Returning To Simplicity
The question of why someone who is so smart isn't "successful" often reflects a highly subjective way of thinking. Conventional success rarely resonates with highly intelligent individuals. Most see through the system - while some choose to play along for a while to live comfortably, others choose to define success according to their own paradigms.
It is not that conventional success cannot be achieved - some have attained it early - but they have found it horrendously unfulfilling, role-playing a societal narrative that does not align with their soul. For some, being on a remote farm with the person they love, while planting trees, and introspecting on complex theories - is enough. Why is this not successful? There are those with genius-level intelligence in the most unassuming roles.
Just as Leonardo da Vinci taught us, simplicity truly is the ultimate sophistication. Often, those with complex minds discover that the simplicity they once sought to escape is, in fact, the answer and peace they have been searching for all along.