<p>People love to bring up Richard Feynman and Einstein the Incredible Math-Flunking Genius when comparing hard work to intrinsic talent. Neither statement is accurate: they’re both products of an idealized form of intelligence we all have. It’s way hard to accept that some people are just plain geniuses and are far smarter than we can ever hope to be. So we establish mechanisms to try and bring them down to size; suddenly, Feynman, the quantum physics extraordinaire, has a merely mediocre IQ! Einstein flunked math! Hey, if I flunk math, that’s okay. What’s good enough for Einstein’s good enough for me!</p>
<p>In reality, Einstein didn’t flunk Math. It was so easy it bored him. Feynman was a genius beyond most anyone’s comprehension. Yes, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, but Warren Buffett graduated from Wharton, Nebraska, and Columbia. Guess which group is more successful.</p>
<p>Yes, hard work is important. Yes, all these guys worked and worked and worked to an extent none of us can imagine. But the reality is, they were also all incredibly gifted people, and you need both to achieve what they achieved.</p>