Saturday, August 31, 2013
Thoughts on Education
Education, throughout my life, has put me through times good and bad. Whether I failed a test, got a perfect score on a paper, or was up until 3:00 am working on a project, I have learned that education is not something that comes easy. I have always been fascinated by people who have a "dream" of being a doctor or lawyer, yet do not go the extra mile to study subjects other than the ones taught in school. Jim Rohn said, "Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune." This directly demonstrates my strong opinion that getting straight A's without learning and educating yourself about what you want to do in the future is pointless. Often times I see and hear about people who were successful in high school and college, but didn't become successful in the corporate world because they did not prepare themselves on what to do after school. I want to go to finance school and eventually work in the financial services industry. Whether I will become a stock broker, hedge fund manager, or investment banker, I know that I want to work with money. Yesterday, I just sold some shares that I bought in a company a couple of months ago. Of course I can't name the company, but the profit margin I made wasn't massive, although it was something. When I heard, "Self-education will make you a fortune", I knew that I wanted to live up to that remarkable saying. There are no stock market classes that are available for me to take at Galloway currently. No teacher has taught me how to diversify a portfolio. My father set up an account for me, but he told me that I was on my own with my own saved up money. "Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune." I have not gotten magnificent grades in any class I have taken in high school so far, but I have learned a tremendous amount about what I am interested in doing after my "formal schooling" is complete.
I will work hard in school, but I will educate myself on what I will be doing for the rest of my life a little bit more. You have teachers to show you the basics of what every educated person should know, but you have your own will power to teach yourself what 99% of the world doesn't. Create your own dream, not someone else's.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Aaron
ReplyDeleteI really agree with you how it is important for people to find something they can learn about out of school. Whether it is gardening, computer programming, or stock management, learning on your own through experience and solving your own problems is absolutely critical to becoming successful. However, I think you somewhat mistake "self-education" for "experiential-education". Self-education would entail you finding other places or ways to educate yourself (like finding a mentor, reading books in the library, talking on the internet) in addition to just experiencing a field of study. These are alternatives to formal education. The experience part is very valuable, but don't overlook other ways to educate yourself in the art of stock trading.
Really enjoyed you blog though, and I would be down to team up to learn some about the stock market and financing with you as that interests me as well.
Jack C
AK,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very well written blog post. I strongly agree with your notion that one can teach themself a lot more about a subject than a formal, rigid education system can. Generally, people have one thing that really interests them to a level beyond most other things. For me, it's the dirty world of politics. For you, it seems to be finance and business (Gordon Gekko style (JK ;) ). When a person figures out their true passion, they can go above and beyond to educate and experience themself in that area.
I like your blog, and I am certainly looking forward to reading your upcoming posts.
--Perrin <3<3
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteAs my blog post was on the same quote, I strongly agree with you in many ways. While there are many people who focus solely on formal education, I believe that self-education is a key aspect to success. The only idea that I do not agree with is when you mention that getting straight A's in a subject that you do not want to peruse in life is pointless. While in many ways I think pursuing your passion is the key to success, It is also important to learn other key subjects in life that may assist you along the way, such as mathematics. While math isn't an area where self-education generally applies, it is important for many other things such as stock trading. As you know, I too am a very active stock trader and I could not imagine undertaking something like that without a general knowledge of math and statistics. I think it is in cases like these where formal education is needed.
Overall, I really agree with your blog post and think you touch on many points that are key to success and follow the essence of the quote.
Sean
love u sean
DeleteThe way that you opened and introduced your blog post was very intriguing. I like that you did not go with the traditional 'quote and response' format, but instead you worked the quote into your own story. The way that you integrated your own ideas and aspirations with your reasoning of why this quote speaks to you was very well thought-out. I agree that a lot of times passion for the pursuit of knowledge and motivation to educate oneself is much more important than a formal education. A thirst for knowledge about what interests you will take you much farther in life than your grades in school. I think that you made a very prominent point with your post and wish you luck in your pursuit of corporate success.
ReplyDelete