Following Your Dreams, Dropping Out of School, & Doing Creative Work

Here are some of the assertions I defend on my recent appearance on The Ground Up Show:

College isn’t for everyone.

You don’t need to become the next Steve Jobs in order to justify your decision to opt-out of school.

College degrees have been useful in the past because they served the function of signaling a person’s ability to create value, but the world is changing and the degree is no longer a necessary or superior signal. We now have the power to create our own credentials.

If we really mean it when we tell young people to be true to themselves, to create their own path, and to follow their passion even if it doesn’t make them rich, then we need to stop abandoning this advice when we talk to young people who don’t want traditional schooling. 

Here’s a teaser video clip for the above topic:

Here are a few more points I espouse:

Being a creative person isn’t the same thing as doing actual creative work.

Creativity isn’t just a psychological phenomenon. It’s a practical process. And if you’re not putting your creative ideas to practical use, then it doesn’t really mean anything to call yourself creative. 

I was on a TV Show called “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader.” I got the first question wrong. It was an easy question too. It was an embarrassing error. Someone posted a clip of my worst moment on YouTube and the comments were vicious, nasty, and mean. And none of that matters because I won something, tangible and intangible, that was worth the cost of temporary failure.

Here’s a teaser video clip for the above topic:

 

To find out more about my rewards from Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and my thoughts on education, dropping out of school, goal-setting, dreams, and personal development, check out Episode 073: Dreams Don’t Come True, Decisions Do. The full clip is below.