I actually think the problem with "praise for being smart" is the praise part, not the for being smart part. It's tricky, because praise is part of societally conventional interaction between parents and children, but I think it's worth remembering that what we're aiming for is their getting satisfaction out of an achievement or a job well done because it was a good thing to achieve/do for its own sake, not because an authority figure praised them.
I agree that, ultimately, that's where we want them to be. There's a maturity component in that, though, because they need to know what an achievement or a job well done looks like, and that takes time and experience to learn. We can help by providing feedback, which includes praise... which is especially important with gifted kids, where perfectionism and/or unrealistic expectations can be a major issue.
I'm sure we can all recount situations where our children were intrinsically proud of creating a giant mess or engaging in a dangerous behavior.
