Leaders of the Free World

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Why You Don’t Need to Go to School to Be Successful

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When I started leadersofthefreeworld.org, one of the objectives was that it could act as a forum for everyone to unite against the norm! I’m very pleased to publish the very first guest post on Leaders of the Free World! Oscar Del Ben from freestyle mind was kind enough to contribute his personal experience as to why you don’t need to go to school to be successful.

Why You Don’t Need to Go to School to Be Successful

appleonbooks-main_FullI always wondered why schools suck the way they do. I left school when I was 18 because I was simply not learning something useful at that time.

This happened over four years ago. Once I left school, I went to work for more than one year doing manual labor tasks for small companies. I didn’t enjoy it and my parents (along with everyone else) were saying to me that without school I was going to be stuck with laboring for my whole life.

Of course I knew it was just bullshit and after one year I established my own company and started doing consulting. Now, four years later, I’m expanding my business on the internet as I want to create (and live) off passive income. It’ll not be easy but that’s not a reason for me to give up just yet.

What does this story have to do with school? Well, in these four years I studied a lot, I devoured hundreds of books and learnt a foreign language (english).

At some point during the past four years, I realized that the reason people are not successful is simply because of what they learnt at school, or better what they didn’t learn at school.

Being successful is primarily a state of mind. If you don’t have it, it doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank, you’ll be never be happy. On the other side, having the right mindset makes it straightforward to achieve success.

The problem is that they don’t teach you how to be successful at school, you have to learn it yourself.

School prepares people to join the corporate world, they teach you how to work in a corporate environment, and not how to become a leader.

Here I’m talking about 90% of schools, because I haven’t attended Stanford University, so I don’t know what they do, although most of their courses are available for free online.

And here’s the point – If you want to learn how to be successful and how to develop a successful mindset, you can learn it from books and videos thanks to the Internet.

And you don’t have to buy some secret guide that someone is trying to sell online, you can go just fine with what you can already find for free.

Having said that, schools are not that bad, simply don’t expect them to teach you how to be a leader, because you have to learn it yourself.

Oscar Del Ben is a personal development blogger. He writes about productivity, success and personal growth. You can read his blog at freestylemind.com.

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II always wonder why schools suck the way they do. I left school when I was 18 because I was simply not learning something useful at that time.

This happened over four years ago. Once I left school, I went to work for more than one year doing labor tasks for small companies. I didn't enjoy it and my parents (but basically everyone else) were saying to me that without school I was going to do that work for my whole life.

Of course I knew it was just bullshit, and after one year I opened my own company and started doing consulting. Now, four years later, I'm expanding my business on the internet as I want to create (and live) of passive income. It'll not be easy but that's not a reason for me to give up just yet.

What does this story have to do with school? Well, in these four years I studied a lot, I devoured hundreds of books and learnt a foreign language (english).

At some point during these years, I realized that the reason people are not successful is simply because of what they learnt at school, or better what they don't learn in school.

Being successful is mostly a state of mind. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank, you'll be never be happy. On the other side, having the right mindset makes it straightforward to achieve success.
 always wonder why schools suck the way they do. I left school when I was 18 because I was simply not learning something useful at that time.

This happened over four years ago. Once I left school, I went to work for more than one year doing labor tasks for small companies. I didn't enjoy it and my parents (but basically everyone else) were saying to me that without school I was going to do that work for my whole life.

Of course I knew it was just bullshit, and after one year I opened my own company and started doing consulting. Now, four years later, I'm expanding my business on the internet as I want to create (and live) of passive income. It'll not be easy but that's not a reason for me to give up just yet.

What does this story have to do with school? Well, in these four years I studied a lot, I devoured hundreds of books and learnt a foreign language (english).

At some point during these years, I realized that the reason people are not successful is simply because of what they learnt at school, or better what they don't learn in school.

Being successful is mostly a state of mind. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank, you'll be never be happy. On the other side, having the right mindset makes it straightforward to achieve success.

Written by Andrew

November 9th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

  • Ash
    You know, I'm noticing this theme across lifestyle designers - a lot of us have not completed formal schooling. What's interesting about that is I bet you're smarter than 95% of the population.

    It seems like those who were able to identify the status quo for what it was at a young age, and then basically squash it, are some of the same people who are doing bad ass things now.

    It's a bold move to do something like that when you're young, and I totally respect that. Rock on, Andrew!
  • @Andrew - I'm still waiting for the world to discover Behatted. When they do, hopefully the queuing up to give me money will begin. But yeah, I definitely judge people with bad grammar, especially in the writing field. So I guess I'm kinda advocating education.
  • Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm glad you appreciated the article.
  • AMEN to that! If only I could have realized that $48,000 in student loan debts ago... Keep spreading the good word, my friend.

    Knowledge is power!
  • Andrew
    @Nick - That's a good call, i'd say literacy is the exception to the rule. I've got a few friends that quit school a tad early and it definitely shows in their grammar & spelling etc..

    Yet to be successful? That's because the world hasn't discovered be-hatted! The fools....

    @Dena - We should pass the hat around to cover that $48k? Shit! I thought mine was bad at around $18k, you win.
  • Well, all I do is write, and a lot of the structure in my writing came from my school and subsequent courses. My style is self-taught, of course, but it was always encouraged by teaching and stuff. Then again, I have yet to be successful.
  • Claire
    My parents spoke english with us at home from an early age so that we wouldn't have to learn it once we left Rocko :)
  • Andrew
    @Claire - Ahh the joys of growing up in Rocko! Probably a good thing we don't need school to succeed then, otherwise we'd be screwed!
  • Andrew
    @Sneh & @Walter - Both great points. School is probably a detractor in that it moulds you into conforming and following your given path. Your hand is held too much for you to be free thinking.
  • Succeeding in life is a journey far beyond the scope of school. We have to choose it, it has always been presented to us but we evade its call.

    We all have the capacity for success. Unfortunately, we are so stuck with our debilitating beliefs and are too blind to see the opportunities presenting itself everywhere. :-)
  • So very true Oscar! I remember a series from the American "The Apprentice" where book smarts and street smarts were pitched against each other. Both have their pros and cons but you definitely don't "need" to go to school to succeed. Another well written article :)
  • Hi Andrew and Oscar.

    You've got some relevant points here. That one at the end sure is something that isn't mentioned often, but it is true that leadership is normally cultivated from within, and not built up much from within the school environment. The person who builds up their own leadership will have a very different experience from the student who does not take on leading roles.

    The point about success being a state of mind is great. There are some people you could give lots of money to, and they would soon lose it all, and there are others who are diligent and focused, and they create money. Our thoughts are more important than most people will agree with, because they want to blame one condition or another.

    Glad to read.
  • Hey Andrew, thanks for giving me the opportunity to write this.
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