Smart but not so bright!

Intelligence can only bring us halfway to success. It is only one of the two sides of our ability. Strong character needs to be combined with it. The person without a good character will fail in achieving stature in his career, community and friendships.

In the spring of 1995, scandals were rocking the Ivy League universities. A Yale student, a month away from getting his diploma, was discovered to have forged his admittance transcripts. The college planned to not only to expel him but also to press larceny charges. Meanwhile at Harvard, the administration was rescinding an offer of admittance to a young woman who was discovered to have bludgeoned her mother to death with a candlestick five years previously. She had lied about this incident during her interview.

There is no doubt that both of these students were brilliant. The girl had an IQ of 150. The guy had been a mediocre student at his community college yet maintained a B average at Yale. Neither problem was a question of intelligence but of a character.

Similar character issues haunt the reputations of some of the most brilliant people who ever lived. Character related matters come to light about public figures on a regular basis - sex scandals, suicide, greed and the like.

We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived in a similar manner. You can have the IQ of a genius. You can be a straight "A" student and high achiever at work. But that's just half of the challenge. If you don't also strive to be a person with an impeccable reputation and a reputable character, then you're just plain wasting your superior intelligence.