Intelligence vs Ambition

In the 7 or so years that I have been in higher education I have learned a lot about people and their career/academic development and have come to some conclusions.

Intelligence

Being intelligent is definitely a good thing. You have those bright kids that learn quickly and perform very well in school at a very early age. Starting in, lets say, 2nd grade, they are quick to learn math and science, maybe they have a good memory so history is easy for them. Perhaps they are socially inclined so language skills come natural. Regardless, these sorts of kids get used to doing well which gives them confidence and they go into high school thinking they are on top of the world.

High School comes and goes and some of these kids barely have to lift a finger to do well. When I was a freshman at UCSD, I can remember hearing so many different people in high school talk about how easy it was, thereby reflecting their intelligence.

But then what happens? College is tough and things aren't so easy anymore. Things stop going from how fast you understand it, to how hard you are going to work for it. Maybe you can get C's, or even B's, by just doing what you did when you were in high school and after 10 or so years of having things come naturally, your work ethic is pretty crappy. I can remember hearing so many people say that they procrastinated a ton in high school or even college as if it was something to brag about. Lesson to the young ones out there, THERE IS NOTHING MORE PATHETIC THAN PROCRASTINATION. You want to fail in life? Put things off, see where it gets you.

After about a year or two in college these kids realize how hard things are and rather than do things that require work and effort, they stick with things that come naturally so that they can continue their effortless lifestyle. This is where majors like Communications and Political Science are advantageous. Not to say they are worthless, but they are easy to fake and just like science, there is a big difference between getting a degree in a major and using it in your career.

In the end, they get a degree in something they can't use because they aren't actually interested in it. Then they look for a job and they realize, "Oh Shit, I have no experience, passion or drive. What the hell am I going to do now?" This is when intelligence becomes useless. Everyone out there caught up and instead of being naturally brilliant, they had to struggle and they picked up a thing or two along the way. Now they are the ones succeeding and the intelligent folks out there sit back and know they could have done it better, had they just wanted to.

Ambition

This is something I like to think I have. I did well in school as a kid and college student, but not because I was smart. I wanted to do well. I wanted to to achieve and most of the time, I had to bust my ass to do so. I wanted to do something useful, something I liked. I had friends that were smart and only had to work half as hard as I did but I sucked it up and put in my hours.

Then college came. This was a great time. Freshman year a few "brilliant" friends of mine slacked off. This doesn't mean they partied and I didn't, because I actually partied harder, but they were lazy. Just like procrastinators, some folks would brag about being lazy. Is there anything more pathetic? Why would you openly say that you have wants and desires but don't have the drive to put them into place? Laziness is why America is losing it's standing in world economics and I can't understand why people just sit on their ass.

So these brilliant kids would sleep in, ditch class and basically do nothing. They dodged 8am classes because "they were too early (pouting voice)." Are you fucking serious? Life is hard, suck it up and get your ass to class. Of course they knew everything and didn't have to study, but my dumb ass went to the library instead. Come test day, guess which one of us was reeling in the A's and which one got C's.

Then graduation came. I had spent hours and hours in classes and labs and I knew what I liked and what I hated. After 4 years of work, I knew I wanted to get my PhD (actually I knew at about 12, but whatever) and because I had a decent track record I got into some good schools. Now I am at Yale getting my PhD and my future is in good hands, my own.

As for the "brilliant" ones, ambition waved bye bye to them. After graduating with easy degrees or degrees they wanted with little/no effort, they had the dumbest looks on their faces.

"What do I do now?" Guess what? They went with what they had chosen their whole life, what was easy, what came naturally. Well in the work force, if you want money, you are going to either have to earn with your hands or your mind and considering they hadn't pushed their mental capacity since 2nd grade, their hands were all they had. Sure they could work a decent job here or there, but nothing close to their so called "potential."

Bottom Line

Anyway, here is the bottom line: Up until you are about 18 or so intelligence can get you as far as you need to go. This makes sense, human beings have evolved to have sexual maturity at this age and so you pass your genes on and you basically have served your purpose. However, once you become an adult, it's all about your ambition. It all becomes what are you going to do with your raw materials. How hard are you going work? Your mindset SHOULD NOT be "what can I get with as little effort as possible", it should be, "what can I get with as much effort as possible."

I have many friends that are much smarter than I am but few have gotten this far. They wanted what was easy and that is such a tragedy. It actually is a necessary tragedy though. We need middle of the road grunt work. I don't mean gardeners or construction workers, I mean intelligent people in non-creative, non-mobile careers. Accountants, engineers, and "consultants" that can do their jobs, but hate them. They don't like it, they just do it mindlessly.

So what's the secret to life? What's it all mean? Spend your youth developing your work ethic because in the process you will learn what you like and don't like and spend your adulthood simply enjoying what you like. Work for something, if only yourself. Don't be a couch potato, even if you can be. There is nothing more pathetic than someone talking down success because they didn't care enough. You aren't in 10th grade anymore trying to impress some chick with your rebel without a cause attitude. You want to get chicks as an adult? You want to be happy as an adult? You have to earn it. Get off your ass and do something with your life.

I suppose the first question a person would ask me is, "Why should I listen to you?"  For which my response is, "I could not be happier with my life, even with all my bullshit and my failures. I have made many mistakes and done many things I regret but the golden years of my life are the ones I am living. You have a better route? Take it, screw me and my opinions. You write a blog entry about it and I'll listen. Till then, take notes."

just my thoughts

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