Intelligence vs ability

I have seen many people (including me) who are intelligent/well educated but are not very successful in their careers. They are not able to get the promotions they deserve. They can’t get the right funding for their startups. They can’t get the right salaries. What is the skill/ability they lack? It is the ability to take rejection. Different people have different abilities in taking rejection. Most people (including me) hate it. Some can tolerate it. Some are comfortable with it. People who are comfortable with rejection are more successful. This is because getting what you want is mostly about asking for it without worrying about rejection. If you want a job with a market salary, boldly ask for it. If you want to get your startup funded, boldly ask for it. And ask a lot of people. A lot. If you ask enough people, you can get anything. This is a universal law. Unfortunately, most people can’t do this as they are not comfortable with rejection. They feel embarrassed to ask for what they want. So they never get it.