For most of your life you’ve probably heard that you should acquire as much education as you can to succeed. Particularly in today’s competitive job market, education is a key component to achieving success and preventing yourself from failing. However, education is only part of the success equation.
It’s very important for you to understand that just because you don’t take a traditional path to success by attaining tons of education doesn’t mean you’re a failure. Think about some of the most famous college dropouts such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates, tennis star Tiger Woods, entertainment magnate Russell Simmons and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Although they decided to walk away from a traditional classroom education, they still managed to become very successful.
Here are top tips I learned from these wealthy college dropouts. Keeping these tips in mind will help you navigate your way through your unique career path and professional endeavors:
1. Challenge the status quo through innovation: Many of these leaders were all game-changers because they revolutionized their respective industries with ideas that had never been thought of or fully developed before. Use your innovative skills and mindset to bring some fresh ideas, products, and results to your job or industry.
2. Get your hustle on: Oftentimes, the word hustle carries a negative connotation. But according to Dictionary.com, hustle means: “to proceed or work rapidly or energetically or to be aggressive, especially in business or financial dealings.†Keep these definitions in mind and start getting your hustle on.
3. Fully commit to your goals: Sometimes you’ll have to be radical in order to fully commit to your goals. Occasionally people won’t understand some of the risks you take, but you have to do what’s necessary for you to realize your goals and dreams.
Antoine Moss, Ph.D., (@2PositiveTweets) is a nationally recognized resource on internships, early career achievement, leadership and motivation. CEO and founder of CEO Style Consulting L.L.C., Moss empowers professionals and organizations to reach their full potential, and serves as speaker, workshop instructor and consultant. The author of Learn to Intern CEO Style, Moss has been a featured expert on outlets including Fox 8 TV News and George Fraser’s 2011 Power Networking Conference.