A lot of these points resonate with me. I have two friends from my childhood, one #3 and one who was bookish but probably no higher than average intelligence.
Fast forward 25 year, and the first still lives at home and hasn't progressed, and the second has diligently but slowly built a successful career one step at a time in a big public facing company.
I definitely have learned that intelligence can give you a leg up, but that many successful people get there by advancing one pace at a time. It's actually enabling -- regardless of intelligence, many many people can succeed simply through showing up and making incremental progress throughout their lives.
Cheers,
Thanks for sharing your experience! :)
But also I think that for some people success comes earlier and for some later, and it is okay for as long as someone is not behaving irresponsibly and in a way that leads really nowhere. :)