I have read the phrase "If you're so smart, then why aren't you wealthier?" in stores many times before. I often have wondered about the veracity of the assumption behind the statement: that it takes intelligence to make money, and that intelligent people make money. I find that the axiom used is in fact lacking in truth, because many intellectual power houses do not go very far in the world of fiscal matters because they are so focused and passionate about answering questions, not filling their wallets.
For instance, many professors, inventors, scientists, artists, and authors of great import spent their entire lives in complete destitution, and yet they are hailed as some of the most intelligent people of all time. It seems to me that more important that intelligence in earning money is obsession- just as obsession is one of the most important factors for success in any area. If one does not focus on making money, then one will not make money, this is self-evident.
The real question is then whether it is intelligent to pine after money or not. Is it better to devote yourself to self-gratification and bodily comfort or to devote yourself to intellectual discovery, creation, or fulfillment? I would argue that in fact devoting ones life to the acquisition of value dictated by arbitrary bartering laws is in fact lacking in intelligence and instead bulging with the same satisfaction that any animal experiences when it knows that it is surviving and well-fed.
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