your path to success requires the brain that you have.
My position is that one only needs enough brains to be functional. Even loosing exactly half of the brain qualifies as functional (there's a case study out there and BBC covered it).
However, there are other paths or definitions of success that requires minimal brain power and in some cases, none at all (some may call them just plain lucky).
The average definition of success requires the average stock of intelligence. Those on the fringes will need to reevaluate their measure of success.
Dave Thomas of Wendy's fast food created his success without a high school diploma. Ken Robinson wrote about how great people found their epiphany, some of whom were hopeless in school and yet made millions of dollars.
In the realm of success, intelligence is generally overrated and mis-characterized. It's not that having intelligence makes people successful, it's really about life long learning.
A person with high IQ who stops learning after college will be quickly surpassed by a retard who persists in learning. Hard work and neuroplasticity generally take over. It's also interesting to note that neuroscience has determined that emotion is the activating agent for brain optimization and for strong memory. (the brain geeks out there can reference the BDNF gene)
The greatest memorizers in the world use the story method to attach some form of emotion to a huge pile of boring items to memorize.
After these foundations of success are in place, natural intelligence is a huge leverage. It's along the same lines as natural athletic ability.
