Kim Ung-yong has a confirmed IQ of 210, the highest ever recorded. He started life as a child prodigy and could read four languages. He began taking college courses when he was just a 3-year-old. As an 8-year-old, he was asked to come to the United States to work on pure math problems for NASA, and when he was 16 he burned out and returned to South Korea. He attended college there and eventually settled into a middle management job at Chungbuk Development. He hasn’t made the headlines since because he was labeled in South Korea as a “failed genius.” Kim, however, doesn’t see himself as a failure, citing his happiness as a source of success. Instead of flying too close to the sun, he recognized his human limits and ended up with a nice, happy life. Once he had made a name for himself and reached a point where he could live whatever life he wanted, Kim had to choose what kind of life he actually wanted to live. Instead of choosing glory or power, he chose peace and quiet. While most of us will never be as smart as Kim, we still have to ask ourselves how much of our lives belong to us. We should follow Kim’s example and not let others try to dictate our lives for us.
