Everybody wants a high IQ. Most people would say that the higher your IQ, the better you do in school; a high IQ will get you into a better college; and people with high IQs get better jobs, make more money, and win contests on TV. On the flip side, you probably expect that people with low IQs are losers, flunk out of school, can't get good jobs or earn much money. So you may want to know: how high is your kid's IQ? How about your own? Can you do anything about it? 

Obviously, IQ is a loaded concept. It stands for intelligence quotient, and it's a good idea to understand what that means.

The idea that intelligence can be tested and measured was first put to use a hundred years ago, when the French government sought a way to identify schoolchildren who needed special help. The test itself tried to gauge the mental age of the child on the basis of normal development of basic intellectual skills. The mental age was then divided by the child's chronological age and multiplied by 100 to determine the intelligence quotient. (Since then, scoring has become slightly more sophisticated; it's based on a statistical population-distribution of age peers.)

You might wonder how a test that's based on the development of basic mental abilities in early childhood could be applied to fully mature adults. If development is no longer the issue, then we need to define intelligence itself.

Intelligence is controversial

Once you recognize that intelligence and knowledge are not the same thing, you have a problem. What, exactly, are you measuring? This is where the controversy arises. A simple definition of intelligence might be "the ability to acquire knowledge and apply it to solve problems." You can find endless variations of this, limited only by the number of dictionaries you consult. More specifically, intelligence is a collection of skills: logical reasoning, problem solving, critical thinking, and adaptation. But how do you measure the ability to do these things (intelligence), rather than the use one has made of that ability (knowledge)?

No matter how you answer that question, the bottom line is this: IQ is not the same thing as intelligence. IQ is a score on a test. And you can certainly raise a test score.

Studies have shown that children who demonstrate high levels of concentration have higher IQ scores. From doing well on a single test to getting better grades in school, graduating from a good university, landing a great job, and winning promotions and raises, the ability to focus and to concentrate are critical.

At school, good concentration helps students retain and process information--in other words, learn and take tests--the keys to academic success. At work, sharp mental focus makes it possible to manage the avalanche of information that daily threatens to bury hardworking executives and professionals. Together, more-powerful concentration and focus can rev up your ability to make decisions, set priorities, organize tasks, and find creative solutions to all kinds of challenges.

Lost his concentration, then he lost the game... 

Miss the putt, drop the ball, strike out . . .  An athlete’s success depends on training, physical stamina, and razor-sharp focus. It's no secret that  mental edge can mean the difference between taking the gold and missing the podium altogether. A fraction of a second, a fraction of an inch . . .  Even superstar athletes can lose their concentration and end up performing poorly. 

But sustained concentration can take any athlete into the "zone" where peak performance is found, the sharply focused, stress-free state that's virtually unstoppable. 

You can train your brain to effectively produce the states of focus and attention you need to perform at your mental peak. That can make all the difference between winning and losing in every aspect of life.  

Learn to win! 

SharperBrain teaches the brain to operate efficiently on three specific brainwave levels, Alpha, Beta 1, and Beta 2 (calm, focused, and alert mental states), and it trains the user to make quick transitions from one state to another. 

What this means is that you will be able to produce the right state of mind when you need it, and you can sustain it for as long as you want. You’ll be able to call up a broader level of focus when you must deal with several things at once, and you’ll be able to quickly sharpen the focus when you need to pay attention to details. Whether your game is soccer or chess, volleyball, paintball, or poker, these are the qualities you need to win. 

SharperBrain can take you to the top.

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