This is good advice, but I think it is for people who think they are not smart, but are actually just inexperienced. I feel like someone who was actually not smart would have trouble executing on these steps
I try and try to push them towards opportunities but they argue 'I just have no natural talent for that' and stop before they even get started.
Eg. they tried programming for 3 days, still hadn't fully groked it (because no one does in that amount of time!) and gave up with the above line. Somewhat frustrating to deal with as a friend and also clear cut in what's holding them back as an outside observer: they simply aren't aggressively fighting internal and external demons that tell them they aren't good enough for something. The mere suggestion that you can't possibly do something should fill you with burning determination and it's a positive emotion to feel in that scenario but they seem to just roll over.
I have not once felt that. I guess people just approach challenges differently.
Literally everyone with a somewhat weak self-esteem will shy away. Those friends of yours should maybe start programming as a hobby, for a small, defined project that scratches one of their itches, and then go from there.
I am structured like that and that's how I got into a well-paying job in software development.
When it comes to this and most other trades, I'm with Gordon Ramsey. Anyone can become a good programmer. "Smartness" and "intelligence", they are such ill-defined concepts. I'm not sure I believe they are real things.
When any obstacle arise to this magical solution, you just fold and flee any difficult task. Trying and failing would make them realize that you weren't so special to start with.
Also, it's easier to preserve that self image by not putting in effort and failing. By putting in effort and facing an uncertain outcome, one could jeopardise their self image.
I thought all my life that I had no talent for video games. I recently installed Doom II (bought for around 2€ on the Microsoft Store) and two weeks later gzDoom.
I did play around a bit with Doom 30 years ago and thought the graphics was nice but I wasn't good at it, was never going to be good at it, and it also wasn't all that interesting.
About a month after the install I'm a fairly decent Doom player. I can complete all the three original Doom episodes (and the first one on Ultraviolence).
Turns out I just never practiced enough -- and I didn't even need much of it!
So yeah, it's not for people who truly are not smart, it's for people who limit themselves as a result of mispercieving their own abilities.