Rule: Don’t Go To College
Rule Maker: Ryan Holiday
Learn more about the Rule: ryanholiday.net

Ok so first of all I’m not telling to not go to college. However, I want you to understand it is an option. We’ve been programmed (societal created rule) in the U.S. to believe the only way to a prosperous life and career is to go to college. With my oldest daughter now about to go off to college I think more than ever we need to really evaluate this rule. As I sit in 2018 I do believe my daughter will be better off having gone to college. However, Ryan Holiday makes a great case for the contrary. He’s not alone. If you read or listen to many of the thought leaders of today such as Peter Thiel, Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss and scores of others you will find a new rule is developing.

What is the rule? Instead of going to college, apprentice and get practical and useful knowledge from an expert. This is exactly what Ryan Holiday did, and it paid off. Ryan is a stud. I have read all his books, subscribe to his blog and continue to be amazed at the wisdom this guy 7 years my junior has developed.

From Ryan’s website: “I am Ryan Holiday and I am a writer and media strategist. When I was 19 years old, I dropped out of college to apprentice under Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power (I highly recommend). I went on to become the director of marketing for American Apparel (you might have seen some of the controversial campaigns I was a part of). My creative agency, Brass Check, has advised clients like Google, TASER, and Complex, as well as many prominent bestselling authors, including Neil Strauss, Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss.”

I told you. Ryan is a stud. Here’s the real rule to apply as I see it. Be willing to self educate yourself and learn from experts. This is truly an amazing time to be alive. We have infinitely more knowledge at our fingertips than the founders of this country had. You hold more power in the palm of your hand via an iPhone than all the intelligence that managed the Apollo Space Mission. Don’t be stuck on the idea the only way you can become educated and gain skill is to go to college. You will most likely find little of either there. Instead get to work on what you love. Seek out experts and knowledge centers freely available to you.

Seth Godin once said he believed the greatest technology ever was a book. He went on to explain how for as little as a few dollars you could literally hold someone’s lifework. Process that for a minute. Everything Benjamin Franklin experimented with, Thomas Jefferson strategized, John D. Rockefeller pursued, Elon Musk contemplated is at your fingertips They did the work. We get to benefit from it.

It’s not only in books either. Thanks to social media and influencers like Kevin Kelly, we have scores of free content available. Do you want to be an influencer? To check out Kevin’s works click here. Oh, and did I mention it’s free?

I’m not saying you should make a rule to not go to college, but I am saying if you don’t take advantage of the free education that’s out there, you’re a dunce.

You Rule!

Jason