Regardless that you are going to high school or college, back to school is right around the corner but it seems that many of you are not that excited about spending your entire week studying and reading. This is especially true as more and more are losing faith that what they are learning holds relevance to their future. When I was younger, I really misunderstood school and just like many people, I didn’t really want to be there. I was an average student, didn’t play any sports, didn’t have a lot of friends, and didn’t see progress in my life as a result of knowing chemistry or geometry, which made it even harder to focus. My college days were no different. I went one semester and quickly decided that enough was enough and chose not to go. I guess looking back now, I simply misunderstood the point of school and where the value really was.
Formal education will never guarantee you a fortune, and that is perfectly ok because it was not intended to do so. I think many people think it should and lose hope quickly when they see others with high levels of education stuck at home or working a basic 9-5 job for average to low compensation. Education also held a very different meaning for those who were there before you such as your parents who have a very good view of it. This view comes from their inability to accomplish all they wanted and their blame on their lack of education, since they don’t want to take the blame personally or the exact opposite which led to their 40 year career and allowed them to provide for their family.
Either way, their view of school is very different from yours. We could argue that the education system has changed through the years and an education today isn’t as comprehensive as the one they received, but we would be completely wrong. The education system today is exactly what it was then, it is the dynamics of the environment that has changed and our definition of survival as well.
So the real question is, if the education system doesn’t have as much weight as it used to, why are prices going up and what’s the point of going?
High schools role is to prepare you to be a functioning member of society. Its role is to give you the ability to read and write at a level comprehensive of a common population, but to also enable you to gain perspective on other things like art, computer science, or electives that may not be of immediate interest but will allow you to become a better well rounded person.
College or university, as many refer to it, is geared to help you find what you want to spend the rest of your life doing, and make you good enough at it so that you can get your foot in the door and gain real life experience. The whole reason two years of almost every degree is the same is because the goal is to get you exposed to a higher level of awareness of all the same things you experienced in high school and allow your appetite to form for one thing or another, which then becomes your major or the degree you choose to go after.
The real problem, however, lies in 2 folds:
1: The expectation you have of the worth of that degree.
The expectation you have is wrong in most cases anyways. A degree does not entitle you to a job, nor does it entitle you to getting in the door. It simply demonstrates your interest and commitment to a field, allowing you to look more interesting to a possible employer. It also opens your eyes to the basics of a field enough to spark interest to continue learning more about the field itself or a niche within it. Becoming a doctor is a perfect example as the first 4 years are only the entry point to choosing what type of medicine you wish to study more in depth. So a degrees only purpose is to give you a higher degree of awareness as to a field of study or trade.
2: The separation of education from real world application.
The separation of real world application and school is the biggest issue. While most people work part time during their college years, the majority of those don’t work or attempt to work to gain experience that can be combined or supplemental to their degree. If a student works part time, its is typically to make enough money to survive and enjoy life, and while that may be important, it is far less important than a job that allows you to survive and positions you for growth once you graduate. Many people go to school for administrative and business type degrees but yet never make an effort to get involved in the field prior to coming out of college. It is either their disbelief that they could ever be qualified or perhaps their lack of commitment to getting serious. Regardless of why people do not seek to position themselves better, they still don’t.
Real world application trumps school education on every imaginable level and before you get angry and say that is absurd, take a moment and think of this from a lens other than acquiring a job or looking good on a resume.
If you look at it from a Third Circle perspective, a perspective based on the growth of the mind and its full potential rather than the foundation set forth by a society (Second Circle), then you will see that learning a trade hands-on holds more weight on every ground than learning about it.
Cooking is a perfect example of that. I don’t know how to cook and even if I follow a cook book’s exact recipe, my dish will not come out nearly as good as someone who has cooked before or been a chef. Understanding how to make money by reading and actually making money is a great example here too. No matter how much you read or think you know, it’s the action itself that creates the outcome, not the reading.
The best possible outcome is the one created by the information you learn followed by the actions you take to apply it. It is within taking the action that the real learning comes in and the understanding becomes even more clear. In our Secret Academy, entrepreneurs who have done well share their experiences and how they have done one thing specifically well and as a result were rewarded well for it. The reason we share their stories is because people need to bridge formal education and real world application, and these people help do that by sharing stories of real world applications.
So what value is there to go to school?
In conclusion, there is a lot more value to school than just the educational aspect of it, but it is in your hands to take advantage of those. Think of school as a safe zone for failure, and ultimately the place where you must become familiar with failure on all levels and build confidence in three essential aspects of your life:
1. Networking.
You have to learn to network. Not everyone will go to an Ivy League school and meet A level business players but everyone has an opportunity to meet fellow students with different interests and skills, which opens many opportunities for partnerships, collaboration, and so much more. The friends you make thoug hout your formal education are more than just drinking buddies, they should be your introduction to failed partnerships and your ability to understand for yourself what you need and who you must meet in order to form effective and powerful partnership after you graduate, when it matters most.
2. Fear of rejection.
Get rejected as many times as possible regardless of by whom. Girlfriend, boyfriend, job, or clubs don’t matter as long as you get familiar with the feeling of getting a NO in life, and yet still getting up and continuing to pursue things that matter. This will either train you to get on your feet quicker or make you resourceful in the way you go after things you really want.
3. Resourcefulness.
The best place to learn about not having resources is in school. Learn to become resourceful early on and learn that resources are only a mental excuse weak people give themselves for why they can’t succeed. Get the idea of needing a lot of money to be successful out of your head before the real world imbeciles get to you. Believe me when I say it’s a ratio of 9/1 out there. For every 9 retards there is 1 worthwhile individual you’ll meet. Know how to make it count when you do.
To all of you out there going back to studying, don’t forget this famous saying:
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
In honor of back to school, we are holding a sale until Friday for both Third Circle Theory and Secret Academy at our lowest price ever.
Third Circle Theory is 50% off via this link: http://www.secretentourage.com/store/third_circle_theory/
Secret Academy is 40% off via this link: http://academy.secretentourage.com/
