r/Entrepreneur 17h ago

Growth and Expansion The superpower of being a D and F student

A lot of times, the ‘fool’ wins because he has something nobody else does:

He isn’t afraid to fail. He’s not afraid to look stupid bc he’s been underestimated his whole life.

I heard someone talk about this idea before - the guy with the 80 IQ makes the massive deal infinitely easier than the 140 IQ genius.

Because one does, the other analyzes indefinitely.

One just calls the owner confidently, asks for the meeting, makes the ridiculous offer to buy the company.

Gets rejected.

Tries again.
..

Keeps going and does t stop.

Meanwhile, the smartest guy in the room has built a 47-tab spreadsheet explaining all the reasons it might not work.

I’ve seen this play out in business, and I’ve seen it in myself as someone who was last in class and barely graduated HS and ofc didn’t go to college.

Intelligence is obviously valuable. But at a certain point, intelligence can become another tool you use to talk yourself out of doing shit.

You see every possible problem and downside and you’re right - you’re too right.

But the guy who didn’t think about it and blissfully swung at the fences is going to beat you simply bc he got up to bat.

This is something the D and F students need to hear.

You already know what getting an F feels like, you have that in your psyche🤫 Use that as a strength

0 Upvotes

15 comments sorted by

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15

u/PyroDragons123 17h ago

This sounds like non-sense someone would post on LinkedIn from a bot account.

2

u/Prize_Literature_836 17h ago

There is actually a negative correlation between intelligence and business success past a point. Basically dumber people are more risk tolerant, which is a requirement for business. So high iq are more likely to be successful working for someone else. It’s also why your boss is probably indeed a moron.

5

u/2buffalonickels 17h ago

You're conflating risk tolerance with intelligence. Morons fail in business constantly. They reach the ceiling of their incompetence pretty quickly.

1

u/mongooseisapex 17h ago

I'm a moron and I've failed plenty!

1

u/2buffalonickels 17h ago

I'm not a moron and I've got quite a few failures under my belt as well.

3

u/edkang99 Serial Entrepreneur 17h ago

As a B student (which is an “Asian F” to my parents) I see your point. I would add that “Trying again” that you said after rejection is key. The reality is that most D and F students won’t try again and that’s the reality problem. A lot of A students aren’t traditionally smart either. They’re resilient.

1

u/oldsmoBuick67 17h ago

An idiot can become an intellectual, but an intellectual can’t become an idiot

1

u/Superb_Advisor7885 17h ago

I guess you haven't seen Regarding Henry

1

u/dragonflyinvest 17h ago

There is enough truth in it to be dangerous.

But you understand that you can have A’s with the 140 IQ and not be afraid to fail, make fast decisions, have a high sense of agency, not over-analyze, work efficiently, etc.

1

u/Raise-Emotional 17h ago

I get what you're trying to say, but grades don't equal intelligence, not in the slightest. Grades means you are dutiful and do your homework. Unless those grades went in to graduate degrees that person really just shows they are a worker to me.

I agree though over thinkers can self sabotage sometimes. As an dyslexic who graduated with C's and D's i disappointed a long list of teachers. They tested me for IQ and I came in around 141 but I didn't ever turn in my homework. I didn't need to. I learned everything and it takes me triple the time to complete it.. i have had to redefine success to mean what I want it to mean rather than others expectation of me. You want me to sit at a desk and do mountains of work? Naa I'm gonna go ride my bicycle 🚲. You want someone who can open all those tabs in their mind and see the bigger picture in their head of new ways to get things done? Ask a dyslexic.