How can children "push themselves such that they can land good grades without needing to study"? I can see not needing to cram for an exam, because a child has

How can children "push themselves such that they can land good grades without needing to study"? I can see not needing to cram for an exam, because a child has already put the effort in, but learning seems to require some form of study. I think the real danger with this strategy is that when kids are praised for being smart, they seek out things where they are smart, and avoid things that would require hard work. Most worthwhile things require hard work at some point.