Stanley F. Bronstein – Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

Law #26

Position Yourself To Be Driven

Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven. (Edward de Bono)

Some Definitions

Driven – Being under compulsion, as to succeed or excel.

Drive – To send, expel, or otherwise cause to move by force or compulsion. To cause and guide the movement of. To force to work or act.

Highly – Exceeding the common degree or measure; strong; intense. In or to a high degree; extremely. More than adequately; generously.

Intelligent – Having good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend. Displaying or characterized by quickness of understanding, sound thought, or good judgment. Having the faculty of reasoning and understanding; possessing intelligence.

Intelligence – Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc.. Manifestation of a high mental capacity.

People – Persons individually or collectively; persons in general. The entire body of persons who constitute a community, tribe, nation, or other group by virtue of a common culture, history, religion, or the like.

Poor – Deficient or lacking in something specified. Of an inferior, inadequate, or unsatisfactory kind. Lacking in skill, ability or training.

Thinkers – A person who has a well-developed faculty for thinking, as a philosopher, theorist, or scholar.

Thinking – To have a conscious mind, to some extent of reasoning, remembering experiences, making rational decisions, etc.. To employ one’s mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation.

Average – Typical; common; ordinary.

Skilled – One who has skills. The ability, coming from one’s knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well. Competent excellence in performance; expertness; dexterity.

Power – Ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something. Great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force.

Car – An automobile.

Separate – Being or standing apart; distant or dispersed. Unconnected; distinct; unique.

Way – Manner, mode, or fashion. A method, plan, or means for attaining a goal. A respect or particular.

Source: Dictionary.com

Driven People Are Compulsive

Driven people are usually compelled to succeed, in one way or another.  The question is:  What are they driven towards?  Are they driven towards something good; towards something bad; or towards something in-between.

Chosing For Ourselves

All highly successful people, at one time or another in their lives, are driven towards something.  Many times they are able to chose their own direction, and sometimes they are not.

I’m suggesting, that to the extent possible, we should all choose our own direction for ourselves.

The best thing a parent, a teacher, or a mentor can do is teach children how to chose for themselves.

An Example

I am driven to change the world; to make the world a better place.  Even if I have to do it one person at a time.  It’s what makes me happy.  It is what I have chosen to do.  No one made me do this.  In fact, no one even suggested I do this.  It is simply what I chose to do.

What Is The Quote Suggesting?

The quote suggest the importance of learning how to think.  Just because someone is intelligent, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve learned how to think.

A highly intelligent person merely has the capacity to think.    They only become a “thinker” when that process becomes well-developed.  That is what sets them apart.

A person of average intelligence (less than the highly intelligent person), might actually be a better thinker, simply because they have developed a large percentage of their capacity.

In other words, if you have a capacity level of 200, but only learn how to use a quarter of it, you can think on a level of 50.  If you have an average capacity of 125, but you learn how to use most of it, you might be able to think on a level of 100.

Or as the quote suggests, you may own a race car, BUT if you don’t know how to drive it, you’re not going to get very much out of it.

A Prime Example

In the movie Forrest Gump, the main character Forrest was generally thought of as an idiot.  But, if you watched the movie, it’s absolutely amazing what that “idiot” was able to accomplish.  The reality is that he was not an idiot at all.

As his mother said in the movie: stupid is as stupid does.  If you do stupid things, then you’re stupid.  If you do smart things, then you’re smart.  It’s as simple as that.

So What Am I Suggesting?

I’m suggesting that driven has two meanings.  One is developing and cultivating the will; the motivation to do what it takes.  The other is learning how to think.  If you learn how to think, you will become a better “driver”.

A Few Things For You To Think About

What is your capacity to achieve?

How well are you using the capacity you were given?

In examining the people around you (especially your children), what is their capacity to achieve?  Are you helping them learn how to use the capacity they were given?

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