Rational and rigorous thinking ability. Â True beliefs. Â A lot of knowledge.
Unfortunately, these things aren't pre-requisites to running a successful business, being awesome at your hobby, being a pro athlete, being the Pope, or being a politician.
The simplest demonstration of this is that it barely requires a coin toss to find two successful people with opposing views on just about any subject.
The reason I said it's unfortunate that rational thought and the like aren't a pre-requisite for success is that it seems to be the tendency for humans that are successful at their chosen fields to think that their success is an indication of their "rightness" about life, the universe, and everything.
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Celebrity worship doesn't help either. Gotta keep things in perspective – my kids laughing is worth more to me than a hundred lotto wins.