Almost all my friends are more intelligent than me.

It’s not that I am dumb. I am well-read and I think I can have an intelligent conversation. It’s just that I enjoy spending time with people who are smarter than me.

I can not help but think: “boy, if I was that smart I would be so much farther ahead in life. ” However, I can’t complain. Life has been very generous to me and through trial and error, I have found my way to happiness and financial freedom.

Here is a list of things that have more than compensated for my lack of intelligence

Optimism

I take all kinds of risks because I always expect a positive result.

Many times my optimism has come back to kick me in the face, like the time I thought that I could outsmart the market. I was a day trader and I lost thousands of dollars, plus I lost time and energy.

But many times it has turned out just fine. My dance school, my Photography business, and my real estate business, my website business, my blogging, and podcasting were born out of my optimism.

If you learn to see the positive side of every situation, you will get slapped in the face a few times, but you will have the opportunity to achieve great success. One thing is for certain, if you don’t try a new business venture or a new side hustle, you will never know if it could have been successful or not.

Habits

If we want to achieve something, we have to build habits that allow us to reach our goals.

I want to become a better writer, so I write every day. I want to become a better speaker, so I go to Toastmasters meetings every week. I want to be in better shape, so I exercise every day.

There are many things that may prevent us from building those better habits. Try to get rid of those impediments. I got rid of my TV 10 years ago. I got rid of my Netflix. I have an activity blocker in my Facebook news feed. Those little habits allow me to become more productive. If I am not producing, I am having fun with real people in the real world.

One good financial habit to build wealth is to save at least 10% of your income. But if you can save more, go ahead and try it.

Warren Buffett once said during a speech:

Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.

Ambition

We are all affected by the environment that surrounds us. Advertisers and promoters of the “lifestyle” are big.

Just like many people, who are influenced by advertisers, me too, I have been influenced. Advertisers tell us: “Be unique, buy my brand.” and people, like hypnotized lemmings, go and buy the brands. But I understood something different. I understood: “Be unique, have the resources to buy my brand.” And that’s have been a major motivator in my life.

People are motivated by many things. My friend Sam, a grandfather of 10 kids, is motivated by leaving something to his grandsons. Many people are motivated by travel, others by status. Whatever your ambition is, use it to your advantage, use it as a motivator to achieve higher goals.

To use another of Buffett’s quote:

Don’t save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.

Use your ambition as the motivating force to achieve your dreams.

Are you intelligent?

Are you intelligent? Has it helped you achieve your goals? If you don’t consider yourself to be the intelligent type, what have you done to compensate? please write it down in the comment session.

Related Posts

1. The S&P 500 is the cornerstone of my investments
2. My Favorite Vanguard ETFs
3. “Sell In May And Go Away” hasn’t panned out this year