When you're sneaky smart, no one saw exactly what you were doing to succeed.  It's the genius equivalent of being sneaky-fast. Stories abound about being sneaky-fast in sports.  In baseball, it usually has to do with players stealing bases.  Sneaky-fast is about superb athletic movement.  In football, the athlete's body is so well trained and coordinated that everything works together seamlessly and no one can see just how fast the athlete is moving. Check out this story about Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Patrick Towles. 

When your learning is sneaky-fast, you don't even realize you have mastered the material. The synapses are firing and you soaked up the content like a sponge. All of which brings us to the concept of sneaky smart. Successful entrepreneurs are sneaky smart. While they work hard, you don't notice how the way in which they work is very smart; they're industrious, habitual doers and all of their activity seems effortless.  The sneaky smart are always pursuing a new project, a new dream or a new theory and when they encounter an obstacle or a setback, they leverage it into a new opportunity. Most important of all, sneaky smart people know when to break the rules.

The sneaky smart don't accept rules on face value and follow them blindly. They will weigh the rules and ponder how it affects them (as well as others.) They obey laws that make sense but they also know when it is time to break the law. The sneaky smart have a maverick spirit and the strong desire not to be regulated and caught up in someone else's game. The sneaky smart know if you always play by someone else's rules, you will not win. Being sneaky smart means becoming a master at spotting the right moment to steal all of the bases and drive for a home run.

-Patricia Vaccarino