I was “gifted” as a child. As a result I never studied for school and didn’t take it seriously. Then I failed out of my first year of college and had a breakdow

I was “gifted” as a child. As a result I never studied for school and didn’t take it seriously. Then I failed out of my first year of college and had a breakdown about how I was gonna be a complete failure in life. That changed everything. It taught me that in a competitive world, intellect and “gifted” doesn’t go very far if your also not willing to put in hard sustained effort. In retrospect, I was very very lucky. Lucky to learn the lesson at a young enough age. And lucky to grow up in a society (USA) that believes in second chances. I’ve met others who weren’t so lucky. I’ve met people that still thought they were “gifted” and “special” after reaching the workplace and then were utterly confused why no one agreed with them and nothing went their way. They never learned humility or how to work within an organization’s culture. Surprising how damaging a few little words can be..