Are you smart?

The word "smart" means many things. Don't waste your time and hold yourself back by comparing how smart you are to other people. You may end up happier and making more money than people who you think are smarter than you.

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What does "smart" mean?

You know, like "I'm not smart", or "she's smarter than me", or "I wish I was smarter."

Stop. Right now.

What exactly do you mean by "smart"?

Do you mean "higher grades"?
Do you mean "reads faster"?
Do you mean "in the smart classes"?
Do you mean "not dumb like me"?

All of the above?

Well, if you think you're not smart, you're right. You aren't...if you worry about how smart you are.

Learn about your brain

(You already have a good one.)

There are different kinds of smart, you know. Just because you're not good at spelling, or math, or reading, does not mean that you can't be fantastically good at a hundred other things.

You could be smart with running a business,
or smart with selling things,
or smart with fixing computers,
or smart with a wrench in your hand,
or smart with a paintbrush,
or smart with managing people,
or smart with caring for animals,
or smart enough in a thousand other ways.

It doesn't make any sense to simply ask, "Am I smart?"

If you insist on thinking about it, think about this question: who's smarter, you or a peach tree? It turns out that a peach tree is smarter, because it can make peaches, and you can't. So a tree is smarter than you. Does that sound right? What about a fly? A fly is smarter than you because it can walk upside down on the ceiling. You can't. So, a fly is smarter than you.

Do you see the problem? The problem is that the question is a faulty question, sort of like asking who's a better athlete: a powerlifter or a marathon runner. They're both good athletes, but in different ways, just like you're probably just as "smart" as someone else, but in a different way.

Find your strength and pursue it

It turns out that the smartest and happiest people are the ones who do what they do best. So, find what you're good at and pursue it. Don't worry about other people. Don't worry about what this guy can do that you can't, or what that girl is capable of that you're not.

there is more detail, more examples, and an assessment all bundled together in the printable guide (link above) that accompanies this page. Read it, and get out there and set the world on fire.