Schools, Get Rid Of Textbooks

Say what?!?!

Yup. I said it.

I think schools should get rid of text books.

Gone.

Adios.

Hasta la bye-bye.

Seriously.

I mean, let’s be honest, the way the first week of the new presidency has gone, if we project out a couple years, I could see some government mandated book burning anyways. But that is neither here nor there.

Whether or not we HAVE to get rid of textbooks, we SHOULD get rid of textbooks.

To be more specific, we should get rid of all textbooks, but only in high school.

The Elimination Of High School Textbooks

Before I get in to the disgusting numbers, let’s start with some practicality.

Because of phones and the internet, we will never need to remember facts again.

Who was the 29th president of the United States? Google it.

What does chlorophyll do? Google it.

How do you do I find the exact value of tan (s + t) given that sin s = 1/4, with s in quadrant 2, and sin t = -1/2, with t in quadrant 4?

WTF is that?

Google, tan. Google, sin. Google, exact value. Google, trigonometry and quadrants. Google, Kahn Academy and watch videos on trigonometry. Aaaaaannnnnnd done. Thank you very much Mr. Google.

See?

What the hell do you need textbooks for?

In fact, if we are trying to get our students to be more prepared for the real world, wouldn’t we want them to have the ability to find formulas and solutions on their own anyways? How many text books do you have at work? I would put my money on one. It is a general, literal explanation of your job, and it does you little more than no good because your job involves so much more than anything they could ever write in a textbook. Sort of like real textbooks. What a kawinki-dink!

So what do you do?

You search, you research, you talk to people, you get answers, and you solve the problem.

Why not start that with 9th graders?

Not only do they do it anyways (mostly looking up stupid s***, scanning Pinterest, Snapchat, etc.), but they need to know how to do it to be successful in life.

The earlier they are practicing (deliberately) the better, right? So when they get older and their boss needs a spread sheet, or a power point, or whatever crap they need for work, the employee can say, “got it.” Then run back to their office and figure out how in the hell to do it, just like we all do.

To be honest, my whole job is looking up how to do things. I see a picture I like, or an effect that is new, an editing trick, or a marketing technique, and I look it up. I learn how to do it, then I apply it for my clients.

What happens even more often, just like the employee described above, a client says, “I really like this, can you do that?” What is my answer 99.99% time? Of course! Then I run home and look it up, sweating, hoping I can actually do it!

There are no text books for life.

I move that we don’t need text books in high school either.

Can teachers write problems? Yes.

Are teachers experts in their given subject matter? Yes (you hope).

So why do we need books?

In fact, if teachers have to come up with their own problems, I bet the homework load would go WAY down. It’s not as easy to give 50 geometry problems if you are writing them out yourself. I think homework is stupid anyways. I like the reverse homework strategy. Do all the work in class, and get research based homework. Learn at home, where special instruction is not needed. Just gather information for when you have a teacher to explain it to you.

Ok. So there is the practical reason.

Now for the…..

Dolla Bills Yall!

Get ready to puke, or crap your pants. Either way, do not read this section on a full stomach.

Lots of numbers here (big ones).

Here we go.

The average text book cost: $68 (I think this is low, but I will roll with it)

The average number of academic classes per student: 5 (PE, Art, sports, etc. Probably don’t have text books. Unless you have a real hard ass PE teacher. If you do, adjust the numbers in the formula below).

Here is the first part of the equation: 68 (avg. cost of books) x 5 (avg. number of academic classes) = 340

That means a text book, per academic class, per student, per year = $340.

“But wait (says the school district employee. Insert whinny, annoying voice here), we have a 7 year cycle on textbooks in California, so that number is much lower!”

Fair enough.

So let’s adjust the formula: 340 (books per year)/7 (how often they update textbooks in years) = $48.57 per year, per student.

Not bad, huh? Not even $50 per student on textbooks! Yay, budget!!

(This is the point where I normally would say, you get what you pay for, but this next section’s numbers are so high, I will refrain).

To continue…..

The current number of high school students in California (including continuation, alternative, and community schools): 1,891,060

Now, take the $48.57 (book cost per year, per student) and x by 1,891, 060

So…

$48.57 x 1,891,060 = $92,140,204.20

$92 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

PER YEAR!!!!!

EVERY YEAR!!!!!

Have you said holy s*** yet?

I did, and I wrote it!

HOLY S***!!!!

And that is one year!!!

I already said that, didn’t I?

How much would the state be saving in a 7 year textbook cycle?

Great question.

Hold on to your hats: $644,981,429.40!!!

ALMOST $650 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

Is there even a swear word for that?

I didn’t think so.

This is where you just stare and drool.

I’ll wait.

Wipe your face.

Savings For The Biggest School Districts In California

I am going to make this simple. I am just going to multiply the $48.57 by the number of high school students in the given school districts.

Here we go. The savings per year, for 3 of the biggest districts in California.

Los Angeles Unified: $7,407,264.99

San Diego Unified: $1,450,057.35

San Francisco Unified: $768,425.97

Keep in mind, this is per year. If we expand these out for the 7 year textbook cycle, the numbers are ridiculous.

LAUSD: $51,850,854.93

SDUSD: $10,150,401.45

SFUSD: $5,378,981.79

Think Of The Possibilities

What could your district do with all of that extra money?

More teachers? Better teachers? More programs? Better programs? Unbelievable technology for your school site? Sports programs that have been cut? Art programs? Music? Maybe you give the students a stipend to buy novels, biographies, and autobiographies to help them customize their learning. Maybe invest in tablets for them all so the books are cheaper?

Do what your kids need the most! The possibilities are endless! Think of what this could mean for your district, your community, and your city?

I know this will start small, a school or two, but I know it will grow. Why? Because all of these kids are on their damn phones all the time looking up s** they don’t know anyways. Why not take advantage of that and apply it to school?

The question almost answers itself, I know.

I can’t wait to hear about this being developed. I know it will happen. Some ideas are too good to pass up.

Good luck all you crazy ones, misfits, and rebels.

It’s time to change the world.

Joey

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Public School Marketing Ideas For 2017

I can’t think of an “industry” that needs this more, especially in California, where sky rocketing home prices, combined with the influx of charter schools is creating a steep decline in the public school population.

It’s sad.

As a product of public schooling all the way through my M.A. (that’s a masters, not Massachusetts. That wouldn’t even make sense), I hate to see it lose its footing the way it has.

We have great public school, with great public school teachers, but something has to change, and fast.

That’s why I am writing this essay, to help the public schools of California, and may be the rest of the country as well. With Betsy DeVos at the helm, you guys will need all the help you can get, and then some. Yikes!

The Strategy

Become a company, at least in the marketing and advertising aspect.

Apple. Nike. Mercedes.

What do they have that you don’t? Money. Just kidding.

A marketing department, duh!

There is no need for a whole division of new employees, but there should be 3–5 in every school district, where all they do, 365 days a year, is produce content for your school district. Get you out there in any and every way, all over the internet.

Think about it.

There are no limitations to the amount of content you could create for an entire school district. Hell, if you want to get serious, have a marketing director at each school.

The whole concept of bell to bell is over, or it needs to be over, if you want a shot at saving this system. Go outside the school hours, off the campus, and on to the phones (cell phones, we aren’t starting a call center here).

The longer you wait, the harder it will be to recover.

The Possibilities

The goals? Content every single day, in as many ways as possible.

Photos, videos, short-films, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, books, seminars (whew), on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Music.ly, YouTube, Medium, Quora, LinkedIn and anything else that pops up in the next few years.

Do everything. Be everywhere.

Videos/Short-films/Documentaries/Vlogs:

1. Stories of students, teachers, workers, parents, former students, a school’s history, etc.

2. Create a TV show. Create multiple TV shows. Life of a high schooler, life of a teacher, etc. Change it up every semester. Like Hard Knocks, but school. (We all know what Hard Knocks is, right? Good).

3. A sports show. Make your own ESPN. Get footage from photo/video students for all of the sporting events and make your own show. Have hosts, tell stories, or just copy FS1 and ESPN!

4. Have subject matter vlogs. There is no reason why a district can’t create their own Khan Academy. Each subject/grade level shares the duty (*snicker) of creating the content. Explanations, videos, charts, etc. Hell, there should be a video post of all of the explanations from class that day online for students to be able to reference anyways. It would be great for the students and hold the teachers more accountable to actually teaching.

Blogs/Books/Podcasts

1. You are inundated with experts. Use their knowledge to create. Blogs on different subject matter, podcasts for those kids who can’t read (they exist, I’m sorry). Give, give, give content, expertise, information, value.

2. Create a Q&A podcast. Teachers answer students’ questions in a particular subject or lesson, then it is up there for all to see! Helping future students forever!

3. Once you get enough Qs and As, you compile it to create a book. Experts write so they can share their expertise. Could you imagine if a parent received a book (available on Kindle and Audible of course) at the beginning of each year describing what the students would be learning, changes they would be going through both physically and emotionally, and getting you prepared for everything? It would be amazing!!

I know what you teachers are going to say, “But we do stuff like that already! We have meetings, we help kids. Waaah.” That’s great, but your school or school district is losing kids every single year, it’s time to step up your game.

Ugh, I know what the other teachers are going to say too, “but my school has a waiting list! We are doing fine!” Wrong, you are not. You are in the “rich” area of your district and parents think your school is better because of that. They think there are better teachers in the wealthier areas, because the “scores” are higher. That is not the case at all. Your students are nerds. If you were really good, you could go downtown and kick ass there too. Not going to happen? That’s what I thought. Just admit that you are limited, and that you are not the only school in the district. Team effort here people.

The Socials

Be on everything.

I mean, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (and their stories), Snapchat (especially this), Music.ly, etc.

Take your new-fangled media department, and divide them throughout the district. Take pics of students learning, kids having fun, teachers teaching, snaps, stories, boomerangs (Instagram), etc. Do it all. Go where the people are. Be relatable. Be on their phone, not just bell to bell. Not just the parent letter home each week, the conference once a semester, the discipline call, or the open house night. Be there. Every single day. Let them see you. Let them see that you see them. Everyone is important, everyone is a star in your district. Share, share, share, give, teach, learn, inspire!

Seminars

Forget the lame parent nights, give seminars on important stuff for kids and parents in general. Have it in a centrally located venue. Invite the community. Invite experts. Share knowledge other than when the cookie drive is. There are so many questions, districts need to own it more. I know they have parent meetings, but really it’s just a check mark.

“See! We did it! Our parents are informed now!”

Really?

How many peoples showed up?

3.5? (was 4, one left early).

People show up when they are given value. No one there? No value being offered. At least not real value.

Seriously, would you go to some of the meetings you have? HELL NO!

So why would they?

You get the outcome you deserve, not the one you want. It’s obvious when you do something because you have to (and there is a lot of that). Stop blowing smoke up the parents’ ass. Hell, stop blowing smoke up your own ass that what you are doing is valuable and working. The proof is in the pudding, and in the numbers.

The New You

Stop putting ads on Pandora. I don’t want to see the 8 Ivy League kids from your district, each one coincidentally a different race (so we all feel included) on my movie screen at the mall. Stop taking half ass measures with half ass effort and half ass results. It’s not working. You are losing full classes of kids from each school every year. How long are you doing to do the same ol thing?

Hopefully you think about this over the weekend, get a little fire going, and take charge of your schools and your district.

Develop a media team (not teachers on their spare time, that’s stupid), rally the teachers, and get going.

Oh, and teachers, stop looking at your dumb ass contracted hours and work like you actually give a shit about your students, school, and job. Unions are only good for the weakest link. Hopefully that’s not you. If you are mad about that last statement, it probably is.

Let’s do this.

Good luck!

Joey

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The Time Is Now

How many times have you heard this?

A billion?

I know.

Probably about as many times as you have heard, “It’s now or never.”

Don’t you hate it when you hear something over and over again only to realize that it is true?

It’s so cliché.

But so true.

*puke

I am going to teach you a word today. I am assuming I know more than you, I am assuming I know around the same amount as you, and I had to look this up.

The Word Of The Day

The word: inure

 Pronunciation: en — yoor

Definition: accustom (someone) to something, especially something unpleasant.

How?

I know what you’re thinking, why and how would you get used to something unpleasant?

Here is the how: time, repetition, frequency.

Here is the why: time, repetition, frequency.

Wait, that’s the same thing?

I know.

I am not trying to be a wise-ass, I promise.

This is the backbone of my whole article.

No matter how bad something is, or how ugly, or in the way, unsafe, unhealthy, or anything else negative, the longer it is there, the more you see it, the more you become accustomed to it, the more you get used to it.

Before you know it, it’s normal.

It is no longer bad, or ugly, etc.

It is what it is.

You are used to it.

You have become inured to it.

Now it won’t change.

Because now you don’t need it to.

Examples

I will get progressively more extreme with each one.

1. The light in the bathroom needs replacing: After a while, it’s not laziness, you have just gotten used to the bathroom being a little bit darker. What’s the big deal? I see this all the time in January and February (speaking of lights). If you don’t take your lights down by January 1st, or the first weekend in January, they will be up until Easter (and if they are up until Easter, you might as well just keep them up all year, right?). You’ve been inured.

2. That extra 20 lbs you noticed when you tried to wear your clothes from last season. You know you need to lose it. You understand what extra weight does in terms of health. You keep meaning to sign up for the gym, eat healthier, drink a little less, but you keep putting it off. Maybe you are just big boned? Maybe it is just part of getting older? You make excuses. You put it off. You buy new clothes that fit. Problem solved! Right? Then the 20 lbs stays there. Then it’s 25. Then it’s 30. Then it’s 50. Voila! You’re inured.

3. You never thought in a million years that he would hit you. Sure he started yelling at you and putting you down a few month in to your relationship. But hitting? No way. Instead of leaving you rationalize it. If he is not an asshole, it must be his work stress, or money stress. Maybe it’s me? Then it happens again. And again. You learn to cover it up, deal with it. You don’t like it, but you get used to it. You just need to learn how to navigate around him when he is in a bad mood, or drunk, or high. No big deal. Now you are in an abusive relationship. You have become a battered wife. You have become the headlines in the news, a victim. How did this happen? You became inured.

We Do This All The Time

This is nothing new.

In fact, with it being political season, I think the race is a great example.

We got used to Trump.

We have seen him constantly for 30 years. That brash, egotistical, ass that we saw 30 years ago has 

somehow become a beacon of light for a YUGE number of Americans.

How in the hell did that happen?

It has gotten to a point that “Donald being Donald” gives him the freedom to say some of the craziest s*** I have ever heard from a “serious” politician and people are okay with it.

He is bringing mass deportation (impossible), building walls (impossible and stupid, not sure which is more), blocking religious groups (racist, bigoted, etc.), grabbing pussies (crime), and insinuating that polls are rigged and that the second amendment should be used on those who oppose him (inciting a riot, suggesting murder, creating divisions).

We are okay with that. It is not shocking anymore.

Trump is the best example of our ability to inure.

We got used to him. Now he may be our president.

Think about that.

The Time Is Now

Why is the time now?

Why is it now or never?

Because of our ability to inure.

Humans are amazing. We are resilient. Our ability to adjust and adapt is unparalleled on this planet.

But what if we are adjusting and adapting when we should be turning around? When we should be going the other way, or another direction at least?

But we don’t.

If we let it happen once we are opening the door for it happening twice, then three times, then four.

Pretty soon, it just is what it is.

Inured.

We got used to it.

We don’t notice it any more.

It is right in front of us and we can’t even see it for what it is.

Get Action

Sit down right now. Make a list of everything you have been meaning to do and haven’t gotten around to. Now take one step, today, to do one thing, for each of those things. Build up some momentum and “get action.” Start doing right now. You will get used to it if you don’t. You have gotten used to it up to this point. Break the cycle and get action.

It may be big.

It may be small.

But the time is now.

Joey

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The Hardest Thing To Teach

Part of the reason why I write is to force myself to lay out my philosophies on life for my daughter. 

Not to be morbid, but we are all going to die one day. When that is, no one knows. The more I write, the more she will have for later, (if we don’t get the chance to do it while I am still here).

That’s it.

That’s my big secret.

This is all so she has everything in writing. All the advice I want to give her, but might never get the chance.

One Thing

There are certain things I want to teach her, qualities I want her to have. Things I know will allow her to be an awesome adult. Kill it at work, be a great mother, a wonderful wife, and a good human being. Things like: grit, hard work, humility, compassion, insight, reflection, etc. Like any parent, I want my daughter to be amazing.

The thing I want her to learn the most, the one that will allow her to open up all of those other qualities is, I think, the hardest one to accomplish: Not caring what other people think. I mean ZERO regard for what other people think.

Why is this so hard?

Because it is a precarious balance between self-awareness, humility and ego.

She has to be able to not care what people think because she is so self-aware, so observant, so well-thought-out, so intentional, and so sure of herself, that she know exactly what she is doing and why she is doing it, even if it doesn’t necessarily make sense to other people.

Not worry about others’ perception at all.

But it has to come from a place of power not weakness.

Three Types Of Not Caring

1. The Egomaniac

2. The Pre-Emptive Defensive

3. The Rock

The first two are extreme examples. I think most of us fall in to a combination of the two, which usually manifests itself as ego. We shoot ourselves in the foot by acting either too big or too small in a given situation. We are either blindly over-confident or feeble in our abilities, and that eventually bites us in the a**. We either don’t try at all, don’t take the chance when we have the opportunity, don’t speak up when we should, or get in to something we have no business being in and getting b**** slapped. Not literally of course. Well, maybe literally in some cases.

The Egomaniac: You all know people like this. They think they are always right (in a bad way), they can’t handle hearing no, they remove people from their lives that disagree with them, they are narcissistic, probably run through friends regularly, always mad at someone, generally not fun to be around. It’s all about them, all the time.

Being an egomaniac is not synonymous with failing, but how you win is just as important as winning. If you win because you are a prick, and don’t listen to anyone else, you may be successful, but I guarantee you will not be as successful as you could be. These people, generally not self-reflective, not great listeners, which means they are not good collaborators, have a ceiling. They can only go so high because of their ego.

The Pre-Emptive Defensive: The best way I can describe this is the gothic punk rocker in the movie Big Daddy. He walks around in all black, sticking out like a sore thumb, confidence in his stride like he gets it and no one else does, but as soon as Sandler’s character calls him on it, “you’re mad at your father, you’re not mad at me,” his whole façade crumbles in to a pile of tears.

There are people that are confident and really don’t care what you think, and there people that try to push you away at the beginning because they care about what you think so much, they don’t want to have an honest evaluation. This comes in the form of how you dress, like a “gutter” punk for instance, or how you act. The person that always says something inappropriate and then acts like they are too abrasive for the room is doing the same thing as the person with the Mohawk and studded jacket. Push you away so you can’t evaluate them honestly. They don’t want to take the risk of putting themselves out there and being rejected.

Again, a little more difficult to tell that the egomaniac, but if you keep an eye on them you will understand if it comes from confidence or insecurity. One thing that I look at with punk rockers, if you really are an individual and don’t care what people think, why are you dressing exactly like all the other “anti” establishment punk rockers? I want my punks to look like Bad Religion and NOFX. They could be filling your gas tank, building a computer, or teaching at UC Berkeley. You can’t tell because they aren’t wearing a uniform. Or, they have confidence.

The Rock: This is where we all should aspire to be. This is where I want my daughter. This is all about knowing you strengths and weaknesses. You work from your strengths and bring in people to offset your weaknesses. You know exactly who you are. You have a strong moral character, you understand the work involved in success and are willing to do it, you pick a profession that actually fits you not one that sounds good or looks good, and you put yourself in a place of learning and openness to receive the goodness that is coming your way.

Bottom line is you know who you are. This allows you to connect with things that fit you and to pass on things that don’t. You aren’t swayed by the wind or pushed by the ocean because you are a rock. 

You are not going anywhere.

You can listen, evaluate, push away, say no, adjust, learn, respect, and grind. That is a winning combination in any arena.

The Start

It all starts with confidence.

True confidence.

One that is earned through self-reflection, evaluation, discipline, hard work, love, and respect.

One that is earned by taking people and yourself head on, asking the difficult questions, making the difficult sacrifices, and coming out better in the end.

Wouldn’t we all be better because of this?

Shouldn’t we want this for ourselves?

Shouldn’t we want this for our kids?

Then let’s learn it for us so we can give it to them.

It may be the greatest gift you can ever give them: confidence.

Joey

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The Adapt Or Die Economy

Jobs, jobs, jobs.

Such a huge part of every election is jobs.

We need more jobs!!

“They took rrrr jobs!” — South Park

We need a leader that will help create jobs!!

Aaahhhh, silly dreamers.

Taxes and Tariffs? Do you really think that is going to bring jobs back?

They are gone because they are no longer necessary.

You may no longer be necessary.

It’s sad, but painfully true.

There are two options: cry, or learn/do something new.

The reality is your jobs are gone because they are obsolete. It’s either that or money. No matter what the taxes are, it will always be cheaper to have workers in South America or Asia, always.

You think a company is going to keep it real? Keep it American?

Please.

It’s all about input and output. How much does it cost to make our crap, and how much can we sell are crap for? Period.

The only jobs you can count on are the jobs that they can’t do anywhere else. The jobs that need to be here. The jobs of today. You know it is a “yesterday” job when it isn't’ here anymore. That’s hint #1.

Blue collar work? Tech from yesterday? Come on. Just because you had a job doesn’t mean that job should always be available. Be reasonable here. What did you tell your kid when they wanted to stay out later on a Friday night? Not an option. Same thing here, except the economy is your daddy.

Pretty sure cart making diminished after Henry Ford’s assembly line.

“They took rrr jobs!!”

I bet a lot of CD player companies hated the iPod.

“They took rrrrr jobs!”

Waaaaah!

Can you imagine if cart companies and CD player companies demanded that the government created more jobs in their sector? It sounds ridiculous, but it is exactly what’s going on here.

The Land Of Opportunity

What happened to us?

This is the land of immigrants.

The land of opportunity.

The land of inventions.

The land of hitting a dead end and finding a new route.

Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, Rockefeller, Steve Jobs, Gary Vaynerchuk, Ben 

Franklin.

That’s us. Those are our people. Always keep moving, keep learning, and keep pushing.

Now we are the land of excuses.

The land of entitlement.

The land of waiting for someone to help us.

A reality check:

There are jobs that just aren’t options any more. Companies either don’t need them, or they need less 

of you to do it.

There is nothing wrong with that.

It is the way it has been since the beginning of time.

Mike The Caveman lost his job when Jenny The Cavewoman learned how to make fire easier. Jenny lost her job to Marco, the caveman that never let the fire go out. Innovation. Adaptation. It’s a wonderful thing.

As long as you are in the right mindset.

What mindset is that?

The Lifelong Learner

The world can only pass you by if you let it.

Can you imagine someone in a race just stopping? Then getting mad when they start losing?

That’s us right now.

It may not be you specifically.

Or for people with horrible grammar, pacifically, but there are a TON of people out there that are just chilling in the middle of the track, getting mad because they are losing.

Suckers.

You need to open your eyes and stop trying to hang on to what is comfortable. Is it easier to just stand there? Hell yes. But you are going to lose. It just happens.

Learn how to take your skills are reapply them. If you like renovation shows, you can re-purpose your skills. It’s a big job. It’s scary. But what are your options? Exactly. None.

Trumps is not going to save jobs.

Hillary is not going to save jobs.

There is only one person that can do that, you.

How?

The same way Americans have always done it.

Learning something new.

Developing skills.

Out thinking your competitors.

Busting you’re a**.

Move/relocate/migrate.

Remember, the goal is survival. Put your family in the best position to win. If that means moving, move. It is means going back to school, go back to school. Get your edumacation on.

This is the land of opportunity.

It’s manifest destiny.

Things are out there, and they are just waiting for you to go get them.

So go.

Stop being a p***y and get out there.

Now.

Joey

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Success In School At Any Age

Kindergarten to senior year.

Undergrad to a doctoral program.

This is for students of any age.

This is for their parents.

The Key To Success In School.

Act as if you never went at all.

Aaahhhh, me squeeze me?

Aah, bacon powder?

(Wayne’s World quote. I’m 37. If that wasn’t obvious by the reference.)

That’s right, I said it.

Act like you never went to school.

I am not talking about after you graduate (although that will work too), I mean DURING school.

Act like it never happened.

Or

Act like it is not happening.

The Problem With School

The biggest issue in education is the students’ mindset. Well, it’s the parents’ mindset that gets transferred to the kid and becomes their mindset.

Still with me?

Moving on.

Is education is the most important thing to develop en route to success? Me thinks yes. At least top 3.

Is school education? Yes and no.

This is where the mindset issue comes in.

School gives you a baseline of information, but Education (capital E) is much bigger. It is everything you learn in order to live, earn money, and thrive. My point? College gives you a piece of paper that says you have been successful in retaining information and regurgitating it at least at a 70% level. 60% level if it is out of your major in some schools. Once you get that piece of paper, the thing your parents have been focused on since you were 3 years old in preschool, you can do anything, right? It’s the key to your future, right? This piece of paper has been the goal of your life up to this point. 

 Now you can go earn a living, right?

How many of you college graduates went “Holy s***” while still in your cap and gown?

Me too!

This is not to say that school is not important. Until companies figure out how to filter through applicants based on abilities and potential instead of pieces of paper (at least initially), it will remain necessary. (On a side note, if you are part of the 0.01% that can be ultra-successful without getting your foot in the door with a degree, more power to you. I am not.)

For the 99.99% of us:

The Solution

If you act as if you didn’t go to school, then you will focus your attention on learning things on your own. You will make it a point of connecting with people in your potential profession, and pick their brains on the steps necessary to become a professional x, y, or z. This is how it used to be done. Go directly to the source to get all the info you need.

Most of them will tell you is school. You can say, “No duh, I am talking about everything else. I want to learn about the profession as a whole.” That is where the real knowledge will come. The more people you talk to, the more you research on your own, the more you learn, the more ass you will kick once you get the piece of paper saying you are now free to kick ass.

School is school.

Education is all up to you.

Imagine if you were in middle school or high school, and instead of waiting for the knowledge to come to you in school, you went out and got it? Instead of picking your butt, or building up your Musical.ly following (unless that is your business, and you are already monetizing it, then more power to you) you went out and met people? Started building up a rapport with professional adults? 

Making connections, learning in a real world sense of the word? You could be killing it by the time you learn how to drive! Imagine that!

Think of a college student that spent all four years in college studying for their degree, but meeting professionals in their potential field at conferences, during coffee meetings, or internships so when they graduated that had a crystal clear understanding of what that profession is and how to be successful at it. They will have a goal, a game plan and a clear course of action.

While everyone else is moving back home, being confused, getting a job they could have gotten out of high school, you are dominating.

Wouldn’t that be amazing?

I know!

That was basically a rhetorical question. If you said “no” I would have puked.

For Parents And Students

It doesn’t matter how old you are. This can be applied at any age. I tell my daughter all the time, the way to be successful is to learn more outside of school than you do in school. Education is key, but school is not “that” key. It will get you in to the arena, but you are on your own from there.

You are the only key you will ever need. It’s best to learn that now.

Think of it this way:

Have you ever heard of a graduate from any top school (NYU, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, etc.) get handed a bag of money when they walked out of graduation ceremony? Exactly! Why? Because that’s when the real education starts, the real work. No one gives a f*** what school you graduated from if you suck at your job. Harvard graduates work next to UCSD (go Tritons!) grads, that work next to Middle Of Nowhere Texas grads, all at the same company. Your real job is to kick ass. I don’t care what your title is.

But what if we started it earlier?

What if we started today?

What if the future was now?

What if we looked at school for what it is, a “normal” factory (which is what they used to call it, because it was designed to create “normal” people to work in factories, remember that), and looked at every hour outside of school as the real learning time?

What kinds of experiences could we have?

What kind of knowledge would we gain?

How much more prepared for life would we be?

I don’t care how old you are, start learning. Start educating yourself. Interview one person a week that works in a field you may want to work in. Contact companies, ask them about skills that they find important, then start practicing them.

Nothing can stop you except for you.

(This will help you get over your fear: article)

It’s time to look at school like it never happened and elevate your success. It all starts with you. It all starts with looking at yourself as the one that will get you to your best. No degree will do it. No college will ever guarantee success. That’s all on you.

Ever wonder why so many people try to get in to the top schools every Fall? Because the individuals that went to those schools kicked ass once they got out and made it look good. Was it the school? Hell no. Maybe a couple teachers here or there helped guide them, but it is the individual that makes the difference. The graduates make the school. Don’t forget that.

You make the difference.

Get out there and start learning.

Right after the bell rings.

Joey

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