One of the things that really bugged me when my high school life was coming to an end was that everyone, including my fellow brainwashed peers told me that I have to go to college to be successful in life. So I went to college. You know what. They lied to me. College is the most obvious way to grow your success. Yep. It is your guaranteed route to the riches you want and the feeling of accomplishment that everyone thinks they need. It is really that simple. Uh huh.

When I worked as a re-packer in a pet supply warehouse I had a boss who was obviously miserable. His life had clearly not gone in the direction he wanted. He made a decent living (monetarily) but also had to work nights managing ungrateful and lazy employees then go home and sleep during the day when his family was awake.

After leaving I found out that he wasn’t always hoping for his glamourous life. He actually had a bachelors degree in business management. That’s right. He was a hard working college graduate who was working as a night manager in a dusty, dirty warehouse.

Now, lets use this as an example of our model for success in life. Step one, graduate high school and get into a good college. Step two, graduate college with the best grades we can muster in our in-debt, no social life studies. Step three, get the job of your dreams as a night manager. So, where did he go wrong and where do others go wrong?

Here is the secret to success in your life. Well, its a good tip. If you don’t think college is for you don’t do it. Yes, I know. That is a stupid move and you will end up working at Taco Bell your whole life. That is true if that’s what your aspirations or lack there of lead you to. But no college does not mean no life. There are many success stories of people who dropped out of college and are now laughing about it with their friends on their private yacht, especially online. Look at the google guys for example. Did college get them success? Or the creator of Facebook (despite his current legal struggles. I’m pulling for ya Mark).

So what can you do? How can someone be sucessful without years of droning on in a classroom that is costing them more than their grandparents made their whole lives. There are a lot of options for you to do. Here are a few.

The most obvious one is the Armed Services. If you want some free education (oh, only cost is the risk of getting killed) sign up to serve with uncle sam. Unfortunately, lately you are pretty much assured to get a nice little vacation to the desert and may be fighting for questionable causes. I am not saying there is no justification (that’s for the 25% of people who want to quite reading at this point) but my point is that doubts can lead to death in that situation.

Some more out of the ordinary ideas that will get you out of the classroom are out there. It is all up to what you want to do…

Travel the world

One that I thoroughly looked into when I was graduating is the Peace Corp. Founded by JFK, it is an organization that tries to save the world without pointing a gun. I am still myself considering this option for the future. Your tasks would include assignment in less than safe places around the world so there is some risk if you are in to that kind of thing. You can build, interpret, teach, manage, among other tasks depending on your natural personal skills.

If you’re not into joining a government funded and ran organization, which I would completely understand, there are plenty of alternative organizations to help save the world and/or make your name. They range to any parts of the world. If you want to go help your fellow man in Africa check out Blood Water Mission.

More Creative?

If you are more of a creative person, whether you like to stay your ground or travel, you can find a career that doesn’t require a college degree. If you have an artistic talent and can create visual pieces, there are many organization and places that will help you along your journey. Other than that you can do freelance work that range from photography for newspapers and other mediums, writing for magazines and news periodicals, and even the new age of the internet where you can create blogs or websites.

The most important part in making your decision is that you do what you love. You have a probability of less than one in six million of being a billioniare. If you do not want the piles of student loan bills when you are years out of school, find what you love and teach yourself if you can. If you cannot apprentice to someone who can. That is a free education that you may even get paid for.

These are options I have found or thought of for people that know college is not for them. If you know of other ways or have advice to readers please leave a comment. If I like your ideas enough I may even mention them in a follow up. Don’t believe that college is your only option. It is one of many and may not be the right one for you. Your life is yours. Understand that and you may be much happier down the road.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 17th, 2007 at 5:00 pm and is filed under career. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.