Knowledge is not Power! Applied knowledge is power.
Regardless of where your knowledge comes from, when you apply it wisely, success is probable.
A couple weeks ago, I was talking with Bob Proctor about the fact that neither of us had gone to college and for us, it would have been a waste of time.
Yes, a college degree can help you in certain circumstances, but as I look back in history, many successful people achieved astounding success without “higher education.” Often, colleges teach you to get a job and as many recent college graduates know, there aren’t a lot of those around. Bob and I preferred to skip school to become Entrepreneurs and create our own sense of security.
Life is a game that can be played countless ways, if you’re Inspired to spend a small fortune and years in college, go for it. If you’re going to school out of Obligation or because you think you MUST to be successful, check out this list of people who dropped out or never even began college and still achieved great success.
People Who Didn’t Complete or never began College:
Richard Branson, billionaire founder of Virgin Music.
Rachael Ray, Food Network cooking show star & more.
R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome.
Bill Gates, billionaire co-founder of Microsoft.
Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies.
Peter Jennings, news anchor.
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers and Pixar Animation.
Mary Lyon, founder of Mount Holyoke College (America’s first women’s college).
Karl Rove, presidential advisor.
Walt Disney — you know Disney don’t you?
John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods.
Sergey Brin, billionaire founder of Google.
John Carmack, cofounder of Id Software.
Andrew Carnegie, industrialist and philanthropist.
Scott Carpenter, astronaut.
John Chancellor, TV journalist and anchorman.
Winston Churchill, British prime minister.
Charles Culpeper, multimillionaire owner and CEO of Coca Cola.
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers.
George Eastman, multimillionaire inventor and founder of Kodak.
Larry Ellison, billionaire co-founder of Oracle software company.
Carly Fiorina, CEO, Hewlett-Packard.
Bobby Fischer, chess master.
Henry Ford, billionaire founder of Ford Motor Company.
J. Paul Getty, billionaire oilman.
Amadeo Peter Giannini, multimillionaire founder of Bank of America.
Hyman Golden, multimillionaire cofounder of Snapple.
Dean Kamen, multimillionaire inventor of the Segway.
Tommy Lasorda, baseball manager.
Ralph Lauren, billionaire fashion designer, founder of Polo.
Charles Lindbergh, aviator.
Jack London, bestselling novelist.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazilian president.
Steve Madden, shoe designer.
John Major, British prime minister.
Herman Melville, novelist, Moby Dick.
Karl Menninger, psychiatrist.
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens).
Cornelius Vanderbilt, railroad magnate.
Theodore Waitt, billionaire founder of Gateway Computers.
DeWitt Wallace, founder and publisher of Reader’s Digest.
William Safire, columnist for the New York Times.
Colonel Harlan Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).
Vidal Sassoon, multimillionaire founder of Vidal Sassoon.
Richard Schulze, billionaire founder of Best Buy.
William Shakespeare, playwright, poet.
Barry Goldwater, U.S. senator and presidential candidate.
David Green, billionaire founder of Hobby Lobby.
Joyce C. Hall, founder of Hallmark.
Harold Hamm, billionaire oil wildcatter.
William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher.
Isaac Merrit Singer, sewing machine inventor.
Walter L. Smith, president of Florida A&M University.
Will Smith, Grammy-winning rapper, actor.
Alfred Taubman, billionaire chairman of Sotheby.
Jack Crawford Taylor, billionaire founder of Enterprise Rent-a-Car.
Dave Thomas, billionaire founder of Wendy’s.
Ted Turner, billionaire founder of CNN and TBS.
John Simplot, billionaire potato king.
Ty Warner, billionaire developer of Beanie Babies.
Sidney Weinberg, managing partner of Goldman Sachs.
Steve Wozniak, billionaire co-founder of Apple.
Wilbur Wright, inventor of the airplane.
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, billionaire.
Claude Monet, painter.
Dustin Moskovitz, multi-millionaire co-founder of Facebook.
Walter Nash, prime minister of New Zealand.
David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue airlines.
David Oreck, founder of The Oreck Corporation.
George Orwell (aka Eric Blair), author of Animal Farm and 1984.
Larry Page, billionaire founder of Google.
James A. Pike, Episcopal bishop.
Ron Popeil, multimillionaire founder of Ronco.
Leandro Rizzuto, billionaire founder of Conair.
John D. Rockefeller Sr., billionaire founder of Standard Oil.
I believe each person has a Gut Instinct/Intuition that guides them in all areas of their lives.
I invite you to follow your Inspiration in all you do and enjoy the ride in The Ultimate Human Amusement Park that we call life.
-iKE
-iKE ALLEN is the founder of www.avaiya.com and believes YOU have everything you need to succeed already within you.
Visit me on Facebook to rant: http://www.facebook.com/IamIkeAllen
Thanks so much for this thoughtful blog post, Ike. I was just having this discussion with a friend who was considering leaving university. I also never attended college and have never looked back.
Among the benefits for me . . .
I never had a huge investment which I had to worry about reclaiming . . . I was able to travel Asia for ten years out of a backpack and not worry that my college investment wasn’t being used.
I was never stuck in a profession which I wasn’t sure I worked for me. I was always free to explore.
I always felt free to think about life, history, culture, philosophy, and the world in new ways and not conventional ways.
I am going to copy and paste your list on the wall! I really appreciate the inspiration! 🙂 Dana
Hi iKE,
After our chat today I found this article you wrote. Talk about the perfection of the Universe.. Tonight is the College Expo for our kids high school and the topic of college came up. Both of our boys know that neither Mom nor Dad finished college. Our stance has always been that college is a very expensive tool that should only be purchased if you absolutely need it for your career. THANK YOU for the list of folks that did not end up living under a bridge due to the lack of a college degree.
Juliette Wallen
Just wanted to let you know that Carly Fiorina does have a bachelor’s and two master’s. Colleges and universities are a racket. And so many of us now have student loans coming due and no jobs.
What are your thoughts on college?
They Skipped College For Success:
R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome
Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods
In the past that worked. Now it doesnt.
Plus, almost every actor and athlete that ever had a comfortable life – beginning to end – all had college degrees.
I still struggle to finish my 4 year degree now.
That is an interesting perspective Daryl. Here are a few modern millionaires without a college degree:
David Ogilvy, advertising executive and copywriter .
Rachael Ray, Food Network cooking show star.
Craig McCaw, billionaire founder of McCaw Cellular.
Bram Cohen, BitTorrent developer.
Thе bеst I'vе еvеr sееn for wеight loss http://fb.me/9JO73XNOo Friеnds wеrе shockеd by thе rеsult!