Education
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Your Future
"...In order to avoid becoming poor in the United States, you must do three things: graduate from high school, marry after the age of 20, and marry before having your first child. Only 8% of those who do these three things become poor as adults, whereas 79% of poor adults have failed to do these three things."- The Progress Paradox by Greg Easterbrook (page 51).
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lit." - Plutarch, quoted by Apollo 15 commander, David Scott.
Education is one of the best ways to insure a good job and a bright future. Without an education, jobs will be few and if you can find one, the pay will be low. You might be asking, "What about actors and actresses? What about sports stars? They don't need a degree." That might be true for actors and actresses, but sports stars got their start with college scholarships. And even the best movie or sports star has only one or two decades of good earning power. After they retire, they're going to have to find some way to support themselves for three or four more decades.
A good education will help you learn what you like doing, and will train you to do it. With luck you'll find a job that you enjoy and that pays well.
Much of your education won't be enjoyable. In elementary school, you will be asked to do things that are stupid, unproductive and time-wasting. For example, memorizing the 50 state capitols. Article on homework Why do teachers give you such stupid things to do? Because they are lazy and it's easy to grade such trivial memorization. There is nothing to be gained by you for doing something like that, except the grade. But education is to benefit you, so instead suggest an alternative that is useful. For instance, suggest memorizing the order in which the 50 states joined the union, or the dates they became states. Knowing when they became states will tell you a lot about the growth of the US. It will even shed light on the Civil War and slavery.
Also, many of the subjects you're taught, you'll never need, but you need to pay attention and do well anyway because 1) you can't predict which subjects you will need, and 2) some silly stuff is easy to grade, and this is good practice for you to sit in your seat, pay attention, and pretend you enjoy it.
College - When you start college, find something you enjoy but that requires skill and hard work to master. Although being an art, english or acting major, may be fun, you won't develop any skills and will end up saying, "would you like fries with that?" Developing mathematical, engineering, or surgical skills will increase your chances of finding a good job. I have four degrees in three different subjects and didn't realize how important that was and learned that a Master's degree in Political Science, only allows you to work in the mail room at congress - so I became a construction worker - until I got a hernia. Then I went home, started school again and learned calculus.
Success in College
Speaking of calculus, it's more important to study hard than to be smart. The first time I took calculus, I got a C then a D, so I switched majors. Eight years later, I worked my butt off, took three semesters of calculus and was at or near the top of the class each time.Don't be afraid to ask questions. Professors like that.
"The nail that sticks up will be hammered down" vs. "the squeeky wheel gets the grease."
To be successful in business, you don't need a college degree. In fact, some of the richest men in the world, dropped out of college. Bill Gates, Michael Dell See All the Money in the World
You hear a lot about rich sports stars and movie stars, but the biggest money is made by entrepreneurs and financial managers. The best sports stars earn 10's of millions a year, but the top of the Fortune 500 CEO's (Chief Executive Officers) make 100's of millions a year. But, according to Alpha Magazine, In 2007, the top hedge fund manager, John Paulson, made $3.7-billion, and the top five managers took home more than $1 billion each -- in one year!
20 Things They Don't Tell you at Your College Graduation
Too Much Education?
Successful Entrepreneurs
Forget spending time reading about sports stars and movie stars, read the stories of (Google), Fred Smith (Fed Ex), Warren Buffet, Paul Allen and Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Wozniak & Steve Jobs (Apple Computer). Michael Dell (Dell computer), and anyone on the Forbes 400 list, or Alpha Magazines top 25. There are no sports or movie stars in the top 400 richest Americans. Forbes also has a Celebrity 100 list of the top paid sports, movie, and TV stars, the top was Tiger Woods at $100 million in 2006, but most of the top 25 sports earned between $20 and $30 million. Top celebrities seem to earn about twice as much as top sports stars. And CEO's of the Fortune 500 do even better.Although some millionaires are dropouts, most dropouts are not millionaires. And don't forget, Even thought Bill Gates doesn't have a college degree, he won't hire you without one.
Successful Sayings
On the ceiling in Judo class, "If you can read this sign, you're in the wrong position."Another sign in Judo class, "Winners never quit, and quitters never win."
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