I now weigh much less on a person's skill and more on the person's ambition.
And I care a lot more about where this person wants to be over the next 10 years
than where this person is today. What I learned from people around me is that
most times the world doesn't lack talent, skill, or intellect; it lacks the will and
drive to get things done and push for progress.
Most times, people I meet don't lack the techniques to get
things done but the
will to do so. I found that being ambitious
is one of the greatest predictors of a
person's long-term
achievement.
I have met a lot of smart people who could have achieved much
more had they
been more ambitious. I have also met lots of
ambitious people who are not so
different from ordinary people
measured intelligence-wise but achieved
tremendously because
they are driven.