Here is a concise summary of the provided text:
**Title:** The Unintended Consequence of Education on Intelligence
**Speaker's Story:**
* Before 14, the speaker was directionless and followed parents' advice to excel in school (despite struggling academically)
* At 14, a business plan competition sparked a passion for creating things, leading to:
+ Winning multiple competitions
+ Developing a hardware tech startup at 16
+ Realizing the value of creative intelligence and entrepreneurship
**Key Message:**
* The education system often prioritizes academic intelligence over creative intelligence
* This can stifle innovation and encourage conformity to a narrow, traditional path (school > college > stable job)
* **Empowerment Message:** Individuals, especially youth, can diverge from this path, create their own futures, and drive change by exploring entrepreneurship, innovation, and non-traditional success routes.
**Core Takeaway:**
"No one has ever changed the world by doing what the world has told them to do."
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, numbered and in short sentences:
1. **Speaker's Background**: The speaker had no clear life goals before turning 14.
2. **Initial Aspirations**: At a young age, the speaker wanted to be a professional Call of Duty player.
3. **Parental Influence**: The speaker primarily followed their parents' advice, which included doing well in school.
4. **Academic Struggles**: The speaker was not good at school, particularly struggling with science and writing.
5. **Turning Point**: At 14, the speaker's life changed after receiving an invitation to a business plan competition in Boston.
6. **Competition Details**: Over five months, participants formed teams, developed business ideas, and presented to a panel of judges.
7. **Outcome**: The speaker's team won the competition, receiving a check, and sparked an interest in attending more competitions.
8. **Further Participation**: Over two years, the speaker attended dozens of competitions, winning almost all of them.
9. **Unique Approach**: The speaker's team stood out by building prototypes of their ideas, not just presenting them.
10. **Meeting Frank**: At one competition, the speaker met a Polish man named Frank, who offered to help turn their prototype into a real company.
11. **Startup at 16**: With Frank's help, at 16, the speaker and teammates began building a hardware technology startup.
12. **School Presentation**: The team presented their idea at their school but received little interest and were mocked.
13. **Elementary School Response**: Presenting to an elementary school yielded a highly enthusiastic response, with kids eager to support the project.
14. **Media Feature**: The speaker's company was later featured in the Wall Street Journal.
15. **Comparative Success**: The speaker's company outperformed some companies started by Harvard or Stanford graduates.