During orientation at college, I learned that knowledge made you a better person. The key to every problem in the world—war, poverty, hate—was a more intellectual population.
Unfortunately, after my first set of classes, I learned that education didn’t make you a better person. In fact, most of my professors were horrible people. Under the guise of intellectualism and tolerance, they spouted some of the most hateful and intolerant things I’ve ever heard. They were the liberal version of Bible-thumping hellfire preachers.
So I soon came to the conclusion that education ensured you would be successful. Only, that newfound knowledge didn’t last for very long when I met professors who were complaining that a Bachelors degree wasn’t worth anything anymore. If you want to really be successful, you have to have a Masters or Doctoral degree. That would ensure your success.
It turns out, none of that was right. More education doesn’t make you a success. Sure, it’s a good starting point. But what really matters is what you do with it.
When I graduated, I thought I knew everything. Then a few months at a new job taught me otherwise. I knew some terminology—CPM, impressions, product, price, promotion, place… But I had no idea how to apply that to my work.
So this is what I wished I’d learned in college: knowledge is a beginning, but perseverance and curiosity are the true keys to success. Without a curious mind, you’ll never learn the things that you need to learn—often things you can’t find in textbooks. And without perseverance, you’ll give up before you get to the places and solutions that bring true success.
Education is great. But it’s a starting point, not an end point. A degree is good, but it’s not necessary. If you can do both, get an education and develop perseverance and curiosity. But if you can only do one, opt for the latter rather than the former.