others with seemingly average IQ are building empires.
We're shifting the focus from brainpower to the two real superpowers of wealth creation: radical action and Social Intelligence. Learn why your ability to persuade, connect, and learn from mistakes is infinitely more valuable than a perfect business plan. This is the argument for a new money mindset.
Stick with us to the very end for the one-question-test that will instantly reveal if your intelligence is your asset or your anchor.
It's time to stop thinking and start building. Subscribe, share this with every smart overthinker you know, and let's start a movement of action-takers. Join the conversation!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/life-hacks-diy-more-transform-your-everyday-with-simple-tricks-and-diy-magic--5995484/support.
You May also Like:
🚑MyDisasterPrepKit.com
Create Your Perfect Disaster Preparedness Kit
🤖Nudgrr.com (🗣'nudger") - Your AI Sidekick for Getting Sh*t Done
Nudgrr breaks down your biggest goals into tiny, doable steps — then nudges you to actually do them.
🎁ThePerfectGift.app
Find the Perfect Gift in Seconds
⭐SkyNearMe.com
Live map of stars & planets visible near you
✔DebtPlanner.app
Your Path to Debt-Free Living
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So have you ever found yourself looking at someone and
let's be totally honest here, you think, Okay, they're not
exactly splitting the atom over there.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Uh huh, Yeah, I know the feeling.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Yet they're absolutely crushing it financially, just like really successful.
Maybe they're making more money than you, building an incredible
business or just you know, living with a level of
financial freedom that seems well kind of out of reach
for your own arguably sharper intellect. Right, it's a frustrating feeling,
(00:30):
isn't it even a baffling.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Sometimes totally baffling.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, it makes you wonder are they secretly some kind
of genius or is there something fundamental I'm completely missing
about how success, especially you know, financial success, actually works
in the real world.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, what's truly fascinating here, and I think often overlooked,
is that the conventional wisdom we've all been sort of
steeped in from childhood it might actually be more of
the hindrance than a help.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
A hindrance. Yeah really, how so?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well, intelligence, while it's undeniably a valuable asset in lots
of areas of life, it's often quite overrated when it
comes to the specific pursuit of building significant wealth overrated.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
In fact, sometimes that very intelligence, or maybe our perception
of it, our reliance on it, can become a significant obstacle.
It can create this particular set of challenges that can
actually actively impede progress rather than speed it up.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
That's a really powerful thought and provocative too. It really
challenges that conventional wisdom, like you said, that most of
us grew up with. When you say a particular set
of challenges, are we talking about something internal like a
mindset thing, or is it more about how highly intelligent
people interact with the world, Because I've definitely felt that
internal friction myself.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Sometimes it can be both. Honestly, internal mindset plays a
huge role, but also how that mindset translates into external
action or often in action.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Okay, well, that's precisely what we're plunging into today. Our
mission for this deep dive is to fundamentally rethink the connection,
or maybe the lack of connection between intelligence and wealth. Right,
We're going to explore why being smart doesn't always translate
to being rich. How seemingly less intelligent people, by some
metrics anyway, often find surprising and robust success, and most crucially,
(02:18):
how you listening can leverage your own unique capabilities and yes,
you're intelligence too, more effectively to build the wealth and
freedom you desire.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Exactly. It's about using what you have in the right way.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
By the end of this deep dive, you might just
look at your own capabilities and the path to success
in a completely new and hopefully empowering light. We're talking
about maybe a genuine paradigm shift in thinking.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Indeed, and look, we're not here to diminish the value
of intelligence at all. That's not the point, no, of
course not. It's more about contextualizing its role. We're going
to challenge some of those deeply ingrained beliefs that often
box us in and explore a different, maybe more nuanced
perspective on what truly drives findinancial success.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Moving beyond just smart equals rich.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Exactly, moving beyond that simplistic, often misleading equation. It's about
understanding the subtle dynamics of how intelligence plays a role
and maybe more importantly, identifying the areas where its influence diminishes,
you know, and where other qualities, often underestimated ones, take precedence. Okay,
this is really about equipping you with a fresh lens,
(03:25):
a new way to view your own potential.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Okay, let's really unpack this societal narrative then, because I
think so many of us have internalized it without even
realizing it. From the moment we first step into a classroom, right,
we're bombarded with this pervasive belief being smart is the
absolute key to success.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
It starts so early, it really does.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Think about it. The kids who ace every test, who
always raise their hands first, the ones who get into
the gifted programs. They're the ones everyone parents, teachers expects
to go far, the chosen ones, kind of their earmark
for good grades, top tier universities, prestigious careers like doctors, lawyers, engineers's, academics.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You know the list, right, the safe paths.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
And the implicit message, whether it's spoken aloud or just
sort of subtly reinforced, is that if you don't fit
that particular mold of academic brilliance, well life's going to
be a tougher climb. It's going to be harder for you.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, that message is definitely out there.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And this belief system, it really sinks its roots deep
into our minds, doesn't it. It's why so many people
spend years, sometimes decades, chasing degree after degree more qualifications,
convinced that the more they study, the smarter they'll become,
and that this accumulation of intelligence and credentials will naturally,
almost inevitably lead to greater financial prosperity.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Like it's a direct cause and effect exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Society absolutely worships traditional intelligence, almost to a fault, sometimes
defining it in these really narrow academic terms.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
And that pervasive belief, Well, it brings us to a
critical question, doesn't If traditional intelligence alone, like IQ scores
and academic achievements, where the primary determinant of wealth, then
the wealthiest individuals in the world would undeniably be found
predominantly among say, scientists, theoretical physicists, acclaimed surgeons, university professors.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Right, logically, yes, that's where the highest IQs often are.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
These are fields brimming with individuals of extraordinarily high IQ,
deeply knowledgeable, intellectually formidable. Yet when we genuinely look at
the list of billionaires or even just you know, financially
successful people who built substantial wealth, that's often profoundly not
the case.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah, it's really not.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Many of the titans of industry and finance didn't follow
that academic blueprint at all, not even close.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Sometimes, and even within those high i Q fields you mentioned,
like science or medicine, the individuals who rise to the
very top of wealth, they often seem to have something
else going on too, right, like an entrepreneurial streak or
maybe exceptional networking abilities.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Exactly, which points to something beyond just their raw intellectual horsepower.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Consider, for instance, someone like Richard Branson, I mean, everyone
who knows the name Richard Branson. His story is such
a fantastic and frankly inspiring counter example to this whole myth.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Oh definitely classic case.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
He famously struggled with dyslexia, had terrible grades, apparently dropped
out of school at what sixteen?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, sixteen, very young.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
No formal university education, no clear direction in life according
to conventional standards at that age. Most people looking at
that trajectory back then would have absolutely written him off.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
For sure, they'd see him as maybe destined for a
very modest future at best. Absolutely the traditional markers of
success were completely absent in his early life. And yet,
despite that profoundly unconventional start, Branson didn't just stumble into success.
It wasn't just luck.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
No, you can't build what he built on luck.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Alone, exactly. His journey is like a masterclass in a
different kind of brilliance. He started a student magazine, then
launched a mail order record business, which quickly evolved into
a record store, then a record label, citing names like
the Sex Pistols, Mike Oldfield. Wow. From there he expanded
into airlines with Virgin Atlantic, then mobile phones, and now
(07:08):
even commercial spaceflight with Virgin Galactic. I mean, the range
is incredible.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
It's mind boggling.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Really, he's worth billions. But he's not your typical genius
as defined by academic metrics, not even close. His trajectory
demonstrates a distinct kind of intelligence, one focused on like vision,
risk taking, resourcefulness, and above all, just relentless execution.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Execution that seems key.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
It's a testament to the idea that there's more than
one way to be smart, much more.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
And that's the thing I've seen play out in my
own life. You know, I know so many people who
maybe didn't excel in the traditional academic sense, maybe they
found school boring, or they just didn't fit the rigid structure.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Happens all the time.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
But they had this incredible drive, or an insatiable curiosity,
or maybe just a knack for seeing opportunities where others didn't.
They often forge their own path, sometimes really roundabout ones,
learning by doing, making mistakes, learning the hard way, maybe yeah,
learning the hard way, and they ended up thriving in
ways that completely outpaced some of their traditionally smarter peers.
(08:13):
I remember this friend from high school, absolutely brilliant conceptually,
always is the tests, went to an Ivy League school.
But my other friend, who honestly barely scraped by graduation,
started a small carpentry business right after school, learned on
the job, made mistakes, iterated, kept going and now runs
this thriving construction firm with dozens of employees.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Wow. Great example.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
It's just a testament to how diverse and unconventional the
routes to real world success truly are.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Those are powerful, relatable examples. And then you know, on
the entirely opposite end of the spectrum, we have someone
like Nikola Tesla.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Ah Tesla the ultimate genius.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Right, he was undeniably a genius in the purest, most
traditional sense of the word. Invented alternating current ac which
is the foundational technology behind well basically every single modern
electricity system worldwide.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Our whole modern world runs on his ideas.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Pretty much. Without his groundbreaking work, our modern electrified world
simply would not exist as we know it. He's arguably
one of the most influential inventors of all time. His
patents alone, just the intellectual property from his sheer intellectual brilliance,
could have made him the richest person of all time.
His mind was just a universe of innovation.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
It's truly astonishing to think about the sheer impact of
his mind. Every light bulb, every appliance, every phone charging
right now, it all owes something fundamental to Tesla's genius.
He had the vision, the profound intellect, the sheer inventive
power to reshape the world. His contributions are immeasurable, really.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
And yet despite that unparalleled brilliance, despite being the man
whose idea is literally illuminated cities and powered industries, Tesla
famously lacked business acumen.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Uh Yeah, that's the sad part of the story.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
He struggled massively with commercializing his inventions, often battled with
investors like Edison, failed to secure the financial backing needed
to fully realize or protect his innovations.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
It's heartbreaking, really.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
And he died completely broke in a hotel room in
New York City and the famous story supposedly in love
with a pigeon. Yeah. What Nikola Tesla's story shows us,
in the most stark and kind of poignant terms is
that you can read all the books, get all the degrees,
possess all the knowledge, all the theoretical intelligence, but even
being an absolute world changing genius doesn't automatically guarantee financial
(10:36):
wealth or even basic real world success. It's a sobering
reminder that different domains of intelligence and skill sets operate
quite independently when it comes to the creation and accumulation
of wealth. Pure intellectual horsepower, while incredibly valuable, just isn't
the whole story, not even close.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
So, in a weird, almost paradoxical way, intelligence can actually
end up holding us back a lot of the time.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Sometimes.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, it's an incredibly counterintuitive idea when you first hear it,
isn't it The very quality we strive for, that we
celebrate and educate for can become a stumbling block. It's
almost like having this magnificent engine, super powerful, but maybe
without a transmission or wheels, all that power, but no
efficient way to actually move forward in the real world.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
That's a great analogy, Yeah, and it raises an important
question for us to ponder. Why why does the very
thing we're taught to value so highly, the attribute we
spend years cultivating, sometimes become a significant impediment on the
path to building wealth? Right?
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Why does it trip people up?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Why does it actively prevent some highly intelligent individuals from
achieving the financial success they seem on paper at least
so destined for. This is where the story gets really interesting,
as we start to uncover the hidden traps that often
ensnare brilliant minds.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Okay, so let's really explore this trap because it sounds
so common, maybe kind of insidious, and I think many
of us, especially those who maybe identify as smart, have
probably fallen into it at one time or another without realizing.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Oh, that's incredibly common.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
So imagine for a moment, Okay, two people standing in
front of a giant, really complex maze. And this isn't
just any maze. At the very end of it is
like anything you've ever dreamed of. Boundless money, incredible success,
absolute freedom, you name it, it's all there.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
The ultimate prize.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Exactly one person is a certified genius, super intelligent, maybe
an idetic memory IQ off the charts. The others just
you know, a regular person, average in every measurable way,
maybe even a little below average on some conventional intelligence tests.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Okay, got the picture.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Now watch them. Before even considering stepping into the maze,
the genius immediately sits down at the entrance, gets out
a stack of paper, a pen, maybe even a protractor, right,
the tools of analysis, and they meticulously try to understand
and map out the entire route, every potential turn, every
dead end, every hidden trap, before taking a single physical.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Step, planning everything in advance.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
They're absolutely terrified of making a wrong turn, hitting a
dead end, or heaven forbid, wasting precious time. Their objective
isn't just to complete the maze. It's to find the perfect,
most efficient, most elegant route possible, the infallible plan, the
smartest solution.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
And here's the crucial psychological insight into why that profound
fear of misstep often exists, especially for people identified as smart. Okay,
when people grow up being constantly praised and told they're smart,
smart doesn't just describe an ability, It becomes an integral
part of their identity who they are, right.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
It's tied to their self worth exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Their intelligence is inextricably linked to their self worth. So
when they face the prospect of failure or even just
making a public mistake, it isn't merely a setback and
a task. It's perceived as a direct attack on their
very identity.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Wow, that's heavy.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
It is. The idea of looking not smart or making
it dumb mistake is deeply threatening to their sense of self.
This is why you often see highly intelligent individuals, say
the person who got straight a's in business school goes
on to get a master's than a PhD, and becomes
a respected college professor, totally valuable contributions, of course, but
never actually starts a business.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Themselves, even though they studied business.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Right because starting a business would be too risky. If
they fail, people might think they weren't really that smart
all along, or worse, they might internalize that belief themselves,
leading to this devastating blow to their self perception.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
So the risk isn't just financial, it's existential.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
In a way. Yes, the perceived safety of academia or
maybe a well trodden corporate path where intellectual prowess is
constantly validated and mistakes are often confined to theoretical discussions
that can be incredibly appealing and deceptively secure.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah, I can see that. Going from feeling like a genius,
the one everyone looks up to, to potentially feeling like
a total idiot because a real world ure didn't pan out.
That's an incredibly hard pill to swallow, almost unbearable for something,
especially when your entire self worth is so tightly tied
to your intellect and your ability to always be right.
You see it play out in so many areas, not
just business creative stuff, even big personal decisions that fear
(15:16):
of improfession, the dread of making a suboptimal move. It
can be absolutely crippling. I know, I've certainly grappled with it.
I remember once I had this idea for a creative
project and I spent months, literally months, trying to perfect
every single detail in my head, planning out every contingency.
I wanted it to be flawless before I even started
(15:38):
writing the first word.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
And what happened.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
The irony is I never actually started it. It remained
this perfectly planned, perfectly conceptualized project that only existed in
my mind precisely because I was so afraid of executing
it imperfectly.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
A classic example of the trap we're discussing exact body. Now,
let's shift our gaze back to our regular guy at
the maze entrant, okay, Joe. He glances at the maze,
maybe shrugs and just wanders right on it. No planning, minimal.
Maybe he just starts moving. He bumps into walls, he
makes wrong turns. He probably runs around in circles for
a bit.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Which would horrify the genius.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
To the genius observing this from the entrance, such actions
would be embarrassing, a clear sign of incompetence or lack
of foresight. But to the regular guy. To them, it's
absolutely no problem at all. They don't attach their self
worth to making the perfect first move. Every time they
make a mistake, they simply backtrack, observe what didn't work,
(16:33):
and try a different route. Most of the time, that
next attempt might still be another mistake. Yeah, probably, But
every so often, maybe just by chance, maybe by learning,
they get it right. And through this iterative process, this
constant trial and error, they're steadily accumulating valuable real world lessons,
and on average they're getting closer and closer to the
(16:54):
end of the maze.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Okay, so while all this messy, hands on trial and
error is happy, our genius is still sitting patiently at
the starting line, very likely.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Still obsessing over the perfect theoretical map, meticulously sharpening their pencil,
convinced that just one more hour, one more day, one
more month of planning will yield the infallible, guaranteed strategy.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
So in this scenario, who do you honestly think is
going to come out on top? Who actually reaches the
end of the maze and claims the rewards?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It becomes painfully obvious when you frame it that way,
doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Yeah, it really does.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Even if they make a ton of mistakes along the way,
that regular guy is eventually going to find his way
through the maze. Meanwhile, that genius will very likely still
be at the entrance, perpetually perfecting their theoretical map, never
actually having entered because they were paralyzed by the terror
of making a wrong turn, hitting a dead end, or
wasting time trying to figure out the path. Wow, and
(17:50):
this isn't just a hypothetical story. It illustrates a profound
and universal truth about wealth and success. These dumb people,
as perceived by traditional metrics, actually have an immense, often
unrecognized advantage.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
What's the advantage?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
They simply care about achieving their goals, while smart people
often want to achieve their goals the smart.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Way, ah, the smart way meaning the perfect way.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Often yeah, the perfect, flawless, risk free way, which, let's
be honest, simply doesn't exist in the chaotic, uncertain, and
dynamic real world.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
This fear of failure, this endless planning, this relentless pursuit
of an elusive perfection, it absolutely destroys progress. It's like
a self imposed prison, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
It really is.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
I've definitely felt that pull myself, that powerful gravitational force
where the desire to do something perfectly completely prevents me
from doing it at all. It's almost a form of
self sabotage masquerading as prudence or being careful.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
And that's precisely why we have a clinical term for
it psychology and business analysis, paralysis.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
A Malsi's paralysis.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Okay, intelligence, when it's not cared with a willingness to
act imperfectly, becomes a significant disadvantage. If it makes you
overthink everything to crippling inaction. The very tools meant to
help you navigate complexity instead trap you within it, binding
you to the starting line.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
So, if this analysis paralysis is the core problem, the
sort of silent killer of dreams and wealth, what's the solution.
How do we break free from this insidious cycle of
overthinking and actually move decisively towards tangible results and ultimately
the financial freedom we seek. Okay, So, if being smart
in the traditional sense isn't the guaranteed path to wealth
and overthinking is this formidable trap that catches so many
(19:31):
of us, what's the antidote? How do we flip the
script and move from perpetual planning to powerful progress. The
good news, and I think this is truly empowering, is
that this isn't about some secret innate intelligence you don't have,
or some unfair advantage to know.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Not at all.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
No, the people who consistently break free from overthinking and
actually build substantial wealth have simply mastered or are actively
cultivating two key skills. And the real good news anyone,
absolutely anyone can learn and develop these skills.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
That's the key point. There are learnable skills, and the
first one, the foundational one, is simply.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Execution, execution, just doing it.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Just doing it. It's the action taker's advantage, plain and simple.
Think of ideas like seeds. For them to grow, to
blossom into something tangible and valuable, they have to be planted.
They have to be watered, They have to be nurtured
through consistent effort.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Right, idea alone doesn't grow exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
An idea, no matter how profoundly brilliant or revolutionary it
seems in your head, is utterly inert until it's brought
to life through action. Ideas are incredibly abundant, almost infinitely
so genuinely, every single person has thousands of brilliant ideas
flashing through their mind every day.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Oh yeah, shower thoughts, driving thoughts.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Totally, starting a new business, writing a book, creating a
new product, learning a new skill. The world is a
wash with good ideas. What truly separates success from failure,
what creates massive wealth and impact, is executing those ideas better,
more consistently and more relentlessly than anyone else.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That makes so much intuitive sense. We tend to romanticize
and celebrate the idea guy, right, the visionary who comes
up with the groundbreaking concept. But the real magic, the
actual value creation, happens in the doer, the one who
rolls up their sleeves and actually makes it happen.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Precisely. Think about Jeff Bezos and Amazon.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Okay, good example.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
He didn't invent online chopping, did.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
He, No, definitely not. The idea was around.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Many people had that idea. The internet was a new frontier,
and the concept of buying things online was certainly floating
around in the early days, probably in dorm rooms and
garages all over the place. But he executed it better,
more aggressively and with greater foresight than anyone else. He
built the incredibly complex logistical systems, He scaled the operations
(21:49):
at an unprecedented pace. He focused relentlessly on customer experience,
even when it meant short term losses.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
That customer obsession was key, and.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
He iterated constantly, always pushing the boundaries of what was
possible online. That's why today Amazon dominates e commerce and
so much more. It wasn't the novelty of the initial idea,
which wasn't unique, but the superior, unwavering execution, the relentless
planting and nurturing of that seed, that made all the difference.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
How many of those thousands of brilliant ideas that cross
your mind every day do you actually take a single,
imperfect step.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Towards That's the million dollar question. Isn't it the.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
User or lose it principle applies directly here. I think
you can have a brain the size of Albert Einstein's
capable of incredible conceptual leaps, but it doesn't actually matter
for wealth creation if you never use it to produce
anything tangible, to act on its insights in the real world.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Well said, inspiration is everywhere, truly, but the courage and
the discipline to execute that's incredibly rare.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
And here's the biggest misconception I think many people have
about execution. They think it's an innate personality trait.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Ah. Yeah, the born action.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Taker myth exactly, that you're either born an action taker
or you're not. They might say, with a sigh, Oh,
I'm just not wired that way. I'm more of a thinker,
or I'm just not disciplined enough.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
And that precisely is such a powerful self limiting belief
that holds countless intelligent people back. It's an excuse, frankly.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
So it's not true.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
The truth is, execution isn't a genetic lottery. It's a muscle.
It's a skill, and it's something anyone can train themselves to.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Develop, like going to the gym for your action muscle.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Exactly like that, if you want to get physically stronger,
you don't just think about lifting weights, You lift them right,
imperfectly at first, probably awkwardly, but consistently. To build your
execution muscle, start by consciously breaking down those daunting tasks
into their smallest, most imperfect first steps, like ridiculously small steps.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Okay, give me an example.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Okay. So, so, if your goal is to write a book,
don't try to plan the entire outline, research for months
and then sit down to write the perfect first chapter.
That's paralyzing.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah, sounds familiar.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Commit to writing one sentence today, just one, even if
it's terrible. Or if you want to start a business,
instead of trying to build the perfect fully featured product,
focus on just one minimal, viable feature you can get
into a potential customer's hands this week purely to get feedback.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So lower the bar for starting.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Basically dramatically reduce the perceived risk and effort of the
first step to almost zero, make it so easy to
start that it feels silly not to. That's how you
overcome inertia and take action. It's something you build through
consistent practice and a deliberate shift in mindset, not something
you're simply born with.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
That's incredibly practical advice. Focusing on that one small, imperfect step,
it makes the mountain feel more like a molehill. Okay,
so that's execution, absolutely crucial. What's the second crucial skill?
The one that often gets overlooked or undervalued in favor
of traditional book smarts, But you said is arguably even
more potent for building wealth?
Speaker 2 (24:55):
The second skill, and yeah, I'd argue it's often even
more powerful, more foundational, and certainly more widely applicable for
wealth building in today's interconnected world. Is social intelligence?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Social intelligence? Okay, define that a bit more.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
It's actually far more important than traditional IQ and many
real world scenarios, especially when it comes to financial success
in creating lasting value.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
So if we understand that IQ helps you understand complex information,
solve technical problems, master analytical tasks, get excellent grades, all important, sure,
but clearly not guaranteeing wealth. How does social intelligence fundamentally
differ and why does it matter so much? More specifically
for building wealth, what are the mechanisms that play there?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Okay, so the distinction is critical. IQ helps you understand
things and problems like data systems, abstract concepts. Social intelligence
helps you understand people.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Okay, things versus people right.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And because wealth fundamentally is created through human interaction, convincing
people to work with you, or invest in you, or
buy from you, social intelligence helps you navigate those intricate
human relationships. It helps you get people to trust you,
to want to work collaboratively with you, to understand.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Your vision, to buy into what you're doing exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And ultimately to open up their wallets for you, whether
they're customers, investors, employees, or partners. If building wealth, if
creating impact, if leading people is what you truly want,
that's where social intelligence matters most profoundly.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So it's about reading a room, building rapport.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
All of that. It's the ability to read a room,
build rapport quickly, inspire confidence, negotiate effectively, persuade ethically, and
motivate diverse groups towards a common goal. It's about empathy,
understanding others perspectives, communicating clearly, and compellingly.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
That makes perfect, undeniable sense. You can possess the most
brilliant product, the most groundbreaking service, the most ingenious idea
ever conceived, but if you can articulate its value in
a way that resonates with other humans, if you can't
get anyone to understand and it, believe in it, or
ultimately buy it, then it's just a brilliant idea of
(27:03):
sitting in your head waiting maybe for someone else with
better people skills to come along and run with it.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Exactly. Consider Steve Jobs again.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Yeah, perfect example for this too.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
He was undeniably brilliant, a visionary, absolutely, but he wasn't
primarily known for being the best engineer at Apple, right.
He didn't typically build the devices or write the complex
code himself. He wasn't necessarily the guy in the weeds
soldering components.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
No, he hired people like Wozniak for that.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Precisely. His genius wasn't primarily technical, but rather in vision,
in leadership and critically, and his unparalleled ability to sell
his ideas the ultimate salesman in a way, he convinced
some of the world's best engineers and designers to dedicate
their lives to his incredibly ambitious, often seemingly impossible visions.
(27:51):
He knew how to captivate an audience, how to craft
a narrative, how to make people believe his products weren't
just new devices, but revolutionary tools that would change their lives.
Even when they were just concepts being unveiled on a stage, he.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Made people feel something about a piece of technology.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Yes, he made people feel a connection to Apple and
his products. That's why Apple became one of the most valuable,
most influential companies in the world, not solely because Steve
Jobs was a fantastic coder or a circuit designer, but
because he knew how to rally people behind his mission,
how to make them feel part of something big or
something extraordinary.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
It truly illustrates how wealth, particularly significant and sustainable wealth,
is often built not just on your ability to create,
but maybe far more often on your ability to shape opinion,
to influence decisions, to get people to take action, and
most importantly, maybe to connect authentically with the right people
at the right time, fostering trust and loyalty, that human connection,
(28:47):
that ability to inspire and persuade. It feels like it's
absolutely everything it.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Is honestly, think of it this way. In venture capital,
investors don't throw their millions at just well constructed spreadge
sheets and flawless business plans.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Now, they invest in the founder.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
They invest in founders who sell a compelling vision, who
exude confidence, charisma, and inspire belief that they can actually
pull off the impossible. Customers don't just buy products based
solely on features in price. They buy from brands who
tell a good story, who evoke an emotional response, who
align with their values.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Brand loyalty is huge.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Huge success in almost any field, business, politics, arts, even
science to some extent, isn't solely about knowing the technicalities
are having the smartest idea. It's fundamentally about great communication,
the art of persuasion, empathetic leadership, and the profound ability
to build relationships. These are all fundamental facets of social
intelligence in action.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Okay, this is making so much sense. Execution and social intelligence.
So if we now deeply understand these two vital skills,
how do we practically apply them? How do we overcome
that initial doubt, that analysis paralysis we talked about, start
taking decisive action to truly build wealth and shape our
own futures Okay, this feels like where we bring it
(30:05):
all together, right, connecting these crucial skills execution and social
intelligence to a tangible pathway.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
For you exactly putting it into practice.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
You already know and hopefully this deep dive has reinforced
that it's not primarily about being the most intellectually brilliant
person in the room, not just about a que points.
What it truly comes down to, what separates those who
succeed from those who merely dream, is your mindset, how
you approach challenges, how you perceive setbacks, and ultimately, how
you see yourself in the whole process of creating something.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Exactly, as long as you consciously internalize and really try
to live by these three fundamental rules, these guiding principles
for action, you're going to run laps around everybody else, seriously,
no matter how smart they think they are or how
meticulously they plan their theoretical empires from the sidelines.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
Okay, I'm ready three rules.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
These aren't just superficial tips. There are profound shifts in
perspective that can reshape your approach to everything. Rule number one,
and this is absolutely critical for breaking free from that
genius trap that analysis paralysis. Stop waiting for the perfect moment.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Oh, the perfect moment myth.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
It's a huge one, a profound illusion that shackles so
many people. You need to understand, like at your core,
that life doesn't come with a trial period or a
money back guarantee, no free returns on life decisions. Right.
You can't just dip your toes in the water of
entrepreneurship or a new career or a major life decision.
(31:30):
You've got to truly jump in, sometimes headfirst, and just
start swimming. The idea of a perfect moment, you know,
when all the stars align, when you magically have all
the answers, all the resources, and zero risk. It's a
convenient fiction. It's a self perpetuating excuse for inaction.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
It's so incredibly easy to get caught in that cycle,
isn't it. We tell ourselves things like, oh, I just
need one more certification before I start, or I'll start
my business when the market conditions are absolutely perfect. Or
I'll launch this project when I have every single tiny
detail ironed out, when my website is flawless, when my
product has every conceivable feature.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
The list goes on and on.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
But the hard truth is you could spend years theorizing,
meticulously planning, endlessly preparing, and until you take that first real,
imperfect step towards your goals, it's all just speculation. It's
a beautifully constructed hypothetical future that never quite arrives.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It just stays hypothetical.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
I remember a time years ago I was agonizing over
launching a new online course. I kept tweaking the curriculum,
perfecting the presentation slides, convinced it had to be absolutely
flawless before I dared to put it out there. For having,
my mentor at the time simply said, just launch it.
It's never going to be perfect. Your first customers will
tell you it's really important. I was terrified, honestly, but
(32:47):
I put out an imperfect, minimum viable product version, and
the feedback from that initial flawed step was a thousand
times more valuable than all my months of perfect planning
could ever have been. It taught me exactly what my
audience actually needed, not what I thought they needed, and
I just.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Iterated from there, that's the process.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
So instead of staying trapped in that endless, debilitating cycle
of what if, ask yourself a different, more empowering question,
what's the next smallest, most imperfect step I can take right.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Now, smallest step key phrase.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
It doesn't have to be a grand gesture, a huge
leap of faith. It can be incredibly small, like sending
one email, making one phone call, writing one paragraph, and
then crucially act on that immediately. Don't wait momentum. Real
world progress and genuine learning are built by taking action,
not by endlessly perfecting plans in a vacuum.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
That's a powerful illustration, and it leads directly into our
second rule. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Okay, easier said than done sometimes, oh for sure.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
But this connects correctly back to our maze analogy and
the regular guy's.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Approach right right, just wandering in and bumping into walls.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
You have to accept this fundamental truth. Every single day
you were writing a unique story without knowing the ending.
It's an unscripted, improvised narrative, so get used to that reality.
There's no magical GPS that will guide you unerringly.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
No Google maps for life.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Exactly, no step by step instruction manual to become the
person you're truly meant to be, or to achieve the
specific wealth and impact you desire life by its very
nature is an experiment.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
It's messy, and because there's no perfect, pre ridden map,
because you're forging your own path, you're absolutely gonna make
mistakes along the way, guaranteed. And that's not a sign
of failure. It's just a fundamental, unavoidable part of the job.
It's like learning to ride a bike. You fall, you
skin your knees, you wobble. Off course, we all need it,
but each fall, each wabble, each deviation teaches you something
(34:45):
crucial about balance, about steering, about how to recover. It's
not a failure in the punitive sense. It's simply data,
valuable feedback from the real.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
World, exactly right. It's just data. Yeah, So don't be
afraid to act, even and I'd say especially in the
face of profound uncertainty. Most of life is uncertain, and
that's not just okay, it's the fertile ground where growth
and innovation actually happen.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Embrace the uncertainty, embrace it.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
When you embrace mistakes not as personal failings, but as
essential learning opportunities, as data points that inform and refine
your next move, you gain an incredible, almost unfair advantage.
The regular guy in the Maze wasn't embarrassed by his
wrong turns. He used them to learn to adapt, to
eliminate non viable paths, ultimately moving closer to his goal.
(35:35):
That's the resilient, iterative mindset you need to cultivate. It
transforms every misstep into a stepping stone.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Okay, that reframing is powerful. Mistakes as data not failure.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
And finally, the third rule for building wealth, which ties
profoundly into that second crucial skill we discussed social intelligence.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Yes, rule number three prioritize people, not just ideas.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Prioritize people.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Okay, this is a crucial, often overlooked shift in focus
because every idea, no matter how brilliant, how perfectly logical
or economically sound, it seems inside your own mind, it
has to be communicated, well understood, and ultimately embraced by
other human beings to have any real world impact or
generate any real wealth.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
An idea in a vacuum is.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Worthless pretty much. An idea in isolation is dormant. It
only holds real power and potential when it reaches real people,
when it resonates with their needs, their desires, their emotions,
and getting it to that point takes more than just
intellectual rigor. It takes vision, leadership, and critically, the ability
(36:36):
to tell a compelling, authentic story. These are all profound
elements of social intelligence in action.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
So even the best idea needs good salesmanship essentially in.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
The broadest sense. Yes, you could have the most scientifically sound,
the most economically brilliant, the most technically innovative idea in history,
but if you can't articulate its value in a way
that truly connects with others, in a way that inspires
them to trust you, to work with you, to invest
in you, or to buy from you, it means a
brilliant idea that never sees the light of day. It
just stays dormant, trapped in your own mind.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
It's so true, and I've seen this play out time
and time again. I've witnessed countless incredible concepts, truly groundbreaking ideas,
just fall absolutely flat because the person presenting them couldn't
connect with their audience that it was all the time.
They were brilliant, maybe technically dazzling, but they spoke in
jargon or they failed to tap into the emotional why.
And conversely, I've seen ideas that honestly on paper, weren't
(37:32):
necessarily revolutionary absolutely take off and achieve massive success because
the presenter brought them to life with infectious passion, a
compelling vision, and a deep empathetic understanding of what people
actually cared about, what problems they truly faced. It wasn't
about the dry facts. It was about the emotional resonance,
the shared belief, the human connection they forged.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Ysisely, that's social intelligence winning out. So next time you
set out to tell the world what you're up to,
or present a new idea, or even just try to
sell a product or service, remember that it's not just
what you say that counts. It's fundamentally about how it
makes people.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Feel feel okay.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
That emotional connection, that sense of shared purpose, that trust
you build through genuine communication, that is what moves people.
It moves them to trust you, to work with you,
to invest in you, and ultimately to choose you in
your idea. It's the engine of human progress and by extension,
wealth creation. Hashtash tag tag outro. Wow.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
So we've gone on quite the deep dive today, haven't
we uncovering a truth that might fundamentally go against everything
you've ever been taught or maybe just implicitly believed about
intelligence and success.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
It's a big shift from many people, it really is.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
But it feels like a powerful and honestly liberating revelation
when you truly embrace it, when you really let it
sink in.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
At the end of the day, the fundamental gap between
just aspiring to success and truly achieving it, between having
brilliant ideas and building lasting wealth, not primarily intelligence. It
is almost every single time action action. Action beats intelligence
every single time, because action is the indispensable bridge between
an idea and its realization in the world. Without that bridge,
(39:12):
without execution on the social intelligence to bring others along,
even the most brilliant thoughts, the most perfect plans, remain
just that, ephemeral thoughts, unrealized potentials, stuck in the genius's head.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
At the Maze entrance, We truly hope this deep dive
has not only challenged your perceptions, but has also genuinely
geared you up and made you feel ready, truly ready
to take decisive action on your own goals, whatever they
may be, whether it's finally starting that business you've been
dreaming about, pursuing a new skill, or career path you've
been hesitant to explore, or simply reevaluating your approach to
(39:45):
your current work and relationships. The power, the agency, the
impetus to start. It's absolutely within you.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Your life, your career, your financial trajectory. They could look vastly,
profoundly different if you simply shift your focus, shifted from
endless planning, from the paralysis of overthinking, towards decisive action,
resilient iteration, and authentic connection with others.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
It sounds like a liberation.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
It is a liberation. It's a liberation from the paralyzing
burden of striving for theoretical perfection. It allows you to
embrace the iterative, the messy, and ultimately the incredibly rewarding
journey of truly building wealth and impact in the real world.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
So, if smart is no longer your primary, maybe limiting
measure of success, what new opportunities, What exhilarating new pathways
open up for you when you courageously embrace action as
your ultimate superpower.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Consider, just for a final thought, that genius who never
entered the maze, perpetually sharpening their pencil, forever poised at
the starting line. What if the real measure of brilliance
isn't actually in crafting the perfect, unexecuted plan. What if
it's found in the profound courage to take that first, imperfect, messy,
yet utterly essential step. What if that is the true
off an unsung mark of genius is in the real
(41:00):
world mhm
So have you ever found yourself looking at someone and
let's be totally honest here, you think, Okay, they're not
exactly splitting the atom over there.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Uh huh, Yeah, I know the feeling.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Yet they're absolutely crushing it financially, just like really successful.
Maybe they're making more money than you, building an incredible
business or just you know, living with a level of
financial freedom that seems well kind of out of reach
for your own arguably sharper intellect. Right, it's a frustrating feeling,
(00:30):
isn't it even a baffling.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Sometimes totally baffling.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, it makes you wonder are they secretly some kind
of genius or is there something fundamental I'm completely missing
about how success, especially you know, financial success, actually works
in the real world.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well, what's truly fascinating here, and I think often overlooked,
is that the conventional wisdom we've all been sort of
steeped in from childhood it might actually be more of
the hindrance than a help.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
A hindrance. Yeah really, how so?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well, intelligence, while it's undeniably a valuable asset in lots
of areas of life, it's often quite overrated when it
comes to the specific pursuit of building significant wealth overrated.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
In fact, sometimes that very intelligence, or maybe our perception
of it, our reliance on it, can become a significant obstacle.
It can create this particular set of challenges that can
actually actively impede progress rather than speed it up.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
That's a really powerful thought and provocative too. It really
challenges that conventional wisdom, like you said, that most of
us grew up with. When you say a particular set
of challenges, are we talking about something internal like a
mindset thing, or is it more about how highly intelligent
people interact with the world, Because I've definitely felt that
internal friction myself.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Sometimes it can be both. Honestly, internal mindset plays a
huge role, but also how that mindset translates into external
action or often in action.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Okay, well, that's precisely what we're plunging into today. Our
mission for this deep dive is to fundamentally rethink the connection,
or maybe the lack of connection between intelligence and wealth. Right,
We're going to explore why being smart doesn't always translate
to being rich. How seemingly less intelligent people, by some
metrics anyway, often find surprising and robust success, and most crucially,
(02:18):
how you listening can leverage your own unique capabilities and yes,
you're intelligence too, more effectively to build the wealth and
freedom you desire.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Exactly. It's about using what you have in the right way.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
By the end of this deep dive, you might just
look at your own capabilities and the path to success
in a completely new and hopefully empowering light. We're talking
about maybe a genuine paradigm shift in thinking.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Indeed, and look, we're not here to diminish the value
of intelligence at all. That's not the point, no, of
course not. It's more about contextualizing its role. We're going
to challenge some of those deeply ingrained beliefs that often
box us in and explore a different, maybe more nuanced
perspective on what truly drives findinancial success.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Moving beyond just smart equals rich.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Exactly, moving beyond that simplistic, often misleading equation. It's about
understanding the subtle dynamics of how intelligence plays a role
and maybe more importantly, identifying the areas where its influence diminishes,
you know, and where other qualities, often underestimated ones, take precedence. Okay,
this is really about equipping you with a fresh lens,
(03:25):
a new way to view your own potential.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Okay, let's really unpack this societal narrative then, because I
think so many of us have internalized it without even
realizing it. From the moment we first step into a classroom, right,
we're bombarded with this pervasive belief being smart is the
absolute key to success.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
It starts so early, it really does.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Think about it. The kids who ace every test, who
always raise their hands first, the ones who get into
the gifted programs. They're the ones everyone parents, teachers expects
to go far, the chosen ones, kind of their earmark
for good grades, top tier universities, prestigious careers like doctors, lawyers, engineers's, academics.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You know the list, right, the safe paths.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
And the implicit message, whether it's spoken aloud or just
sort of subtly reinforced, is that if you don't fit
that particular mold of academic brilliance, well life's going to
be a tougher climb. It's going to be harder for you.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, that message is definitely out there.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And this belief system, it really sinks its roots deep
into our minds, doesn't it. It's why so many people
spend years, sometimes decades, chasing degree after degree more qualifications,
convinced that the more they study, the smarter they'll become,
and that this accumulation of intelligence and credentials will naturally,
almost inevitably lead to greater financial prosperity.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Like it's a direct cause and effect exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Society absolutely worships traditional intelligence, almost to a fault, sometimes
defining it in these really narrow academic terms.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
And that pervasive belief, Well, it brings us to a
critical question, doesn't If traditional intelligence alone, like IQ scores
and academic achievements, where the primary determinant of wealth, then
the wealthiest individuals in the world would undeniably be found
predominantly among say, scientists, theoretical physicists, acclaimed surgeons, university professors.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Right, logically, yes, that's where the highest IQs often are.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
These are fields brimming with individuals of extraordinarily high IQ,
deeply knowledgeable, intellectually formidable. Yet when we genuinely look at
the list of billionaires or even just you know, financially
successful people who built substantial wealth, that's often profoundly not
the case.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah, it's really not.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Many of the titans of industry and finance didn't follow
that academic blueprint at all, not even close.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Sometimes, and even within those high i Q fields you mentioned,
like science or medicine, the individuals who rise to the
very top of wealth, they often seem to have something
else going on too, right, like an entrepreneurial streak or
maybe exceptional networking abilities.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Exactly, which points to something beyond just their raw intellectual horsepower.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Consider, for instance, someone like Richard Branson, I mean, everyone
who knows the name Richard Branson. His story is such
a fantastic and frankly inspiring counter example to this whole myth.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Oh definitely classic case.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
He famously struggled with dyslexia, had terrible grades, apparently dropped
out of school at what sixteen?
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, sixteen, very young.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
No formal university education, no clear direction in life according
to conventional standards at that age. Most people looking at
that trajectory back then would have absolutely written him off.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
For sure, they'd see him as maybe destined for a
very modest future at best. Absolutely the traditional markers of
success were completely absent in his early life. And yet,
despite that profoundly unconventional start, Branson didn't just stumble into success.
It wasn't just luck.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
No, you can't build what he built on luck.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Alone, exactly. His journey is like a masterclass in a
different kind of brilliance. He started a student magazine, then
launched a mail order record business, which quickly evolved into
a record store, then a record label, citing names like
the Sex Pistols, Mike Oldfield. Wow. From there he expanded
into airlines with Virgin Atlantic, then mobile phones, and now
(07:08):
even commercial spaceflight with Virgin Galactic. I mean, the range
is incredible.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
It's mind boggling.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Really, he's worth billions. But he's not your typical genius
as defined by academic metrics, not even close. His trajectory
demonstrates a distinct kind of intelligence, one focused on like vision,
risk taking, resourcefulness, and above all, just relentless execution.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Execution that seems key.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
It's a testament to the idea that there's more than
one way to be smart, much more.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
And that's the thing I've seen play out in my
own life. You know, I know so many people who
maybe didn't excel in the traditional academic sense, maybe they
found school boring, or they just didn't fit the rigid structure.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Happens all the time.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
But they had this incredible drive, or an insatiable curiosity,
or maybe just a knack for seeing opportunities where others didn't.
They often forge their own path, sometimes really roundabout ones,
learning by doing, making mistakes, learning the hard way, maybe yeah,
learning the hard way, and they ended up thriving in
ways that completely outpaced some of their traditionally smarter peers.
(08:13):
I remember this friend from high school, absolutely brilliant conceptually,
always is the tests, went to an Ivy League school.
But my other friend, who honestly barely scraped by graduation,
started a small carpentry business right after school, learned on
the job, made mistakes, iterated, kept going and now runs
this thriving construction firm with dozens of employees.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Wow. Great example.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
It's just a testament to how diverse and unconventional the
routes to real world success truly are.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Those are powerful, relatable examples. And then you know, on
the entirely opposite end of the spectrum, we have someone
like Nikola Tesla.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Ah Tesla the ultimate genius.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Right, he was undeniably a genius in the purest, most
traditional sense of the word. Invented alternating current ac which
is the foundational technology behind well basically every single modern
electricity system worldwide.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Our whole modern world runs on his ideas.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Pretty much. Without his groundbreaking work, our modern electrified world
simply would not exist as we know it. He's arguably
one of the most influential inventors of all time. His
patents alone, just the intellectual property from his sheer intellectual brilliance,
could have made him the richest person of all time.
His mind was just a universe of innovation.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
It's truly astonishing to think about the sheer impact of
his mind. Every light bulb, every appliance, every phone charging
right now, it all owes something fundamental to Tesla's genius.
He had the vision, the profound intellect, the sheer inventive
power to reshape the world. His contributions are immeasurable, really.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
And yet despite that unparalleled brilliance, despite being the man
whose idea is literally illuminated cities and powered industries, Tesla
famously lacked business acumen.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Uh Yeah, that's the sad part of the story.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
He struggled massively with commercializing his inventions, often battled with
investors like Edison, failed to secure the financial backing needed
to fully realize or protect his innovations.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
It's heartbreaking, really.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
And he died completely broke in a hotel room in
New York City and the famous story supposedly in love
with a pigeon. Yeah. What Nikola Tesla's story shows us,
in the most stark and kind of poignant terms is
that you can read all the books, get all the degrees,
possess all the knowledge, all the theoretical intelligence, but even
being an absolute world changing genius doesn't automatically guarantee financial
(10:36):
wealth or even basic real world success. It's a sobering
reminder that different domains of intelligence and skill sets operate
quite independently when it comes to the creation and accumulation
of wealth. Pure intellectual horsepower, while incredibly valuable, just isn't
the whole story, not even close.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
So, in a weird, almost paradoxical way, intelligence can actually
end up holding us back a lot of the time.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Sometimes.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, it's an incredibly counterintuitive idea when you first hear it,
isn't it The very quality we strive for, that we
celebrate and educate for can become a stumbling block. It's
almost like having this magnificent engine, super powerful, but maybe
without a transmission or wheels, all that power, but no
efficient way to actually move forward in the real world.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
That's a great analogy, Yeah, and it raises an important
question for us to ponder. Why why does the very
thing we're taught to value so highly, the attribute we
spend years cultivating, sometimes become a significant impediment on the
path to building wealth? Right?
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Why does it trip people up?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Why does it actively prevent some highly intelligent individuals from
achieving the financial success they seem on paper at least
so destined for. This is where the story gets really interesting,
as we start to uncover the hidden traps that often
ensnare brilliant minds.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Okay, so let's really explore this trap because it sounds
so common, maybe kind of insidious, and I think many
of us, especially those who maybe identify as smart, have
probably fallen into it at one time or another without realizing.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Oh, that's incredibly common.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
So imagine for a moment, Okay, two people standing in
front of a giant, really complex maze. And this isn't
just any maze. At the very end of it is
like anything you've ever dreamed of. Boundless money, incredible success,
absolute freedom, you name it, it's all there.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
The ultimate prize.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Exactly one person is a certified genius, super intelligent, maybe
an idetic memory IQ off the charts. The others just
you know, a regular person, average in every measurable way,
maybe even a little below average on some conventional intelligence tests.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Okay, got the picture.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Now watch them. Before even considering stepping into the maze,
the genius immediately sits down at the entrance, gets out
a stack of paper, a pen, maybe even a protractor, right,
the tools of analysis, and they meticulously try to understand
and map out the entire route, every potential turn, every
dead end, every hidden trap, before taking a single physical.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Step, planning everything in advance.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
They're absolutely terrified of making a wrong turn, hitting a
dead end, or heaven forbid, wasting precious time. Their objective
isn't just to complete the maze. It's to find the perfect,
most efficient, most elegant route possible, the infallible plan, the
smartest solution.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
And here's the crucial psychological insight into why that profound
fear of misstep often exists, especially for people identified as smart. Okay,
when people grow up being constantly praised and told they're smart,
smart doesn't just describe an ability, It becomes an integral
part of their identity who they are, right.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
It's tied to their self worth exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Their intelligence is inextricably linked to their self worth. So
when they face the prospect of failure or even just
making a public mistake, it isn't merely a setback and
a task. It's perceived as a direct attack on their
very identity.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Wow, that's heavy.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
It is. The idea of looking not smart or making
it dumb mistake is deeply threatening to their sense of self.
This is why you often see highly intelligent individuals, say
the person who got straight a's in business school goes
on to get a master's than a PhD, and becomes
a respected college professor, totally valuable contributions, of course, but
never actually starts a business.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Themselves, even though they studied business.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Right because starting a business would be too risky. If
they fail, people might think they weren't really that smart
all along, or worse, they might internalize that belief themselves,
leading to this devastating blow to their self perception.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
So the risk isn't just financial, it's existential.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
In a way. Yes, the perceived safety of academia or
maybe a well trodden corporate path where intellectual prowess is
constantly validated and mistakes are often confined to theoretical discussions
that can be incredibly appealing and deceptively secure.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah, I can see that. Going from feeling like a genius,
the one everyone looks up to, to potentially feeling like
a total idiot because a real world ure didn't pan out.
That's an incredibly hard pill to swallow, almost unbearable for something,
especially when your entire self worth is so tightly tied
to your intellect and your ability to always be right.
You see it play out in so many areas, not
just business creative stuff, even big personal decisions that fear
(15:16):
of improfession, the dread of making a suboptimal move. It
can be absolutely crippling. I know, I've certainly grappled with it.
I remember once I had this idea for a creative
project and I spent months, literally months, trying to perfect
every single detail in my head, planning out every contingency.
I wanted it to be flawless before I even started
(15:38):
writing the first word.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
And what happened.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
The irony is I never actually started it. It remained
this perfectly planned, perfectly conceptualized project that only existed in
my mind precisely because I was so afraid of executing
it imperfectly.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
A classic example of the trap we're discussing exact body. Now,
let's shift our gaze back to our regular guy at
the maze entrant, okay, Joe. He glances at the maze,
maybe shrugs and just wanders right on it. No planning, minimal.
Maybe he just starts moving. He bumps into walls, he
makes wrong turns. He probably runs around in circles for
a bit.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Which would horrify the genius.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
To the genius observing this from the entrance, such actions
would be embarrassing, a clear sign of incompetence or lack
of foresight. But to the regular guy. To them, it's
absolutely no problem at all. They don't attach their self
worth to making the perfect first move. Every time they
make a mistake, they simply backtrack, observe what didn't work,
(16:33):
and try a different route. Most of the time, that
next attempt might still be another mistake. Yeah, probably, But
every so often, maybe just by chance, maybe by learning,
they get it right. And through this iterative process, this
constant trial and error, they're steadily accumulating valuable real world lessons,
and on average they're getting closer and closer to the
(16:54):
end of the maze.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Okay, so while all this messy, hands on trial and
error is happy, our genius is still sitting patiently at
the starting line, very likely.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Still obsessing over the perfect theoretical map, meticulously sharpening their pencil,
convinced that just one more hour, one more day, one
more month of planning will yield the infallible, guaranteed strategy.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
So in this scenario, who do you honestly think is
going to come out on top? Who actually reaches the
end of the maze and claims the rewards?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It becomes painfully obvious when you frame it that way,
doesn't it.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Yeah, it really does.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Even if they make a ton of mistakes along the way,
that regular guy is eventually going to find his way
through the maze. Meanwhile, that genius will very likely still
be at the entrance, perpetually perfecting their theoretical map, never
actually having entered because they were paralyzed by the terror
of making a wrong turn, hitting a dead end, or
wasting time trying to figure out the path. Wow, and
(17:50):
this isn't just a hypothetical story. It illustrates a profound
and universal truth about wealth and success. These dumb people,
as perceived by traditional metrics, actually have an immense, often
unrecognized advantage.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
What's the advantage?
Speaker 2 (18:04):
They simply care about achieving their goals, while smart people
often want to achieve their goals the smart.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Way, ah, the smart way meaning the perfect way.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Often yeah, the perfect, flawless, risk free way, which, let's
be honest, simply doesn't exist in the chaotic, uncertain, and
dynamic real world.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
This fear of failure, this endless planning, this relentless pursuit
of an elusive perfection, it absolutely destroys progress. It's like
a self imposed prison, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
It really is.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
I've definitely felt that pull myself, that powerful gravitational force
where the desire to do something perfectly completely prevents me
from doing it at all. It's almost a form of
self sabotage masquerading as prudence or being careful.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
And that's precisely why we have a clinical term for
it psychology and business analysis, paralysis.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
A Malsi's paralysis.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Okay, intelligence, when it's not cared with a willingness to
act imperfectly, becomes a significant disadvantage. If it makes you
overthink everything to crippling inaction. The very tools meant to
help you navigate complexity instead trap you within it, binding
you to the starting line.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
So, if this analysis paralysis is the core problem, the
sort of silent killer of dreams and wealth, what's the solution.
How do we break free from this insidious cycle of
overthinking and actually move decisively towards tangible results and ultimately
the financial freedom we seek. Okay, So, if being smart
in the traditional sense isn't the guaranteed path to wealth
and overthinking is this formidable trap that catches so many
(19:31):
of us, what's the antidote? How do we flip the
script and move from perpetual planning to powerful progress. The
good news, and I think this is truly empowering, is
that this isn't about some secret innate intelligence you don't have,
or some unfair advantage to know.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Not at all.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
No, the people who consistently break free from overthinking and
actually build substantial wealth have simply mastered or are actively
cultivating two key skills. And the real good news anyone,
absolutely anyone can learn and develop these skills.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
That's the key point. There are learnable skills, and the
first one, the foundational one, is simply.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Execution, execution, just doing it.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Just doing it. It's the action taker's advantage, plain and simple.
Think of ideas like seeds. For them to grow, to
blossom into something tangible and valuable, they have to be planted.
They have to be watered, They have to be nurtured
through consistent effort.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Right, idea alone doesn't grow exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
An idea, no matter how profoundly brilliant or revolutionary it
seems in your head, is utterly inert until it's brought
to life through action. Ideas are incredibly abundant, almost infinitely
so genuinely, every single person has thousands of brilliant ideas
flashing through their mind every day.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Oh yeah, shower thoughts, driving thoughts.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Totally, starting a new business, writing a book, creating a
new product, learning a new skill. The world is a
wash with good ideas. What truly separates success from failure,
what creates massive wealth and impact, is executing those ideas better,
more consistently and more relentlessly than anyone else.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That makes so much intuitive sense. We tend to romanticize
and celebrate the idea guy, right, the visionary who comes
up with the groundbreaking concept. But the real magic, the
actual value creation, happens in the doer, the one who
rolls up their sleeves and actually makes it happen.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Precisely. Think about Jeff Bezos and Amazon.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Okay, good example.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
He didn't invent online chopping, did.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
He, No, definitely not. The idea was around.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Many people had that idea. The internet was a new frontier,
and the concept of buying things online was certainly floating
around in the early days, probably in dorm rooms and
garages all over the place. But he executed it better,
more aggressively and with greater foresight than anyone else. He
built the incredibly complex logistical systems, He scaled the operations
(21:49):
at an unprecedented pace. He focused relentlessly on customer experience,
even when it meant short term losses.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
That customer obsession was key, and.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
He iterated constantly, always pushing the boundaries of what was
possible online. That's why today Amazon dominates e commerce and
so much more. It wasn't the novelty of the initial idea,
which wasn't unique, but the superior, unwavering execution, the relentless
planting and nurturing of that seed, that made all the difference.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
How many of those thousands of brilliant ideas that cross
your mind every day do you actually take a single,
imperfect step.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Towards That's the million dollar question. Isn't it the.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
User or lose it principle applies directly here. I think
you can have a brain the size of Albert Einstein's
capable of incredible conceptual leaps, but it doesn't actually matter
for wealth creation if you never use it to produce
anything tangible, to act on its insights in the real world.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Well said, inspiration is everywhere, truly, but the courage and
the discipline to execute that's incredibly rare.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
And here's the biggest misconception I think many people have
about execution. They think it's an innate personality trait.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Ah. Yeah, the born action.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Taker myth exactly, that you're either born an action taker
or you're not. They might say, with a sigh, Oh,
I'm just not wired that way. I'm more of a thinker,
or I'm just not disciplined enough.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
And that precisely is such a powerful self limiting belief
that holds countless intelligent people back. It's an excuse, frankly.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
So it's not true.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
The truth is, execution isn't a genetic lottery. It's a muscle.
It's a skill, and it's something anyone can train themselves to.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Develop, like going to the gym for your action muscle.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Exactly like that, if you want to get physically stronger,
you don't just think about lifting weights, You lift them right,
imperfectly at first, probably awkwardly, but consistently. To build your
execution muscle, start by consciously breaking down those daunting tasks
into their smallest, most imperfect first steps, like ridiculously small steps.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Okay, give me an example.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Okay. So, so, if your goal is to write a book,
don't try to plan the entire outline, research for months
and then sit down to write the perfect first chapter.
That's paralyzing.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah, sounds familiar.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Commit to writing one sentence today, just one, even if
it's terrible. Or if you want to start a business,
instead of trying to build the perfect fully featured product,
focus on just one minimal, viable feature you can get
into a potential customer's hands this week purely to get feedback.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So lower the bar for starting.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Basically dramatically reduce the perceived risk and effort of the
first step to almost zero, make it so easy to
start that it feels silly not to. That's how you
overcome inertia and take action. It's something you build through
consistent practice and a deliberate shift in mindset, not something
you're simply born with.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
That's incredibly practical advice. Focusing on that one small, imperfect step,
it makes the mountain feel more like a molehill. Okay,
so that's execution, absolutely crucial. What's the second crucial skill?
The one that often gets overlooked or undervalued in favor
of traditional book smarts, But you said is arguably even
more potent for building wealth?
Speaker 2 (24:55):
The second skill, and yeah, I'd argue it's often even
more powerful, more foundational, and certainly more widely applicable for
wealth building in today's interconnected world. Is social intelligence?
Speaker 1 (25:07):
Social intelligence? Okay, define that a bit more.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
It's actually far more important than traditional IQ and many
real world scenarios, especially when it comes to financial success
in creating lasting value.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
So if we understand that IQ helps you understand complex information,
solve technical problems, master analytical tasks, get excellent grades, all important, sure,
but clearly not guaranteeing wealth. How does social intelligence fundamentally
differ and why does it matter so much? More specifically
for building wealth, what are the mechanisms that play there?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Okay, so the distinction is critical. IQ helps you understand
things and problems like data systems, abstract concepts. Social intelligence
helps you understand people.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Okay, things versus people right.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
And because wealth fundamentally is created through human interaction, convincing
people to work with you, or invest in you, or
buy from you, social intelligence helps you navigate those intricate
human relationships. It helps you get people to trust you,
to want to work collaboratively with you, to understand.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Your vision, to buy into what you're doing exactly.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And ultimately to open up their wallets for you, whether
they're customers, investors, employees, or partners. If building wealth, if
creating impact, if leading people is what you truly want,
that's where social intelligence matters most profoundly.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
So it's about reading a room, building rapport.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
All of that. It's the ability to read a room,
build rapport quickly, inspire confidence, negotiate effectively, persuade ethically, and
motivate diverse groups towards a common goal. It's about empathy,
understanding others perspectives, communicating clearly, and compellingly.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
That makes perfect, undeniable sense. You can possess the most
brilliant product, the most groundbreaking service, the most ingenious idea
ever conceived, but if you can articulate its value in
a way that resonates with other humans, if you can't
get anyone to understand and it, believe in it, or
ultimately buy it, then it's just a brilliant idea of
(27:03):
sitting in your head waiting maybe for someone else with
better people skills to come along and run with it.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Exactly. Consider Steve Jobs again.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Yeah, perfect example for this too.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
He was undeniably brilliant, a visionary, absolutely, but he wasn't
primarily known for being the best engineer at Apple, right.
He didn't typically build the devices or write the complex
code himself. He wasn't necessarily the guy in the weeds
soldering components.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
No, he hired people like Wozniak for that.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Precisely. His genius wasn't primarily technical, but rather in vision,
in leadership and critically, and his unparalleled ability to sell
his ideas the ultimate salesman in a way, he convinced
some of the world's best engineers and designers to dedicate
their lives to his incredibly ambitious, often seemingly impossible visions.
(27:51):
He knew how to captivate an audience, how to craft
a narrative, how to make people believe his products weren't
just new devices, but revolutionary tools that would change their lives.
Even when they were just concepts being unveiled on a stage, he.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Made people feel something about a piece of technology.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Yes, he made people feel a connection to Apple and
his products. That's why Apple became one of the most valuable,
most influential companies in the world, not solely because Steve
Jobs was a fantastic coder or a circuit designer, but
because he knew how to rally people behind his mission,
how to make them feel part of something big or
something extraordinary.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
It truly illustrates how wealth, particularly significant and sustainable wealth,
is often built not just on your ability to create,
but maybe far more often on your ability to shape opinion,
to influence decisions, to get people to take action, and
most importantly, maybe to connect authentically with the right people
at the right time, fostering trust and loyalty, that human connection,
(28:47):
that ability to inspire and persuade. It feels like it's
absolutely everything it.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Is honestly, think of it this way. In venture capital,
investors don't throw their millions at just well constructed spreadge
sheets and flawless business plans.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Now, they invest in the founder.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
They invest in founders who sell a compelling vision, who
exude confidence, charisma, and inspire belief that they can actually
pull off the impossible. Customers don't just buy products based
solely on features in price. They buy from brands who
tell a good story, who evoke an emotional response, who
align with their values.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Brand loyalty is huge.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
Huge success in almost any field, business, politics, arts, even
science to some extent, isn't solely about knowing the technicalities
are having the smartest idea. It's fundamentally about great communication,
the art of persuasion, empathetic leadership, and the profound ability
to build relationships. These are all fundamental facets of social
intelligence in action.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Okay, this is making so much sense. Execution and social intelligence.
So if we now deeply understand these two vital skills,
how do we practically apply them? How do we overcome
that initial doubt, that analysis paralysis we talked about, start
taking decisive action to truly build wealth and shape our
own futures Okay, this feels like where we bring it
(30:05):
all together, right, connecting these crucial skills execution and social
intelligence to a tangible pathway.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
For you exactly putting it into practice.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
You already know and hopefully this deep dive has reinforced
that it's not primarily about being the most intellectually brilliant
person in the room, not just about a que points.
What it truly comes down to, what separates those who
succeed from those who merely dream, is your mindset, how
you approach challenges, how you perceive setbacks, and ultimately, how
you see yourself in the whole process of creating something.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Exactly, as long as you consciously internalize and really try
to live by these three fundamental rules, these guiding principles
for action, you're going to run laps around everybody else, seriously,
no matter how smart they think they are or how
meticulously they plan their theoretical empires from the sidelines.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
Okay, I'm ready three rules.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
These aren't just superficial tips. There are profound shifts in
perspective that can reshape your approach to everything. Rule number one,
and this is absolutely critical for breaking free from that
genius trap that analysis paralysis. Stop waiting for the perfect moment.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Oh, the perfect moment myth.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
It's a huge one, a profound illusion that shackles so
many people. You need to understand, like at your core,
that life doesn't come with a trial period or a
money back guarantee, no free returns on life decisions. Right.
You can't just dip your toes in the water of
entrepreneurship or a new career or a major life decision.
(31:30):
You've got to truly jump in, sometimes headfirst, and just
start swimming. The idea of a perfect moment, you know,
when all the stars align, when you magically have all
the answers, all the resources, and zero risk. It's a
convenient fiction. It's a self perpetuating excuse for inaction.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
It's so incredibly easy to get caught in that cycle,
isn't it. We tell ourselves things like, oh, I just
need one more certification before I start, or I'll start
my business when the market conditions are absolutely perfect. Or
I'll launch this project when I have every single tiny
detail ironed out, when my website is flawless, when my
product has every conceivable feature.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
The list goes on and on.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
But the hard truth is you could spend years theorizing,
meticulously planning, endlessly preparing, and until you take that first real,
imperfect step towards your goals, it's all just speculation. It's
a beautifully constructed hypothetical future that never quite arrives.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It just stays hypothetical.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
I remember a time years ago I was agonizing over
launching a new online course. I kept tweaking the curriculum,
perfecting the presentation slides, convinced it had to be absolutely
flawless before I dared to put it out there. For having,
my mentor at the time simply said, just launch it.
It's never going to be perfect. Your first customers will
tell you it's really important. I was terrified, honestly, but
(32:47):
I put out an imperfect, minimum viable product version, and
the feedback from that initial flawed step was a thousand
times more valuable than all my months of perfect planning
could ever have been. It taught me exactly what my
audience actually needed, not what I thought they needed, and
I just.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Iterated from there, that's the process.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
So instead of staying trapped in that endless, debilitating cycle
of what if, ask yourself a different, more empowering question,
what's the next smallest, most imperfect step I can take right.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Now, smallest step key phrase.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
It doesn't have to be a grand gesture, a huge
leap of faith. It can be incredibly small, like sending
one email, making one phone call, writing one paragraph, and
then crucially act on that immediately. Don't wait momentum. Real
world progress and genuine learning are built by taking action,
not by endlessly perfecting plans in a vacuum.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
That's a powerful illustration, and it leads directly into our
second rule. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Okay, easier said than done sometimes, oh for sure.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
But this connects correctly back to our maze analogy and
the regular guy's.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Approach right right, just wandering in and bumping into walls.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
You have to accept this fundamental truth. Every single day
you were writing a unique story without knowing the ending.
It's an unscripted, improvised narrative, so get used to that reality.
There's no magical GPS that will guide you unerringly.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
No Google maps for life.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Exactly, no step by step instruction manual to become the
person you're truly meant to be, or to achieve the
specific wealth and impact you desire life by its very
nature is an experiment.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
It's messy, and because there's no perfect, pre ridden map,
because you're forging your own path, you're absolutely gonna make
mistakes along the way, guaranteed. And that's not a sign
of failure. It's just a fundamental, unavoidable part of the job.
It's like learning to ride a bike. You fall, you
skin your knees, you wobble. Off course, we all need it,
but each fall, each wabble, each deviation teaches you something
(34:45):
crucial about balance, about steering, about how to recover. It's
not a failure in the punitive sense. It's simply data,
valuable feedback from the real.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
World, exactly right. It's just data. Yeah, So don't be
afraid to act, even and I'd say especially in the
face of profound uncertainty. Most of life is uncertain, and
that's not just okay, it's the fertile ground where growth
and innovation actually happen.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Embrace the uncertainty, embrace it.
Speaker 2 (35:14):
When you embrace mistakes not as personal failings, but as
essential learning opportunities, as data points that inform and refine
your next move, you gain an incredible, almost unfair advantage.
The regular guy in the Maze wasn't embarrassed by his
wrong turns. He used them to learn to adapt, to
eliminate non viable paths, ultimately moving closer to his goal.
(35:35):
That's the resilient, iterative mindset you need to cultivate. It
transforms every misstep into a stepping stone.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Okay, that reframing is powerful. Mistakes as data not failure.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
And finally, the third rule for building wealth, which ties
profoundly into that second crucial skill we discussed social intelligence.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Yes, rule number three prioritize people, not just ideas.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Prioritize people.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Okay, this is a crucial, often overlooked shift in focus
because every idea, no matter how brilliant, how perfectly logical
or economically sound, it seems inside your own mind, it
has to be communicated, well understood, and ultimately embraced by
other human beings to have any real world impact or
generate any real wealth.
Speaker 1 (36:14):
An idea in a vacuum is.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Worthless pretty much. An idea in isolation is dormant. It
only holds real power and potential when it reaches real people,
when it resonates with their needs, their desires, their emotions,
and getting it to that point takes more than just
intellectual rigor. It takes vision, leadership, and critically, the ability
(36:36):
to tell a compelling, authentic story. These are all profound
elements of social intelligence in action.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
So even the best idea needs good salesmanship essentially in.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
The broadest sense. Yes, you could have the most scientifically sound,
the most economically brilliant, the most technically innovative idea in history,
but if you can't articulate its value in a way
that truly connects with others, in a way that inspires
them to trust you, to work with you, to invest
in you, or to buy from you, it means a
brilliant idea that never sees the light of day. It
just stays dormant, trapped in your own mind.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
It's so true, and I've seen this play out time
and time again. I've witnessed countless incredible concepts, truly groundbreaking ideas,
just fall absolutely flat because the person presenting them couldn't
connect with their audience that it was all the time.
They were brilliant, maybe technically dazzling, but they spoke in
jargon or they failed to tap into the emotional why.
And conversely, I've seen ideas that honestly on paper, weren't
(37:32):
necessarily revolutionary absolutely take off and achieve massive success because
the presenter brought them to life with infectious passion, a
compelling vision, and a deep empathetic understanding of what people
actually cared about, what problems they truly faced. It wasn't
about the dry facts. It was about the emotional resonance,
the shared belief, the human connection they forged.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Ysisely, that's social intelligence winning out. So next time you
set out to tell the world what you're up to,
or present a new idea, or even just try to
sell a product or service, remember that it's not just
what you say that counts. It's fundamentally about how it
makes people.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Feel feel okay.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
That emotional connection, that sense of shared purpose, that trust
you build through genuine communication, that is what moves people.
It moves them to trust you, to work with you,
to invest in you, and ultimately to choose you in
your idea. It's the engine of human progress and by extension,
wealth creation. Hashtash tag tag outro. Wow.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
So we've gone on quite the deep dive today, haven't
we uncovering a truth that might fundamentally go against everything
you've ever been taught or maybe just implicitly believed about
intelligence and success.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
It's a big shift from many people, it really is.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
But it feels like a powerful and honestly liberating revelation
when you truly embrace it, when you really let it
sink in.
Speaker 2 (38:49):
At the end of the day, the fundamental gap between
just aspiring to success and truly achieving it, between having
brilliant ideas and building lasting wealth, not primarily intelligence. It
is almost every single time action action. Action beats intelligence
every single time, because action is the indispensable bridge between
an idea and its realization in the world. Without that bridge,
(39:12):
without execution on the social intelligence to bring others along,
even the most brilliant thoughts, the most perfect plans, remain
just that, ephemeral thoughts, unrealized potentials, stuck in the genius's head.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
At the Maze entrance, We truly hope this deep dive
has not only challenged your perceptions, but has also genuinely
geared you up and made you feel ready, truly ready
to take decisive action on your own goals, whatever they
may be, whether it's finally starting that business you've been
dreaming about, pursuing a new skill, or career path you've
been hesitant to explore, or simply reevaluating your approach to
(39:45):
your current work and relationships. The power, the agency, the
impetus to start. It's absolutely within you.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Your life, your career, your financial trajectory. They could look vastly,
profoundly different if you simply shift your focus, shifted from
endless planning, from the paralysis of overthinking, towards decisive action,
resilient iteration, and authentic connection with others.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
It sounds like a liberation.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
It is a liberation. It's a liberation from the paralyzing
burden of striving for theoretical perfection. It allows you to
embrace the iterative, the messy, and ultimately the incredibly rewarding
journey of truly building wealth and impact in the real world.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
So, if smart is no longer your primary, maybe limiting
measure of success, what new opportunities, What exhilarating new pathways
open up for you when you courageously embrace action as
your ultimate superpower.
Speaker 2 (40:39):
Consider, just for a final thought, that genius who never
entered the maze, perpetually sharpening their pencil, forever poised at
the starting line. What if the real measure of brilliance
isn't actually in crafting the perfect, unexecuted plan. What if
it's found in the profound courage to take that first, imperfect, messy,
yet utterly essential step. What if that is the true
off an unsung mark of genius is in the real
(41:00):
world mhm
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