• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Ogilvy

Published: Wednesday, 20 March 2013

A lot of successful entrepreneurs dropped out of school (Richard Branson) or university (Bill Gates).  But Ogilvy, who went on to become a famous ad man, at 38, had "no credentials, no clients, and $6000 in the bank" and a below average IQ of 96.

I watched a documentary on Ogilvy a few years ago, and when it got to the bit about his IQ score, it said that Ogilvy had tested his IQ at the end of his career, after he'd retired.  He was expecting to be a genius, but his results showed him to be below average.  He was disappointed for a few days.  But then he realised that he'd actually done quite well for himself to have done so well with such a low IQ.

So you don't think you're as smart as everyone else, you've scored low on an IQ test, you're broke, you don't have a job, and you don't have a great education.  So what?  Other people have been in that position before and created amazing things for the world.  And you can do so too.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • 200 Women

    I was invited to participate in a book, "200 Women: Who Will Change The Way You See The World" earlier this year.  The result is this beautiful...

  • The most successful students become university professors

    When kids are in diapers, their parents enroll them into primary school. If all goes right, the right primary school could mean the right high...

  • Orlando

    I went to Orlando and gave three speeches in 4 days! I spoke to Baxter Healthcare virtually about failure - my failures, failing fast, failing...

  • It’s not you

      If your teacher comments on your work and tells you it can be better; it’s not you, it’s your work.   If the person behind the counter snaps at you...

  • Worse than procrastination

    One of the biggest muscles to exercise shouldn't be getting yourself motivated to not procrasinate.  Sure, procrastination is a big issue, and...

  • You admire the things you can't do

    I've noticed in contests I've been on the judging panel for that those who have an expertise in a field, are more critical of entries that cross...

  • How to figure out what to do with yourself

    As the Cheshire Cat says, "if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." In my Engineering Analysis A class (an engineering...

  • Seek, not given

    I used to think that someone with my character, with my determination, my ambition and my IQ would mean that I would be successful in life because...

  • Hot Desq

    My company, aubot, was recently invited to go to Queensland for 6 months, as part of Advance Queensland's Hot Desq program, to inspire local...

  • Who says yes?

    I think it's important to have one person that says the final 'yes' to all the decisions in a start-up. That one person should be the visionary...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top