How Smart People Can Become More Successful

 How Smart People Can Become More Successful, Ram V Iyer, 2025

It's normal to think that a degree from a top university (like an Ivy League school) is an absolute guarantee of career success. It's also normal to think that success in one area is an absolute guarantee of success in an unrelated area. Everyone has heard of the Law of Attraction; wish for something hard enough, and the Universe will give it to you. According to this book, life doesn't work like that.

While those things are very important, what is much more important is to actually do it. It doesn't matter if you are networking with the ultimate goal of getting a better job, or you are an entrepreneur bringing a product to market. Don't wait for success to come to you, go out and get it. If you fail, don't worry about it. Say to yourself "What can I learn from this non-success?" instead of "I'm a failure. I give up."

The author talks about Smartness - the ability to leverage your advantages for personal or business success. Intelligence does not equal smartness. It is the ability to see things as they are, know what needs to be done, and then do it.

Many obstacles will appear in your journey to success. There is no Perfect time to do it, there is only Now. Do you need to analyze every detail before you do anything? In the meantime, a competitor will have dominated the market. Are you a control freak who is unable to delegate anything?

This book is recommended for people at all stages of their working life. It is eye-opening and easy to understand. It is also a gem of a book.