“The ability to get what you want” is actually a very good definition of intelligence. Why? Because getting what you want out of reality is the most general test possible. Theoretical physicists are not the most powerful people in the world because the universe does not reward any one narrow capability. Not to mention that accumulating endless power might also not be what physicists want. The universe rewards a meta-capability—the skill of figuring out what capabilities matter for a given goal, mastering those capabilities, and leveraging them to execute effectively toward the goal. That’s what general intelligence is. The fact that Trump, Xi Jinping, and Putin are of the most powerful people in the world is also NOT evidence that “the ability to get what you want” is the wrong measure of intelligence. It is only evidence that those people are in fact much more intelligent than people think AND that outcomes are not determined by intelligence alone. It is a major driver, but the complete winning formula is closer to: outcome success = intelligence × motivation × resources × network × luck