However, at the age of 17, I noted that I was surrounded by very intelligent people who were quite miserable in most cases. I concluded that I would rather by wise instead of smart and set about trying to figure out how to get out of my own damn way. Some studies indicate that very talented, intelligent, educated people who can't make their career (or lives) work are failing because they are basically in their own way and just won't quit being in their own way. (They are obnoxious, rude, arrogant....etc...and sooner or later employers (and others) conclude that the downside is just not worth whatever they have to offer.)

Or, to quote a conversation I had with my sister some years ago:

Me: "Some people with high IQ's just seem to go around shooting themselves in the foot."

Sis: "...and using their high IQ's to improve their aim."

I tend to assume that people like Sam Walton or Madonna or Bill Gates were fortunate in that they were born and/or raised without the tendency to stay in their own way all the damn time. I don't seem to have started life with such good fortune. I've had to work at it. Given the high failure rate of startups, I tend to assume I am not the only person who could stand to work at it.

Peace and good luck.