The most commonly used instrument for measuring intelligence is the IQ test. However, intelligence is a multi-faceted human attribute that involves many dimensions, such as imagination, creativity, and long-term problem solving ability that are not measured in an IQ test. This means that judgements about intelligence, yours or someone else’s, are somewhat subjective.
So, the best place to start in an estimate of your intelligence is the IQ test. The schools which you attended may have administered to you an IQ test and, if so, you might inquire about the results of those tests. Alternatively, you could have a professional psychometrician administer an IQ test to you and provide you with a percentile ranking on various cognitive skills. This involves a cost, but it is more reliable than on-line tests that might try to flatter you with inflated numbers.
As noted above, an IQ test is limited as a measure of intelligence. Your next best indicator might be your performance in school; not merely your grades, but the speed at which you learned new concepts. Did you learn the concept of ratio as quickly or more quickly than your classmates? Was schoolwork difficult for you, or did you breeze through the assignments more quickly than most? Did your teachers treat you as someone from whom they expected much or someone they felt was in need of remediation?
Another indicator of your intelligence is your interest in games of strategy. Do you engage frequently in games of checkers, chess or computer games? If so, do you win more often than your opponents? Do you enjoy competing in such games, or do you avoid such competitions? Are you interested in what makes things work and often take things apart to see their mechanisms?
While these indicators provide a good estimate of your cognitive powers, they are not conclusive. However, if a combination of these indicators suggest that you have high intelligence, you are well-positioned to qualify for almost any career that captures your interest. But high intelligence is only the starting point in achieving your goals. You will be in competition with many other bright people, whether gaining entrance to the post secondary institution of your choice, getting hired to a special job, or pursuing an entrepreneurial venture. You will need to have a passionate interest in achieving your goals that drives you to invest substantial time and energy to its realization.
All the great entrepreneurs, including Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Martha Stewart, and Elon Musk worked 24–7 with white hot intensity in building their empires. The great scholars, like Albert Einstein, Andrew Wiles, John von Neumann and Sigmund Freud immersed themselves in their research, often to the neglect of their personal lives. Some psychologists suggest that tenacity and intensity of purpose are even more important than IQ in achieving success, so if you have a cognitive ability that is higher than average, you are off to a great start, but you must kept in mind throughout your journey, the allegory of the hare and the tortoise.
