Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

One thing to remember is that everyone is unique. Two people of the same gender and the same age, graduating from the same school with the same degree, even with the same gpa are not identically suited for a given position or business. Their success in life will not be equal. There is so much more to the equation.

Every advantage that is available should be taken. Every effort should be made to turn a disadvantage into an advantage.

As Nikole pointed out, a BA/BS is pretty much a basic requirement for many jobs, much like a HS diploma was a generation ago. Over time there is inflation in education just like there is with money. That`s the beauty of entrepreneurship. No one can deny you starting up. Once started your success will speak for itself.



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Craig, this is CORRECT! The sciences, finances and math definitely require a college education. And we certainly need to continue to educate young people in this area. English so they can write and also Copywriting if they are entrepreneurs sure would be a necessity. My Copywriting skills I learned at both the TV station as a reporter and at grad school have been my handy skills for being a serial entrepreneur. 

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NO cost 11 week e-course on Internet Marketing that my business associate Paul Miller and I developed from our over 13 years of success at http://www.shirtpocketmillionaire.com.

Here`s something else to toss into the mix. Steve points out that "every advantage should be taken," meaning that a successful business at least takes advantage of opportunities. Those come along often by luck, circumstance, or they`re created.

Okay, but what component of the human mind is in charge of perceiving opportunity?

Isn`t an opportunity a coming-together of many circumstances and variables so as to further a person`s goals?

To have goals requires knowing what are goals and believing that forming goals is better than not having goals. To then perceive "sets" of information related to those goals is another hazy aspect of human intelligence.

Some things in learning can`t be taught, they can only be given by example and the individual must have a "leap of intuition" that leads to understanding. So for example, nobody can "teach" the meaning of "equal to." Either a child understand or doesn`t.

The education is a two-prong event. The first is to teach the child the words "equal to." The second is to associate those words to a function of reality. Until the child grasps that particular concept of reality, he or she can`t associate the words. So the education part is to over and over again, give demonstrations.

Learning facts and taking them as truth with no testing is one type of education. It lends itself to the sciences and physically observable things. But developing the *skill* of noticing opportunities then knowing what actions to take, that`s a different part of education.

I`ve come to believe that college schooling is more like an opportunity to experience a much wider variety of "types" of experience. It isn`t so much about learning how to do something, but rather a way to learn that "something" exists and you have the option to explore how it works. That exploration takes place in a guarded environment, without some of the risks and consequences of "the real world," so to speak.

Yes, it would be GREAT if universities or even high schools began to teach different forms of problem solving. They should be teaching DeBono`s Lateral Thinking courses that are taught in every school in Japan. 

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NO cost 11 week e-course on Internet Marketing that my business associate Paul Miller and I developed from our over 13 years of success at http://www.shirtpocketmillionaire.com.

True, but the topic specifies formal education. :-) The School of Hard Knocks is also education, but I`d have to check to see if it`s accredited.

Well, well, look what we have here!  A spirited discussion!  I like it.  One of my favorite quotes is "A mind once stretched never returns to it`s original dimensions".  I think Craig, as usual makes some excellent points.  I also think it is very interesting that the entire exercise of "thinking" is the point of higher ed.  Isn`t it sad that our education system does not encourage thinking for yourself until the upper class levels?  Ah, well, we are gradually improving.

I like the idea of adapting our education system to what is working elsewhere.  A best practices model also serves us as enterprising business people.  We can always look to see what is working and utilize parts of it for our businesses.  Just more thinking....

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Dale
www.ourbestidea.com
www.maskerinsurance.com
www.maskercreations.net

Daley, it`d be nice if education worked like a business, where results were rewarded, and there were shared best practices. (I mean a well-run business, as opposed to many modern enterprises.) Unfortunately, with the tenure system, it`s not likely to happen.

I can`t remember the discussion, but there was one about the value of an MBA. In objective terms, it wasn`t all that valuable. In perceived terms it still is valuable for its seeming credibility.

The point was that by the time something is being taught in a university setting regarding business methods, the real-world market has already evolved beyond it. So the students are always about 3-5 years behind the times as they`re taking their class. They exit the system, enter a business, and discover they`re already old-fashioned.

As with anything, a nice blended mix is probably the best, with perhaps a better way to access a mentoring system. One nice thing about primitive societies is that older folks (the Elders or Wise Ones) were right there in the tribe, accessible for advice, guidance, mentoring, and help. We don`t have so much of that in a nuclear society.....make that "nuculer." :-D

It seems to me that so much of education is geared to minimum standards. Life is not a standardized test.

Despite the established educational system`s resistance to change, how can one best educate a child within, but not bound by, such a system?

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You can lead a horse to water...

Educating a child requires a lack of Nintendo and television. A child who learns to read ... who is taught to seek information on their own ... will learn how to learn.