If You’re So Intelligent, Why Are You Not Rich?

I was speaking with a mentee recently, and I asked her a question that made her pause:

“If you’re so intelligent, why are you not rich?”

At first glance, it sounds like a shallow question. And I felt a bit ashamed. Money is not the only measure of success, and wealth is influenced by countless factors. Perhaps she was born into a disadvantaged environment. Perhaps she has faced systemic barriers. Perhaps she has been unlucky, or perhaps her priorities simply lie elsewhere. All of these are valid possibilities.

Yet beneath that question lies something I often cannot shake off. Because you can ask this same question in many other ways:

“If you’re so intelligent, why can’t you get a good job?”

“If you’re so intelligent, why are your grades slipping?”

“If you’re so intelligent, why are you struggling to build meaningful friendships?”

“If you’re so intelligent, why are you stuck in the same place year after year?”

Now, the point of asking these questions is not to diminish anyone’s intelligence. We know you are smart. You know it too. Intelligence is not the problem.

Let us go back to a standard definition of intelligence, one Google gave me as soon as I typed “What is intelligence?”:

“the general mental ability to learn from experience, adapt to new situations, reason, solve problems, and understand abstract concepts.”

By this definition, intelligence is an ability, a potential. It is like having a sharp blade. But a sharp blade left in its sheath can neither cut nor shape anything. So, the real question becomes: why is intelligence not translating into visible results?

I believe a chief reason is focus.

In today’s world, many people describe themselves as “multipotentialites.” They can sing, write, code, design, debate, and lead — all with some degree of competence. This breadth can be an advantage, but it can also be a trap. When energy is spread across too many pursuits, none receives the kind of concentrated effort required for mastery.

Why have you not written that book? Focus.

Why have you not finished the course? Focus.

Why have you not started that business? Focus.

My ancestors used to put it in earthy terms: “you must urinate on one spot long enough for the ground to foam.” In other words, focus creates momentum. Scattered effort evaporates.

Self-help is often derided on these streets but psychologists have studied this tension between intelligence and achievement. One famous insight comes from Angela Duckworth’s research on ‘grit’. She found that sustained passion and perseverance often predict success better than raw talent or IQ. In her words, “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.”

Focus is not about narrowing your talents forever. It is about creating depth before breadth. It’s about mastery before variety. Intelligence without focus becomes potential energy that never becomes kinetic. It sits idle, admirable but ineffective.

So, the next time you find yourself saying, “But I’m intelligent, why am I not further ahead?” — consider whether the issue is really about capacity or about concentration. The sharper your intelligence, the more tragic it is to see it blunted by distraction.

When brilliance meets focus, results follow.