What's the Key to Success: Being Nice or Being Smart?

It's a question that often comes to people's minds. Should you be nice or act with purpose to succeed in life? Of course, being nice gives a good impression but does it serve in the long run? 

Does Being Only 'Nice' Helps?
Whenever you go in a job interview, the first thing they see apart from your skills is if you are collaborative and nice as a person or not. People who are naturally nice and accommodating may make a good first impression. But that's not all. Just being a good person may not help you succeed. You must have a strategic intention and be smart to assess situations correctly. Let's take an example. The famous British comedian James Veitch once shared his experience about receiving emails from a new store. At first, he unsubscribed to it, as any person would. But later, more such emails spammed him. The way he dealt with the situation shows how you can be nice and assess smartly at the same time to succeed. Watch his video "The agony of trying to unsubscribe" to know what he did with those emails. 

You Need to Act with Intelligence.
There is this age-long notion that nice people will be cooperative and agreeable, which comes in the way of one's success. On the other hand, intelligence ensures that you learn from your past mistake, see the bigger picture and act wisely. There is another video of James Veitch, in which he tells about an experience where he replied to a spam email and how it turned out to be a hilarious week-long conversation with the spammer. He learned from his mistake and used his intelligence to trick the spammer hilariously. Watch his video "This is what happens when you reply to spam emails" to know about the whole conversation. 

The Final Advice
According to reports and surveys, you should teach children to be smart and act intelligently while being nice. It is the best way to proceed towards a better future. Focusing on intelligence in early childhood has the potential to improve not only an individual's economic success but also their level of cooperation in society later in life. Simply being nice or acting smart will not get you anywhere. The only way to achieve success is to use both strategically.