4th October 2010
`My success was not based so much on any great intelligence but on great
common sense'
Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley was a great writer. She started her life in a humble family. In 1962 when she was 40 she authored the bestselling book Sex and the Single Girl. In 1965 she became the editor-in-charge of the Cosmopolitan and reversed the fortunes of the falling magazine. In September 2008, she was named the 13th most powerful American over the age of 80 by State magazine. I give this information from Wikipedia.
I was thinking about this quotation and I am struck by the deep meaning and practicality of this quotation. Intelligence and success are two different things. They are not interdependent on each other. If you are intelligent, the probability of your success may be high, but intelligence does not guarantee success.
If In were to choose, I will choose with a man with common sense than a highly intelligent man without common sense! Just think:
· Isn't common sense that we should work hard to succeed? But do all work hard?
· Isn't common sense that tobacco can cause cancer? But then we do we smoke?
· Isn't common sense that we should take care of our health? But then why don't we eat right?
· Isn't common sense that we should spend time to enhance our knowledge? But then why don't we read every day?
· Isn't common sense that the television channel that we watch everyday does not add value to the quality of our life? But then why don't we switch it off?
· Isn't common sense that we should be focused and not waste our time? But then why do we dissipate our time on non value adding activities?
Over this weekend, perhaps you can audit your various actions and check if it makes commonsense to indulge in them anymore!
N C Sridharan
ooo
Posts
