I work with corporate teams and student groups daily. Many fear not being smart enough. Many overcompensate with ego and arrogance. If you look deep enough, the fear of inadequacy is there.

At times I fancied myself the smartest person in the room. I remember finding it jarring when I was wrong. The quiet mouse in the corner finally opens their mouth and illuminates a situation. I was once ruled by ego and insecurity.

I do know after 53 years loud does not equal intelligence. Ego and arrogance does not equal intelligence. Conmen fool many with their perceived confidence.

Are YOU smart enough? MAYBE!

I have worked with a room of PhDs. After 20 years of school THEY still struggle with this question. Meanwhile there are high school drop out billionaires.

Worrying about being smart enough is another form of being good enough. We are busy comparing ourselves to each other, subtly ranking ourselves at the bottom of the pack.

Chances are, your problem is not lack of intelligence. You suffer from a lack of confidence. Or more likely a lack of curiosity. A rare few simply lack all ambition.

Chances are you have above average IQ. You probably have above average EQ. You might even have GSDQ (Get 💩 Done Quotient 😉)

But being stuck in this I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH / SMART ENOUGH world is taking up too much head space. Your creative and critical thinking brain is overwhelmed by ego and insecurity.

STOP THINKING

If you are suffering from the above, you need to stop thinking. Perhaps it’s more correct to say, I want to retrain how you think.

Stop worrying about details 90% of the time. Think in broad strokes. Think TOP DOWN DESIGN.

I teach LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES. Talk and think less. Observe more. Then when you speak, you are more informed. Your words are more connected.

There is a time for detail thinking. There is a time for WE NEED TO GET THIS DONE thinking. The ALWAYS BE CLOSING MENTALITY often kills the initial pitch as bad as the I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH mindset.

Stop comparing yourself to others.

If you want to be better tomorrow stop wasting time with the ranking system in your brain. You are wasting too much emotional energy. I include folks like me in this thought.

I wasted too much time trying to be the best. That became too much of my identity. When I wasn’t the best, I got depressed. I was still very good, but my work suffered because I wasn’t THE BEST. As a result, I certainly didn’t do MY BEST.

I don’t even like sales rankings etc. Those old school systems reward a few and burn out the rest. A great sales manager focuses on supporting and training their weakest links. The top dog egos will be fine.

Let the head hunters have that 1 sales A+ star. You will have a team of A minuses that will be far more consistent. They outlast the burnouts at the top and bottom.

Stop focusing on what you cant do!

We stop doing what we can do as we worry about that which we can’t. In 2026, anything you don’t know can be researched using the phone in your hands. If you lack a certain skill, take a course. But don’t jist go for te certificate. Apply yourself. Be the best you can be.

Here is my simple system for success. I use this to teach Stand Up Comedy to kids but it applies across the board.

• PREPARE for excellence.
• HAVE FUN as you execute the plan. Don’t worry about being good, smart, funny etc. JUST DO!
• ANALYZE THE WORK withough celebration of tearing yourself to shreds. Without ego or insecurity, get to work identifying the good, the bad the ugly.

With this plan, the goal is to be 1% better every day. You will plateau. You will backside. You will make bad choices.

BUT as long as you keep applying this simply formula to your life, you will make choices. You will repeat successes. You will learn from mistakes. You reach YOUR full potential.

Starting today, stop worrying about how you rank. Let your ambition focus on being YOUR BEST. BE MORE CURIOUS!

ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH? YES!!!

Who cares if you are the smartest one in the room. WORRYING about it makes you look like the weakest link. Instead accept YOU ARE SMART ENOUGH to survive today. But NEVER rest on your laurels either. ALWAYS look for ways to make yourself 1% better tomorrow and start enjoying the journey. THAT is the path to more successful finish lines.