The saying if you're so smart why aren't you rich? is similar to the saying if you're so rich why aren't you happy?
One can always facilitate the other but there are no guarantees, given the complex nature of human experience.
I think smartness or happiness is on a domain where they're subjective, internal states of being that can't be easily measured or compared between individuals.
Whereas being rich, at least from a financial sense, is a byproduct of numerous factors (most of them externally controlled like economic conditions, market opportunities, and social networks) and not just intelligence or effort, for the average person.
Of course, there will always be exceptions to these patterns.
Some wouldn't mind trading wealth for deeper happiness and meaning, or intellectual satisfaction for financial security, depending on the context.
For example, would you choose a modestly-paying career you love over a lucrative one you dislike?
My past self would've definitely chosen the latter, time changes how we relate with our priorities and what we consider valuable in life.
The Temporal Dimension
Our relationship with intelligence, wealth, and happiness evolves significantly throughout our lives.
In early adulthood, it's very common to prioritize leveraging one's intelligence to build financial security, postponing gratification and working long hours that dampen happiness.
The traditional career trajectory of high-achieving professionals exemplifies this. Years of education, entry-level grinding, and delayed rewards.
In theory, it seems simple enough until you discover many people in their later years report regretting their excessive focus on wealth accumulation at the expense of relationships and experiences.
Nostalgia for simpler times or genuine value shifts as mortality becomes more salient?
I think it's both. As we age, we realize time is the ultimate non-renewable resource, and optimizing solely for financial metrics will always leave us wealthy in money but poor in meaning.
False Dichotomies
The sayings "if you're so smart why aren't you rich?" and "if you're so rich why aren't you happy?" presuppose mutually exclusive categories that may not reflect reality, especially in our current age.
On both sides of the spectrum, many individuals successfully integrate these seemingly contradictory goals, given the right balance is present.
For example, famous entrepreneurs like Sara Blakely who solve meaningful problems they're intellectually passionate about while creating valuable businesses.
Creative professionals who produce both commercially successful and intellectually stimulating work can also be put into this category of people who've transcended the false dichotomy.
Acknowledging that success can be multidimensional requires abandoning the either/or mindset. It's much easier now to direct one's [acquired] intelligence towards wealth-building without compromising one's values.
Similarly, wealth can be deployed in service of deeper happiness when used to fund meaningful experiences that aligns with one's values.
The main point is there's less rigidity now with regards to career paths and lifestyle choices, which somehow contradicts traditional notions of success requiring painful trade-offs.
Conventional Perspective
Our conventional understanding of "smartness" emphasizes narrow cognitive abilities measured by standardized tests or academic credentials.
I'm not sure if it's just me but many people are not intelligent when measured from this conventional understanding. I think for the most part it's a rather limited view of human capability and potential.
However, the types of intelligence that translate to financial success frequently include emotional intelligence, social savvy, and practical judgment. Qualities not easily quantified.
An alternative definition like the one above could explain one of the reasons why traditionally "smart" individuals might appear less "rich" when measured solely by financial metrics.
Who knows, they may be optimizing for these alternative forms of wealth like:
- Time wealth: autonomy over one's schedule.
- Relationship wealth: deep, supportive connections.
- Health wealth: physical and mental wellbeing.
- Experiential wealth: rich and varied life experiences.
The integration of these dimensions, as opposed to their separation, could well offer the most fulfilling path forward in our current world that way too often forces us to choose between what matters most.
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