Attitude

Human beings are not created equal. Some of us are more intelligent and more talented than others. I’ve always believed, though, that despite our DNA, the right attitude can take us anywhere.

We can’t all be born geniuses but we can all improve on what God gives us at birth.

We are all born with a different set and number of skills but we can always learn and acquire new ones thus increasing our potential for greater productivity in life. And while we are born with different levels of neural intelligence, we can still improve on our fluid intelligence.

We can learn how to approach tasks and how to solve problems better. We can pay greater attention. We can learn how to focus. We can learn to improve our memory. We can increase our brainpower.

We can learn how to plan. We can learn how to organize our tasks so that we can accomplish more on a daily basis. We can learn to utilize what we have and use them with greater efficiency. We can maximize our brainpower.

Even after leaving school, we can continue to read to increase our knowledge and perhaps, our understanding of different issues. We can train our minds to think rationally and to analyze critically by being in the company of people with greater neural intelligence.

Most people hate being the dumbest person in the room.

Personally, I like being in the company of people who are smarter than me because I see every conversation with them as an opportunity to educate and enlighten myself.

It is not the smartest person in the room, after all, who gets to learn the most. At the end of the day, it is the one whose mind is open to listening to the ideas and opinions of others, the one who relentlessly asks questions, the one who stubbornly refuses to give up, the one who goes the extra mile, the one who believes preparation makes a difference, who gets to learn and gain the most.

As an educator, I can easily spot the brilliant from the ordinary in class. But it is not always the brilliant who succeeds because sometimes, the brilliant can be indolent, lackadaisical and arrogant. The greatest stumbling block to success for most geniuses is their giant-sized egos.

We can’t all be naturally gifted but if we commit to do all we can to be the best in whatever we do, we can actually surprise ourselves, sometimes, by becoming the best.

Professional success as well as personal achievement is not necessarily the result of superior intellect and innate talent. More often than not, it is the fruit of discipline, hard work and perseverance. The right attitude is still the key.

Genius is God-given. Achievement is human-driven.

Human beings are not created equal. Some people are born with greater gifts than others. But I still believe that no matter our DNA, the right attitude can take us to places we never dreamed of.

It is not the smartest person in the room, after all, who gets to learn the most