Some of the biggest companies in the world today were founded by those who just had a dream. Some of them were dubbed stupid ,dumb or retarded by teachers. Some of them were doing great in school, but found no satisfaction from learning theories that were not applicable in the real world. Many of the founders of our most beloved brands started those companies out of a desire within them that could not be satisfied working for a pay check.
Now , don't get this twisted, i am not knocking or discouraging formal education , i believe and encourage that every one has the minimum of a secondary school education, (high school education to the Americans, and O Levels to the Europeans) But from that point , each has to discover what they have the potential for, whether it be in the Art(music,acting, painting ,sculpting), a university education, business or sports.
However ,even amongst the professionals, many of them have come out of those in the much awed "prestigious" professions to enormous success using their gifts. Best selling author John Grisham was trained as a Lawyer, same thing goes forMichael Crichton , who was trained as a doctor, he has gone on to become a best selling author and producer of the Emmy Award winning television show ER and many of his noels have been made into blockbuster movies including Congo,Coma Sphere,Rising Sun ,Jurassic Park andthe upcoming West World . Have you heard of the shows Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public, Boston Legal, the man behind them is David E Kelley , who was working in a law firm when a t.v executive came across a script he had written, the rest is history.
Oscar nominated and Grammy Winner Will Smith had a full scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT),but had no intention of going to College because of a dream he ahd to pursue. Friends cast member Lisa Kudrow , graduated with a BSc in Biology with an intention to pursue a career in research. We all know the success they have gone on to achieve , in the careers that their parents fought tooth and nail against.
There are several success stories of those that never got a formal education, one of them is hip hop iconJay Z, one of the most recognized names in music. Born into a poor home in Brooklyn ,New York, he is a classic rags to riches story. Starting as a young hustling rapper on the streets from scratch he slowly began to build an empire that includes a chain of night clubs, a clothing line and alcoholic beverages, he is part-owner of the NBA team the New Jersey Nets is former head honcho of Def Jam Records and a long line up of endorsements, a club franchise, and real estate .He has a personal net worth of over $300 million and growing, not bad for a kid that never finished high school.
You may go on to say that, i have no talent to speak of . Paris Hilton happens to be one of the most recognised faces on television. The 27 year old socialite is a tabloid favourite parties with A list celebrities, she has no talent to speak of, has failed at both a music and acting career, but she gets paid more than some professional speakers to make appearance at social events. She has discover and harnessed her exhibitionist talent and gets paid up to $100,000 to smile and have for less than an hour.Even a blogger the self titled Perez Hilton( no relation) has turned his love for gossip into a money spinning venture. I'm not encouraging you to be the next Paris or Perez Hilton, my point is that every one has some form of talent, deep within them all you have to do is look hard enough. I mean look at the
Spice Girls.
Today anyone that uses the internet is bound to have come across Yahoo,Google, and Facebook , these global companies were all founded , in college dorm rooms, and made their young creators billionaires before the age of thirty, so their is yet hope for the so called "nerds"(book worms) without musical or athletic talent
In conclusion I will continue to emphasize the need for a basic secondary school education, and then the discovery of one's own path . I recommend two books, Start Small Finish BigbyFred Deluca co founder of Subways who started the franchise as a teenager looking for a way to fund his college education and Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki a man who is an expert in knowing how to make your money work for you. In his book he mentions his two dads, his biological father and his mentor. His biological father(poor dad) had a PhD, was a working man all his life and died with a burden of debt on his shoulders. His rich dad (mentor) was a high school dropout , who when he died left a million dollar fortune that included real estate and several businesses .You do the math .
