Economist James Heckman, who won the Nobel Prize in 2000, conducted a survey where he asked people about the role of innate intelligence in financial success, clarifying the income disparities among individuals based on IQ scores.
Most of the responses he received indicated 25%. Some even claimed that intelligence contributes up to 50% of financial success. However, Heckman’s research revealed something entirely different. Innate intelligence accounts for at most 2% of a child’s later success. So what accounts for the remaining 98%? It turns out that financial success is closely related to qualities of devoted perseverance: self-discipline, persistence, and caution.
This conclusion is not surprising to those familiar with studies about couples: Individuals with cautious and reliable partners tend to work more efficiently, advance faster, earn more money, and feel more satisfied with their jobs. In other words, devotion is a predictor of job satisfaction, income, and future advancement.
According to researchers, “devoted” partners tend to do household chores more willingly, exhibit many practical behaviors their spouses wish to emulate, and create a happier family life, all of which help their partners focus more on work.
As one researcher noted, “These results show that the character traits of one’s partner significantly impact important aspects of that person’s career.” In other words, a partner can serve as a good role model and help you become a better person.
Of course, we cannot deny the considerable role of luck in a person’s success. Researchers also affirmed, “The greatest success never accompanies the greatest talent, and vice versa. Our simulations indicate that when these two coincide, it is merely luck.”
But luck is something you cannot control. And you can only partially control your intelligence. While you can certainly study more, pure intelligence—meaning logical thinking and problem-solving abilities independent of acquired knowledge—is something that can be trained (to a certain extent) but tends to be fixed.
One thing you can control is your dedication and effort. It is your diligent hard work, your perseverance.
Everyone has their own definition of success. But if you define success by traditional measures such as achievement in work, wealth, or fame, then self-effort is essential.
You may not be smarter than others, not exceptionally talented, not well-connected, or lack a conducive development environment or educational background. But you can replace all of that with effort—because over time, effort will yield skills and experience. You can always be more persistent and self-disciplined than others. Those are the things you can control. And according to scientists, they are the factors that have the greatest impact on your success.