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🧠Why Smart People Struggle with Learning (And How to Level Up)
The counterintuitive secret to becoming world-class in any domain
3 min readJan 9, 2025
Ever watched a brilliant person completely shut down when faced with new ideas? Or found yourself drowning in expert content without actually growing? Here’s the plot twist: we’re all doing it wrong, and I learned this the hard way.
The Problem with Being “Smart”
Like most people, I used to think learning was simple:
- Find successful people
- Check their impressive backgrounds
- Count their followers
- Absorb their wisdom like a sponge
Spoiler alert: This approach isn’t just ineffective — it’s actually holding you back.
The Traditional Learning Trap
Here’s what most of us do when we encounter new advice:
- đź“‘ Scrutinize credentials
- đź’Ľ Stalk LinkedIn profiles
- đź’° Google net worth
- đź‘Ą Look for social proof
- 🗳️ Check if their views align with ours