Many 'intelligent' people do not succeed financially not because they lack ideas or deep thoughts. On the contrary, they know too much and even think too widely! But their thoughts are like energetic horses gambolling about in a stable; they can't jump the fence.

What are they often thinking? They are busy thinking and analysing how things can't work and how everything might be unreal and sham.

These people dedicate the larger chunk of their brains to scepticism, cynicism, overanalyzing and fault finding. They doubt every idea and their prospects. They're often thinking someone is about to swindle them. They have shallow risk appetite and are often focusing on how they might lose if they try. When they hear of any idea, they're looking for the fault in it, because there is a default mental setting that invariably sets off a this-can't-be-perfect alarm. When they accept to deal, they're thinking win-lose, and they must be the gainer; they don't think win-win.

They're often so good at grammar that whenever they read any piece or care to entertain its ideas, they're looking for only mistakes; the core message is secondary. They like to say to others, 'C'Mon, think outside the box.' You know why they say that? It's because they're sure 'think outside the box' is a correct English idiom and have ascertained that using it will make them sound intellectual. That's all!

They're those people who, when they got confused at why 'unintelligent' and 'undeserving' people prosper, started a secret study of the phenomenonology of it all. When they concluded the study, the findings were unacceptable to them. Because they were too arrogant to publish the results, they coined the phrase 'money miss road' and leaked it to the careless masses to use, in order to trivialize and dismiss the truth.

Think just briefly and you'll remember one of your friends that fits into this description.

These are the people you don't discuss bold steps with. They're intelligent but lack mental freedom. They're simply too wise to succeed. Don't be like them!

By Dave Okorafor