Indeed, if the positions of Venus and Mars had been interchanged at birth, then Venus might be both tectonically and biologically active today. There is nothing miraculous about tectonic activity, and in fact there is some evidence that it has occurred on both Mars and Venus. Some have argued that it does, for the moon helps stabilize Earth's rotation axis and keeps it from possibly dangerous tilts. But computations have shown that if the moon had not been formed, our planet would spin faster - fast enough, in fact, to stabilize it against major tipping. In addition, even if an Earth-like planet occasionally does a spin flip, it will spend 10 million years or more doing so.
Life can probably adapt to such slow changes.
Indeed, it already has, during episodes of polar wander on Earth. Finally, there's the matter of biological evolution to intelligence. The answer is, and remains, controversial. The dinosaurs were bulky but not bright. Even the most cerebral of these lumbering lizards had less brain power, as judged by encephalization, than an ostrich.