9 Reasons Why Many Smart People Go Nowhere
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 29 Mar 2010, 9:00 PM – 64 Comments
You would have met many smart people who live a mediocre life. There are MANY of them. You might be surprised why this is the case. They have the brains to go somewhere, be someone and do remarkable things. When you talk to them, you will realize that even they want to go somewhere, be someone and do remarkable things.
Then, what causes smart people to go nowhere in life?
Update Mar 31: 10.00am: There is a ton of discussion in the comments here and at Hacker News about why everyone decides what is a good life for them and things are just OK as they are. I have tried to participate as much as I can on the comments section but I have to clarify a couple of things here.
Success for me is “increased capacity to contribute to the world around you.” Smart people have a special responsibility to be successful and make this world a better place. Why? Because they can. However, MANY smart people are barely able to take care of themselves and feel “stuck” in life. Please read the rest of the article with that background. Thanks.
OK, here are a few reasons to start with:
1. They are not lucky (enough):
I have to start with a controversial reason first. Yes, luck (and also timing) plays a big role in someone’s success. Luck alone may not get one somewhere special but a little bit of luck will go a long way to get them to a better place. The following tweet from my hero Tom Peters sums this up nicely:
Taleb (per TP): Smart + Work hard = Odds are, pretty successful. Roaring success… that’s mostly a matter of luck – randomness
Like I said, luck alone won’t take anyone anywhere. It can. But that’s rare.
Knowing this, you can do something to start improving your luck. Yes, it is random. And yes, you can improve your chances of meeting luck. It is in your hands.
You should remember that fortune favors the brave. More importantly, you should remember that “luck” does not happen if you wish for it and wait.
How much ever important luck is, it is not in your control. In other words, you can’t work on “luck” directly. You can work on everything else and improve the chances of getting “lucky.” 
2. Life is (quite) different outside the sandbox:
It all starts at the school. When people get good grades at school, they are considered smart. Except that school is a “sandbox” environment where the penalty for making mistakes is very low. In some schools and exam systems, memorization is given a huge premium – meaning the person who can memorize the best is considered the smartest. They don’t say it that way but the exams are designed to test someone’s memorization skill rather than testing what they have learned.
The marketplace is very different from the school. It is nothing close to a sandbox. The rules that work in the marketplace are very different from the rules that work in the sandbox. In fact, there are very few rules that work in the marketplace.
It will take a while for many “sandbox smarts” to graduate to “marketplace smarts.”
Note: Before you jump to any conclusions, I have to say that I was one of the “sandbox smarts” so I know how it feels. I have nothing against being a “sandbox smart” as long as you know that – that alone will take you nowhere. For the ultra-curious, you can read that part of my story here: As a Teenager
3. Their risk appetite may be low:
In school, following the rules helped them get great grades. In the marketplace, following the rules to the dot will help them lead a “successful” life at best. In average cases, it will lead them to lead a mediocre life. At the center, you are safe but there is no premium.At the edges, there is less safety but the chances of getting a premium is high. In a “safe” or sandbox environment there was no need to take big risks. In fact, taking risks would not be rewarded.
Please read: Ways to Distinguish Yourself #203 – Focus on the Edges
The thing about risk is that you keep avoiding it and you will get used to avoiding risk. After a while, it becomes VERY uncomfortable to take any risk. And, then – it’s end of the road.
4. Their past success may become a baggage:
They say success begets success. But they never said “sandbox success” will beget “marketplace success.” In fact, success begets success only when you are willing to adapt to the new situations very RAPIDLY. What worked in their past gives them a feeling that following what made them successful in the past will make them successful in the future.
Please read: Resting on your laurels?
5. Ego -> Entitlement:
Early success (even in a sandbox environment) can build up one’s ego. When the person does not keep his or her ego in check, ego slowly transforms into entitlement. When a person feels entitled for something, he or she does not have to act much.
There is no entitlement for anyone in the marketplace. Until one reaches a tipping point, the only question a marketplace asks is “What have you done for me lately?”
Please read: Ways to Distinguish Yourself #105 – Be Entitled for Nothing
6. Not acting when there is a need to act:
The fear of failure makes some people go for “extreme preparation” – trying to cross all the “t”s and dotting all the “i”s – trying to be “fully” ready before taking the first step. As they prepare more, they realize that there is a need to prepare even more. They end up going into a never-ending loop.
Please read: Why some smart people don’t take action?
For many people, smartness stops in thinking and cooking up cool things. We all know that ideas are important but they are only worth much more if they are brilliantly executed.
Some smart people worry that others will steal their ideas and they won’t share them. So it’s a double loss there. If they stop worrying about others stealing their idea and start executing, it will be a whole new world out there.
7. Not knowing they need help:
In a “sandbox” environment, there was not a big requirement for teamwork. They were able to win the game with a solo act. It worked OK then. Unfortunately, the marketplace requires a bigger push – requiring a larger set of resources to be in play. The first step towards that is to realize that they need “more help” to succeed in the marketplace. Even if they have the skills to complete everything on their own “individually” trying to do everything on their own will be futile. It will have the same effect as an one-man orchestra performance will have.
8. Not getting “good help” when required:
They say knowing is not doing but doing is doing. Knowing is not enough. One needs a different level of humility to go and ask for that help. Unfortunately, that wont be sufficient as good people have “enough” opportunities to pursue and their request has to compete with all the available opportunities in front of those people that can offer “good help.”
Please read: Goals with or without help
9. Their relationship with failure:
Nobody has the “midas touch” – which means that sooner than later, they will fail and learn. Some smart people don’t want to fail and may think that a failure will expose that they are “inadequate” in some way. Unless that relationship to failure changes, they will keep trying something that has a sure-shot chance of success. This would automatically lead to tried and tested routes – that will lead to very predictable and probably mediocre lives.
The above list is no way complete. The point of the post is to trigger some thinking on this much needed topic.
Note: If you have come this far, please take a few moments to read the comments too. There are a few important questions raised about success and values etc.
Related Articles:- Open Source and blogging; We can change the game
- Why some smart people are reluctant to share?
- Why some smart people don’t help other people?
- CIOUpdate Column: 10 good reasons to have a mentor
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64 Comments so far, Add Yours
Rajesh Setty on March 29th, 2010
Thanks for the note Cody. Hope you are well. Talk to you soon
Best
Rajesh
Carlos Miceli on March 29th, 2010
You forgot the most important one: maybe success (whatever that means) is not worth it. Integrity, for example, is more important for some smart people.
Rajesh Setty on March 29th, 2010
Carlos,
Integrity and success are not mutually exclusive. There are lot of people who have both.
The by product of success is “increased capacity” to contribute to the world around you. I don’t see why anyone would NOT want to have that.
The opposite argument to what you say is simply to ask – “if they could have that success, are they cut out for it and are they willing to do what it takes.”
It is easy to say “not interested” when in reality they really “can’t have it.”
My $.02 of course.
Best
Rajesh
Ganesh on March 29th, 2010
Agree completely with Carlos. Success is an attitude not an outcome. A richest man might feel defeated all the time, and a beggar might feel elated and successful. What is more important is whether you are in perfect alignment with your own values or not.
Carlos Miceli on March 29th, 2010
Example: there a lot of “successful” heads in social media. Well, to me, they are doing more harm than good. And I don’t want to do harm. Hey, I know how to manipulate content to make people love me. but I don’t want to.
The definition of “increased capacity” varies from person to person. You are talking about a universal definition of success (where your 9 points do apply), but for some of the smartest people, that definition is not shared at all.
Rajesh Setty on March 29th, 2010
@Ganesh, again – I don’t know why someone should shy away from leading a successful life ( my definition: “having increasing capacity to contribute to the world around you”) to get what they want (peace of mind, balance or whatever else)
Success won’t prevent you from having any of those. But will give you more capacity to contribute.
@Carlos, I am with you on your point that not all successful people “truly” contribute. But that again is not the reason to shy away from it.
What you do with success is up to you.
Of course, you both are welcome to disagree and we can still be friends
Best,
Rajesh
Carlos Miceli on March 29th, 2010
If what you are saying, is that no one should shy away of being able to help others, then I agree, but I wouldn’t call that success, since success has too many professional and financial connotations on our society.
This is a very good post Rajesh.
Rajesh Setty on March 29th, 2010
Yes Carlos – the motivation for my post is that there are so MANY smart people that want to help the world around them but they really don’t have the CAPACITY to do so. They are successful (meaning above average) but only to the extent that they can take care of them and their families reasonably well.
But, if they just remove the shackles and live up to their potential, this world will be a better place.
Or at least that’s the hope.
Thanks for stopping by.
Best
Rajesh
PS: One minor spelling mistake on your bio on the site. It should be “Bear” not “Bare” – just FYI.
Rock Clapper on March 29th, 2010
Thoughtful list, Rajesh. On this topic I was walking with a friend and we were listing the ultra-rich we knew (multi, multi-millionaires and billionaires). I asked him if he knew why we weren’t in the group. He went over some of your list items but I told him the real answer-we’re just so curious that it’s hard for us to see a project all the way through. The guys/gals in the ultra-rich group had a single-minded approach. They desired it more than anything else and didn’t let their curiousity lead them astray.
Rajesh Setty on March 29th, 2010
Thanks Rock for the note.
Your comment made me think. Curiosity is an asset and it can turn out to be a liability at times
Cheers,
Rajesh
PS: It’s time for us to have a cup of coffee. It’s been a long time.
Ganesh on March 29th, 2010
@Rajesh: I too liked your post. Very incisive. I can relate to it (Sandbox smart)…
Those who have read the post obviously have a desire to succeed. But what is success? There is nothing like Success after which you can run. Success is manifested in the joy, the happiness. Right? Your definition of success – ‘having increasing capacity to contribute to the world around you’ – is, according to me, only one of several subjective connotations of success. For many people success can be very self-oriented. Earning a job might be a ’success’ for somebody at a particular stage.
What this means is that the success is never a lasting thing (or rather feeling). In this way it is related to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Success means different things to people at different stages in the hierarchy. Your definition, in that way, is of a part* of self-actualised persons. There are several other self-actualised persons (like singers/painters) for whom success can be very self-oriented.
Here, what Indian philosophy teaches can come very handy (and therein lies the greatness of it). It says – the success, the happiness, or the increased capacity to serve good – are dependent upon none but you. All these things are very inherent to your own thinking and outlook. What is more important is whether you are in peace with yourself or not.
Anyway, Nice post!
Rajesh Setty on March 29th, 2010
@Ganesh, thank you.
I agree with all your points except one. It seems like if we are in peace with ourselves then everything is fine.
IMHO, we all have a responsibility to leave the world a wee bit better than how it was when we arrived. If we agree to that, it then becomes our responsibility to gain that “extra capacity” that we need to make the world around us a better place.
Other than that, we are all good
Best,
Rajesh
Ganesh on March 29th, 2010
@Rajesh: Nice discussion here.
We will be at peace if our thoughts and deeds are aligned with our innermost-top values. For someone that value might be climbing Everest and for somebody that value can be exploring Amazon forests, and somebody might be glad to add value to society by documenting varieties of orchids in Western Ghats. Everybody has his own purpose in life (having one itself might be the major step towards peace). Constantly taking efforts for that is most important.
Rajesh Setty on March 29th, 2010
@Ganesh,
Amen to that. If someone loses peace of mind because they are serving the world, of course they should not do that ( I am not saying you are saying it that way)
I agree that one cannot be in harmony if his/her actions are out of line with his/her values.
Since we are openly discussing, let’s extend the discussion a bit.
Values, in the basic terms are deeply held beliefs of what is important for us, Values state what matters most in our lives.
Values are not static – meaning we don’t come with a set of values implanted in us. Our interaction with the world, our teachers, our environment have a huge influence in what our values come out to be.
Honestly, ask around and you will notice that most people REALLY don’t know what their values are.
So, the question of being aligned with the values is a long shot for most people. They should know what their values are in the first place and then comes the question of alignment.
My plea is that since the values can be changed, why not add to the set of values to include a “contribution” component?
That may be too much to ask – but I will keep trying..
Best,
Rajesh
Valerie M on March 30th, 2010
Heck yes: that sums up my feelings about this post. I’m so tired of people equating perfect grades and GPAs to real world success when there isn’t that strong of a correlation. Of couse lots of smart, high GPA people make it big in the real world because of their determination and drive (which they used in school). It’s definitely not guaranteed, as you’ve pointed out. School is only as useful as what you learned from it, not the GPA you graduated with.
Thank you for writing this.
Lachman Balani on March 30th, 2010
Jhakas! really like the sandbox to marketplace success comparisons. Street smart vs book smart.
Lotsa dropouts make it big. Lotsa Ivy leaguers don’t. They may lead better than mediocre or average lives but are not really super successful.
On ther hand there are very popular professors who are considered Dadas in their realm but do they lead better than mediocre lives?
A dull and insipid truism but here goes- everything is relative.
jamEs | SlideawayMedia – Cambridge Ontario Web Design on March 30th, 2010
I find myself I’ve always been kinda lucky, so it is something I’ve found easy to get lazy and rely on it at times. You do definitely need to work hard and make your own luck.
Rajesh Setty on March 30th, 2010
@Valerie, @Lachman and @jamEs: Thanks for joining in the conversation.
Cheers,
Rajesh
Srinivas N Jay on March 30th, 2010
Hi Rajesh,
It is a brilliant post.
These are some of my views on comments posted. Please don’t feel bad if I have said something wrong out of my knowledge and do let me know what you felt.
Rajesh said:
The by product of success is “increased capacity” to contribute to the world around you. I don’t see why anyone would NOT want to have that.
@All, The important thing to note is “Increased capacity” is a by-product of success not the definition of success.
Ganesh said:
What is more important is whether you are in perfect alignment with your own values or not.
@Ganesh, Very good point. It would have been clearer if would have said, “in perfect alignment with basic values” as the term “own values” could be bit more subjective.
Carlos said:
Example: there a lot of “successful” heads in social media. Well, to me, they are doing more harm than good. And I don’t want to do harm. Hey, I know how to manipulate content to make people love me. But I don’t want to.
@Carlos, If somebody is doing “harm than good”, they are not successful at all. I believe the BASIC need for being or to be successful is to be in perfect alignment with basic values (http://tinyurl.com/y8o7w6p) as Ganesh said AND that’s a necessary condition but not sufficient.
Rajesh to Ganesh,
@Ganesh, again – I don’t know why someone should shy away from leading a successful life ( my definition: “having increasing capacity to contribute to the world around you”) to get what they want (peace of mind, balance or whatever else)
@Rajesh, I believe what you said earlier that “Increased Capacity” is a by-product of success. But “having increasing capacity to contribute to the world around you” alone can not be the definition of success and I think you never meant like that too. Because, an excerpt below from your blog post http://tinyurl.com/yb2tmhl says that.
The very important point is, I agree with Ganesh’s thoughts about success. But those are just necessary conditions. The sufficient condition is provide by Rajesh which goes like this (One of my “Favorite” post from Rajesh),
“At some point in time (hopefully soon) you will switch from achievement to contribution. If the earlier achievements provided you some fulfillment in your life, contributions are what will provide you meaning. The early achievements will provide you the foundation for more achievements and more achievements is what will provide you the foundation for contributions.”
So I believe, thoughts from Rajesh and Ganesh both are very important equally to know what success really means.
Rajesh Setty on March 30th, 2010
@Srinivas, thanks for the comments.
More than anything, I really admire the fact that you took the time to read through all the comments and summarize the key points.
That means a lot to me.
Best,
Rajesh
Tim Bursch on March 30th, 2010
9 solid reasons to act and keep moving away from mediocrity! Thank you Raj.
Ganesh on March 30th, 2010
@Srinivas Thanks!
Priya on March 30th, 2010
A very thought provoking article.. and good discussion here. At least some of the points apply to me.. i am working towards newer things though i’m not very sure of the outcome right now.
Thank you for the inspiration to rise above mediocrity!
Rajesh Setty on March 30th, 2010
Thanks Priya for stopping by and for your comments.
You are very welcome.
Have a great day.
Best,
Rajesh
Why Many Smart Folks End up going NoWhere on March 30th, 2010
[…] full post on Hacker News If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Tagged with: Folks • […]
vinni on March 30th, 2010
This post like the many others on this blog, always leads to some introspection about who you are and where you stand.
Great post sir!
Rajesh Setty on March 30th, 2010
Vinni, thanks for stopping by and for your comments.
Have a great day.
best,
Rajesh
FiremanDave on March 30th, 2010
Certainly an interesting read; your 9 points and the comments. My father insisted on having my IQ tested yearly, and despite the fairly high scores, I performed horribly in school. I’m 27, working on my BS in Information Technology for the second time (long story, will tell it if asked), and I’m working part time doing the occasional computer repair or security consultation, but I digress.
After reading your list, I’ve realized that I really am still thinking inside the sandbox. Yeah, I’ve taken risks in my life, but they’ve always been physical risks. It comes with being a firefighter. But I’ve never really “put my neck out” for a job. That’s really the only point that I think applies to me. Failure doesn’t bother me; I learn as much or more from my failures as my successes. I know I need help, but I really have no one to depend on for any help outside my wife and brother (my father passed on in 2005). Actually, I do have some help now. This article.
I have horrible luck. I got a paycheck yesterday from a security gig and I ran out of gas going to cash the check. If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have none at all.
Anyway, I’m sure no one wants to read my life story, so I’ll say a few more words and be gone. Thanks for posting an informative article, and I will certainly be applying the lessons learned here to my every day life. Thank you.
Terry A. Davis on March 30th, 2010
As for luck… “pride before a fall” and “humilty before honors” is what the Bible teaches. that explains much, but not all. God loved Jacob and hated Esau. (Esau gave-up his birthright.) God gives unequally to different people, which may seem unjust, but everybody has highs and lows, both rich and poor. If God does give to some people, that’s His right. Laziness is often a factor.
Al Brown on March 30th, 2010
Very useful post man. I see a number of my own issues!
Nico on March 31st, 2010
Great blog. Stumbled across it via twitter. Its all true.
cdog46 on March 31st, 2010
Great article but I think you only scratch the surface!
People who are very smart often have a hard time communicating with everyone else. This has huge implications. It can be the smart person’s personality or, just as important-it can be the lack of smarts the gifted one interacts with. Often times smart peoples ideas are way out side the box, and audience people find the smart person “nuts” or more likely “strange”.
The above may sound like superficial analysis, but I have encountered this many times over sixty years-and as I implied-conveying smart ideas has it’s own problems. Timing as you have mentioned-but also-one’s social and communications skills.
I could go on-a person’s self esteem or lack thereof. Ever been shouted down or treated dismissively. Part of ego perhaps or-just a rational decision not to engage after being bruised too many times.
And not too mention. By what criteria does one measure success? A who disscusion in itself.
KEvin Burke on March 31st, 2010
I would add being interested in way too many different areas to focus on one long enough to get good at it
lem on March 31st, 2010
Very interesting list you have built here. From my experience, the importance of your point 8 cannot be emphasized enough. Being able to effectively delegate is an important part of leadership and, ultimately, success.
I have seen too many people try to do everything themselves, when they should have been consulting with and delegating to experts. Only sandbox-style thinking (as you have defined it) would allow someone to believe they can do everything equally well.
chanux on March 31st, 2010
Very good read of course.
But I too think success is a relative to what an individual thinks it is.
But there is another case. Any type of a success doesn’t complete the life. We always regret over what we don’t have anyway.
ex: Great inventor regretting not having good money.
Super rich dude regretting over not inventing cool stuff.
Will on March 31st, 2010
One factor is that smart people end up being very good at something technical (engineering, programmers, etc) and then get hired by others to do the work, while the more socially developed own the business and make more of the money. If by ‘go nowhere’ you mean financially.
Tara Rodden Robinson :: The Productivity Maven on March 31st, 2010
One of the number one reasons I see smart people fail to reach their potential: not finishing. Ambitious people are really good at starting things-the ones that finish go somewhere.
Thanks for the great post!
Tara
mia on March 31st, 2010
very good point about the premium set on memorization. another unfortunate limit many intelligent people encounter, once we’re out of an academic setting, is the very high premium placed on social adeptness, which Will also pointed out. luck doesn’t have much to do with society’s preference for people who have the ability to manipulate others into believing all is well.
it’s a sad thing that the employment landscape (where one is supposed to find a large part of one’s “success” in life) favors social intelligence over creative or intellectual intelligence, but it does.
even knowing that fact doesn’t guarantee an intelligent person will be able to find help to navigate around an obstacle like the inability to read body language, which can actually be a real impediment in the job market, and therefore an impediment to working one’s way into a position where one might achieve success and contribute to one’s full potential… or even part of one’s potential.
forlan on March 31st, 2010
I do not believe luck, But smart people often arrogant
Chris on March 31st, 2010
Well written.
Smart People once they achieve good grades in high school, parents teachers and friends almost always ask them ONLY to concentrate on academics. whereas “The so called not so smart people” are allowed to spread their quest on many more fields which allows them to gain more exposure.
Weekly Readings « How to Not Get a Job in Advertising on March 31st, 2010
[…] 9 Reasons Why Many Smart People Go Nowhere – Rajesh Setty’s Life Beyond Code blog A very informative post by Mr. Setty. His point is – even those with “sandbox smarts” (meaning they look extremely successful in school) are still not guaranteed success. We must still push ourselves and recognize what type of person we are. Many “sandbox smart” people become risk averse, comfortable being “smart”, and uncomfortable with the idea of failure. It is important to remember that book smarts AND street smarts/reflective learning are important “knowledge tools”, and that action is still required for success! […]
Petra on March 31st, 2010
@ganesh: are you a psychologist?
Debra Russell on March 31st, 2010
The underlying component to almost all of your points is that of emotional intelligence.
Oh, and about “success” – you guys talk as if there was only one definition of success. I suggest that each of you have your own definitions of success and it is for that which you strive.
I think that what Rajesh is getting at is that they aren’t reaching their own personal definitions of success – as separate and different from society’s definition.
And some of the best resources for help in my only slightly biased opinion is to get the support of a coach 
live3arth on March 31st, 2010
watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoo_dIOP8k for more insight into this issue. it’s turns out a lot of smart people are actually somewhat dumb (myself included) – or rather may have certain regions of the brain that are slightly underdeveloped (as well as others that are overdeveloped).
Jen on March 31st, 2010
I call it the curse of “so much potential” – my family thought I was supposed to cure cancer. Serioiusly. But…I suck at math. Not real world math, I own two business and haven’t lost my house yet LOL but math and science just weren’t my thing.
Anything “on paper” isn’t my thing.
But my family? They think my potential is wasted because I’m not saving lives.
Dude. I don’t want to be responsible for ANYONE’S life. My kids are almost too much for me to handle (the responsibility, not the parenting, that’s the fun stuff)
diaby mohamed on March 31st, 2010
hi,
I wrote a post, thoughts mainly illustrating points you noticed in this post (in french). It Was very inspiring and motivating. One could find so many reasons why people often fail despite they are smart, but I prefer to show them reasons and ways to succeed. thanks for sharing your thougts and keep on doin’
Laura on March 31st, 2010
People always quote the old saw: “Nobody plans to fail, they just fail to plan.” And they think that is all there is to success.
There certainly is a good deal of wisdom in smart planning. But in my extensive experience with shoestring startups, most failures don’t come from a failure to plan. They come from a failure to DO. When it comes to the point of execution, they just can’t buckle down and work it every day. Sometimes low esteem (both the inability to believe in their potential, and the inability to believe they can survive failure), sometimes lack of desire to truly change their patterns.
I don’t think school prepares people very well for that necessity, whether they are above average or not.
Rajesh Setty on March 31st, 2010
Thanks a ton all of you.
@FiremanDave, thanks for pouring your heart here. Wish you the very best with your new life there.
@TerryADavis, Amen to that.
@AlBrown, glad that you liked the post
@Nico, thank you for your kind words
@cdog46 What you have outlined is a post on a future date. I agree with you on the communication part. There has been a discussion going on about measuring success. Kindly take a look in the comments above.
@KevinBurke, Totally agreed. It is the chronic-starter problem that many people have.
@lem Thanks for the note. From my interactions with many smart people, they TRULY and SINCERELY believe that they are the BEST people to do that job and not only that they TRULY and SINCERELY believe that if delegated, this job will get messed up and they have to do it all over again. Hence best is to put their nose to the grindstone and…
@chanux As I have outlined in the comments, the focus of the article is not on the success leaning towards accomplishment but something that is leaning towards contribution.
@Will Your comment made me smile there (being a technologist myself)
@Tara Amen to that.
@mia Agree with you on your comments.
@forlan Point noted. We may disagree on that and that is OK
@Chris, Thanks for the comments
@Debra, You captured the essence of the article very well – probably better than the way I have explained it. Thank you
@live3arth Will take a look at Goleman’s video
@Jen, Point noted. Thanks for sharing.
@diaby, Thanks a ton for the support there.
Have a great evening.
Best,
Rajesh
Ganesh on March 31st, 2010
@Petra
No I am not a psychologist. But I have studied a few things. My beliefs are basically rooted in Indian philosophy which looks at everything in a holistic manner, and understands that there are n no. of realities for n no. of people.
And like you, I too like the way Rajesh put the things here.
Good reads – « Doubling Down | Vineet Thanedar's Blog on March 31st, 2010
[…] 9 Reasons why many smart people won’t go anywhere http://www.lifebeyondcode.com/2010/03/29/9-reasons-why-many-smart-people-go-nowhere/ […]
iSponsor on April 1st, 2010
Maybe ’smart’ and ‘intelligence’ may not be one and the same. Great post!
Rajesh Setty on April 1st, 2010
@Laura, great points there. Thank you.
@Ganesh, @Petra is hinting something there
Thanks to all.
best,
Rajesh
Ganesh on April 1st, 2010
@Rajesh: Really? I am bad at it..
Rajesh Setty on April 1st, 2010
@Ganesh, OK I was just trying to pull your leg there
Thanks for being open to discuss a topic that I think is very important.
Would love to learn more about you. Will send you an email.
Cheers,
Rajesh
bsmirnov on April 1st, 2010
Great article. I often think about these things and about my would be dream job. I find that often comfort of the current job can make one not want to push for advancement.
Thank you.
Debra Russell on April 1st, 2010
Hey you’re welcome Rajesh! Since you’re using the @ sign?? My handle on twitter is @artistsedge – too many Debra Russell’s out there!
BTW – Emotional Intelligence is a set of learned behaviors, and as such, can be learned – even by really smart people It’s one of my specialties in working with people as a Business Coach.
blah on April 1st, 2010
You REALLY need to remove that photo if you want anyone to take you seriously.
After I saw that, I only skimmed the article. Your presumptions are absurd. You could have at least BS’d a little more and made it a ‘top ten’ list. You simply can’t generalise like this.
Rajesh Setty on April 1st, 2010
@bsmirnov, thank you
@Debra – thank you and following you on Twitter now
@blah – thank you for the feedback. Just so that you know, I have a problem with my eyes and hence the glasses. The people that know me know about this and they are fine.
Some free advice for you – have the courage to reveal your identity and give the feedback. It is easy to hide behind and talk – anyone can do that.
Best way to criticize anything is to create something better than that.
Take care.
Best,
Rajesh
iSponsor on April 1st, 2010
Based on that comment by anonymous:
Reason No. 10:
Inherent ‘isms’ – be it racism/sexism/nepotism.
The non-fear of not being taken seriously.
twitter: @iSponsor
Rajesh Setty on April 1st, 2010
@iSponsor, thank you. Sometimes people don’t stop and think for a minute that there might be a reason I have glasses on. All it requires is some caring and thoughtfulness – which is unfortunately at a premium today in the world 
Thanks again. Your comments means a lot to me.
Best,
Rajesh
Debra Russell on April 1st, 2010
Hey Rajesh – yep saw that and followed you back
Blah – you might benefit from reading this article:
At the end of every computer is a real person, a lot like you: http://sivers.org/real
My buddy Derek tells it like it is!
Rajesh Setty on April 1st, 2010
@Debra,Thanks again.
My mentor told me years ago (way before I wrote 1450 blog posts on this blog)that there is NO way I can please everyone.
Once in a while, I get comments from people like @blah and all I will do is to glaze over them and move to others that are more caring.
I don’t mind criticism at all but don’t care for those that don’t care to care.
Thanks again.
Best,
Rajesh
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Cody McKibben on March 29th, 2010
A great reality check here Raj! Thanks