ACADEMIC SUCCESS DOES NOT EQUATE TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS
Category: Schools and Education
By Ng Li Lian
Generally, if you look at the profiles of people in the upper echelons of the management of huge organisations, you will probably find that they have pretty outstanding academic profiles.
However, there are always exceptions around. One good example is Bill Gates who was a Harvard drop-out. Another would be Steve Jobs of Apple Computer. He was a college drop-out when he starting selling personal computers assembled in his garage. Charles Edward Merrill founded the firm we now know as Merrill Lynch & Company. A poor boy from the backwaters of Florida, Merrill was forced to leave college by lack of funds. But he schemed his way to Wall Street and made himself wealthy by the time he was 31. Thus, we see that there are a number of entrepreneurs out there who are not university graduates. Some of them did not even complete high school. And yet many of them do quite well without the academic qualifications. One explanation for the above could be this: The more educated a person is, the more constrained he is by others' expectations of him or his own. This is especially true for people who come from more conservative and risk averse societies, where people are generally reluctant to take on major risks such as taking on an unconventional career. But familiarity breeds content. And content breeds complacence. As a result, that person does not get the opportunity to unleash his full potential. A person who is highly educated may also have a tendency to "over-analyze" a situation when things go wrong, or they tend to give up more easily when things do not go as planned. On the other hand, an uneducated person is not limited by such societal or self-imposed constraints. Someone who has received less formal education tend to learn more from their own life experiences, or through the "hard knocks" in life. They tend to be more willing to experiment with new ideas and may view the whole process of experimentation more satisfying than achieving the end-result. A good example would be the famous scientist, Albert Einstein. Like many others who have succeeded in life, he did not receive much formal education. However, his interest in Science and the thirst for knowledge gave him an edge over many others and allowed him to unleash his full capabilities.
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Given the above, it seems that academic success does not necessarily correlate with financial success. That being said, I would still like to add that a completed period of academic training in a recognized field of study is still good preparation for working life as an employee of a business or corporation. Formal training will inevitably help to sharpen one's communications, interpersonal and writing skills, all of which are essential for financial success, regardless of which field one might choose to enter. Finally, the definitions of "financial success" vary from person to person. If you want to become a millionaire, then you will eventually have to find some way to create something new that other people want -- a good, service, or patentable invention that improves the lives of others in some measureable way. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had the smarts, creativity and focus to establish their own corporations and position their products suitably in the market. Many other millionaires are self-made in the same way. But one does not have to become a millionaire to be deemed "successful". Balance is KEY. One should strive to balance financial success with other areas of life, such as the emotional, spiritual and social aspects, and not be overly obsessed with financial wealth. Perhaps one can view financial success as a function of investment: you invest your time, skill, and energy in making something new, or you invest your money in the efforts of other people to do so. To do either one of them effectively, one will need to receive proper formal education to equip himself or herself with the necessary technical, interpersonal and communication skills. |