It took me several decades to understand how the world actually works.
Just being smart or good in anything doesn't make you successful. Because success in the modern world is tightly connected with systems and the people who control them.
If you start playing a game with bunch of idiots, you being smart will alianate you and all of them will conspire against you. Fighting alone agains a sytem with many people is a very hard task, often even impossible.
Then I started paying attention to people who are actually successful in different hierarchies and systems and noticed patterns.
Merit doesn't promote you in hierarchies built on herd mentality, which most hierarchies in the world are.
The ability to win over people, bring them on your side, creating alliances, and making people believe you have their best interests in mind is what pushes you higher in hierarchies. Also, you need to know how to eliminate anything and anyone who impedes you.
When you are smarter than others, you become their enemy, not an ally. When you are more competent and brave, they start hating you. If you look better and are happier then them, they will try to eliminate you.
This is the harsh reality of power games. Only by being accepted by the powers inside a hierarchy and by convincing that you will be promoting their interests, will you be allowed to succeed.
Elon Must is the greatest example of this.
