Success Doesn’t Come Down to IQ. It Comes Down to Something Else That You Actually Control

Welcome to the Missing Secret Podcast. I'm Kelly Hatfield.

Hey, and I'm John Mitchell. So here's our topic today: success doesn't come down to IQ. It comes down to something else that you actually control. Kelly, you think that's intriguing enough?

It is intriguing. I can't. I need to know. I can't. We didn't talk about this at all before we jumped in. So I'm excited to hear what path you're taking us down here today.

So just address that point. How much of success do you think is IQ?

Really, I have no idea. Well, let me

let me throw this out to you. You know, if you look at the bell curve of intelligence, you know, the vast majority of people are within 10 IQ points of one another. I mean, it's just, you know, I think I don't know what the average IQ is on the scale. I think it's well. I don't know, but I'm I'm guessing it's probably a 110 maybe, and but 90% of people are going to be either between 100 and 120. And you know, here's sort of the the point that that I I think so so get clear that it does not depend on IQ. But here's a lesson in life that I have come to realize: you have to figure out your life. Nobody else is going to figure it out for you. You have to figure it out yourself, and most people are not doing that. What they're doing is they're just winging life, and this is true whether they're 20 or 60. And they're just winging life. They're on the treadmill of of life, like you said a number of times. They're not thinking about their life. They're just on the treadmill. They're interested in what they're having for dinner tonight, what Netflix shows they're going to watch. Then they're going to get up tomorrow and do the same thing, and so they're just winging life, just winging life. And but I see to create a successful life, you have to lead yourself. You have to intelligently and purposefully lead yourself. And most of us were never taught how to lead ourselves. You know, people are winging life not out of choice. They're winging life because nobody gave them the alternative. And and I didn't figure out the alternative until I was I was 50 and but the more I have studied this and especially now teaching MBAs I see it at a at a even deeper level because when they're you know the average MBA is probably 30 years old, and they're spending 200,002, 50 to get an MBA. I mean, they are serious about success. They're the the perfect 2% for what I'm teaching. But for all of them, nobody's ever taught them how to lead themselves. And and you

know it's interesting to be around them because it's super competitive. You know, at University of Texas, it's one of the you know top 10 business schools in the country, and so all the people in it are super sharp, and they feel like they're in this bubble where you know how do I get an edge on anybody else? And they feel that that super competitive thing, and to some some degree, I think it it spurs maybe a feeling of am I good enough? Even though they obviously are to get in it, but but to some degree, they they feel that stress of super competitive environment. They then are you know have angst about what is coming in the next phase of their life. They'll they'll get their MBA by next May, and with that will come a high power job, and when they get that high power job, they're going to feel the the stress of having to perform because that's why they're going to pay you well. You got to perform, and but I guess the the purpose of this long winded explanation is that they don't see the real issue. They see that they're about as smart as anybody else, but everybody's an equal level of of smart, and they don't see how am I going to prosper versus everybody else. And I'm here to tell them that. Everybody in my class that's learning advanced leadership of self and the specific stuff that I'm going to teach them is going to be at an infinite advantage over all the other MBAs because, like, yes, I'm going to teach them the 12 minute a day technique. They're going to create immense clarity about their life, exactly the person they want to be, what they want to accomplish, and how they're going to achieve their goals. I'm going to make them a 10 on organization. I'm going to make them deep think two times a week. I'm going to make them a conduit of learning using a system. All those other MBAs and all the other slubs around that they're around when they get in the real world, they're not doing that. Are you kidding me?

What what an advantage! I'm I'm sure I'm going to go on my soap pot tomorrow when I I always give a opening statement. And but it's so great to to get to know them now that they come over to my house oftentimes on Wednesdays when we sit out on the lake and you know I see their their angst and their their fears and I'm like you guys once I get through with you you're gonna crush it and I don't say that egotistically I just know it works yeah because I lived it and you know it works you know

absolutely and I think you know to your point about either being on that treadmill or you know doing life, you know winging life.

Yeah,

I I equate it like the difference and the distinction that I make in my mind a lot of the time is most everybody is just reacting. They're just yeah

exactly

external stuff that's in their life, and they're just reacting all day long, you know. I always pictured that, you know, that feather in the in the Forrest Gump, you know, just kind of floating through, letting wind take you where it takes you, reacting to whatever the situation is that you're being put into, right? And whereas, and that, so the distinction is, is you know, with this methodology and what you're teaching is by the methodology itself, and and people understanding that 95% of your you know thoughts and actions are unconscious, you know that you move into a more proactive and intentional way of living, you know. So it becomes more proactive versus reacting to everything. You are the architect. You know you are not. You know so that's what I you know love about and where the distinction is for all these really smart people that are then in this MBA plan MBA program. They're all on an equal level playing field from an IQ standpoint, roughly. Again, as you mentioned, 10 or so points. You know between them, the distinction and what differentiates you from everybody else out there is living a more proact, living in a more proactive way, where you're architecting your life versus where you are in reaction to everybody and everything and every situation and you know everything that's happening right now in the world. Like you, you are in a reactionary mode around all of that,

right, right, and you know I see the power of deep thinking two times a week, and I know you do it every day, but you know I see that as I look back on my life in my 30s and 40s, you know I didn't figure out my life, you know I just got up and did the best I could, like everybody else. But now, once I saw, you know, the change at 50, and I go back now and look at my 30s and 40s, I'm like, oh, it would have made so much sense to have a vision for my life and have a have a motivating purpose first of all, and and also have a vision three years out of what am I doing and how am I getting there and and what are the milestones to get there and and then setting aside time two times a week just to think and evaluate all that stuff and is you know what's reality telling me is my plan still right? Is there a nuance to the plan? And the you know that continual iteration of the vision for your life happens from from those thinking sessions, and now you're stimulating the subconscious mind to depend on those thinking sessions to to give you the the information you need to tweak your evolving plan, and I think one of the cool things that that has happened in the last year is seeing how to use AI in those thinking sessions. It's been transformative for me, and I've never taught it really before, but I'm about to teach it. And but again, it all comes back to you. Got to figure out your life, and and this advanced leadership of self methodology is an actual system for figuring out your life and evolving your life. And so it's it's pretty cool to teach it to very bright people.

Yeah, I would imagine absolutely. And and at a point in their lives where they have so much runway ahead of them,

right, right.

So just so cool at this point in their life too, because of the type of traction they're going to get, how much further they're going to be, you know, ahead. I mean, I I always joke with you about this. I'm like, where were you? How did our paths not cross? You know, 20 years ago, that was super helpful. Right. I wonder where I would have been. You know, had I known this sooner in my life, because I we spent a big, you know, at least 10 years of my professional life striving, struggling, trying to figure it out, trying to you know beating myself up because I'm like I know the things I need to do. Why am I not doing them? And you know, like all of those things. So would have saved a lot of angst, you

know. Yeah.

So I'm excited about these these young people in this MBA program that you get an opportunity to work with. That's going to be cool to see how they. You

know, I'm going to explain to them tomorrow that the differentiator between the mega successful and the moderately successful is control of self and focus. Well, what is what is control of self? Well, it's controlling your actions, the vast majority of which are unconscious. Okay, then what's focus? Well, it's your attention. What are you directing your attention on? Well, those-that's the two very things that this methodology teaches. And you know, one of the things I think is sort of interesting with some of our listeners is that we have a lot of people that are in their 50s and 60s, or and are doing this methodology in their second half of their career, and and you know they had in their first half of their clear career a level of success, just like like you know I did, and you did, and maybe they were happy with it. Maybe they were a little disappointed with it. Who knows? It it it is what it is. You can't but go back and change it. But you know, I would say to them, you know, more power to you for having the intelligence of doing the second half of your your life in a different way because yeah it absolutely works and and so whatever level of success you had previously don't let that interfere with the level of success that you have the potential to have

absolutely so it's a game changer that's for sure

okay well until next time, we will see you.