Q – I have a high IQ but I've had various failures due to bad luck. Can increasing intelligence affect how lucky we are?

A - IQ is not intelligence; it is one small part of intelligence. If you don't have the other skills, IQ alone won't help you to control or direct your life.

A lot of what we thought was 'bad luck' is often due to bad planning, bad decisions, and bad judgments! A smart personal strategy for life, or 'personal autonomy', is something all successful people have in common, and this is an ability based on certain habits of mind that can be learned.

This doesn't mean that all successful people have 'better luck'. These habits of thought can be used by anyone; successful people are just the ones who figured out these strategies for themselves early on or were taught them by others. When "shit happens" –as it does to us all at some point- we know how to cope better and achieve better outcomes. Importantly, we learn how to plan better, be prepared for various outcomes, and how to adapt to sudden changes, strategizing for improvement regardless of external factors.