The Art of Being Brilliantly Confused

In partnership with

All your news. None of the bias.

Be the smartest person in the room by reading 1440! Dive into 1440, where 3.5 million readers find their daily, fact-based news fix. We navigate through 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive roundup from every corner of the internet – politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a quick, 5-minute newsletter. It's completely free and devoid of bias or political influence, ensuring you get the facts straight.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

You know, F. Scott Fitzgerald once said something smart, “The test of first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

Now, let me break that down for you in a way that doesn't sound like something your neighbor would say after scoring 98% in school.

Picture this: It’s like being a die-hard chai lover and opening a coffee shop at the same time. You hate coffee. You think it's just fancy tea with a marketing budget.

But you open a coffee shop anyway because you know people are nuts for it.

That’s intelligence!

You hold your love for tea and hatred for coffee in one brain, but you're still smart enough to monetize both.

Being able to hold two opposing ideas doesn’t mean you're confused. No, it means you're next-level smart.

It means you can walk into your life like "Hmm... I’m broke, but I’m investing in a startup"—a classic example of Stupidpreneur thinking.

Contradictory? Absolutely. Genius? Even more.

Let’s get serious for a second (I promise it won’t last long): As entrepreneurs, especially those of us who are scrappy, coming from small cities and hustling with the basics, this skill is everything.

You’ll have to believe your idea is the next big thing while knowing deep inside that 90% of startups fail. It's like eating a samosa and thinking, “This is heaven,” while knowing you’ll be living in a gym tomorrow.

Life is full of contradictions.

You’ve got to be comfortable being optimistic and realistic at the same time. The problem is that most people get stuck in one mode. Either they’re overly positive (“My idea will be a unicorn in a month!”), or they’re just stuck in negativity (“This won’t work, nothing does!”).

The magic happens when you can balance both. Like being confident enough to show up at a pitch meeting with a PowerPoint that you started making this morning.

You know it's a mess, but you're also convinced you’ll sell them on the idea. And somehow, you do!

So next time you’re torn between two opposing thoughts, just smile. That’s your brain showing off its circus skills xD.

You're officially in the genius zone. (aka stupid)