Have done business with Jobs, Gates, Bezos. Someone just asked me who was smarter.

All three were management geniuses.  They were smart sure.  But what they did well is pounce and wouldn't let go when an opportunity was in their jaws.

Bezos knew right from the beginning that low-cost producer wins and never lost sight of that.  He and Sam Walton both understood that and each made 100 Billion.  It still is the golden rule of business.

Jobs loved drawing on glass and finally achieved it after 20 years of trying.  Finally, the technology caught up with his vision.  And yes, he was driven by an ice hot hatred of Gates who took the idea of a mouse from him after Jobs took it from Xerox labs.  Jobs pounced on the mouse but Gates saw the opportunity better and pounced better taking the mouse from Jobs jaws.  Jobs never forgave Gates for doing that but he REALLY should never have forgiven himself.   He made the mistake by crowing about it in front of Gates. 

Truly the ONLY reason that Gates made it was when he was in a room with Thomas Watson and other IBM executives and convinced them that REAL men built hardware and sissies wrote software.  He made a deal to write all the software and let IBM make and run the hardware. One of the people that was in that room on that ONE day told me this story.   Is that genius?  No, Gates just saw the future better and snookered IBM.  It definitely is NOT genius. 

So it's not being smart as much as it is having a clear mind when the time to pounce presents itself.  If are thinking about pussy, or are drunk or are on drugs or are a 16 hours a day workaholic, you will miss the chance when it presents itself.   You have to be able to step back and then crush at the right moment.

There is VERY little room for individual  "instinct" anymore.  But whatever is left can only be had with a clear head and minimal distractions. 

That is why the phones today are ruining creativity.  They are stealing the sparks of very occasional genius because phones are consuming us.  They are terrible for mankind.  So is Facebook.  

Pouncing is huge in life.  If you are distracted, it is much more likely that your aim will be flawed when the prey presents itself. 

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