Burn Your College Degree...and still Create Success

Today, I am talking to young people as to why education is not enough to create success. Before I go any further, I believe that life can be divided into three phases.

The following are the 3 phases:

Phase 1 (From Birth to Age 20). In Phase 1, you are dependent mainly on your family. In most cases, rich or poor, the advice from parents to their children is for their children to get a good education.

Phase 2 (From Age 20-30). In Phase 2, you may have an idea of what you want to do and what career path to take. However, you may still be influenced by the advice of your parents.

For instance, I followed the advice of my parents to get a good education. After completing my Masters Degree in Chemistry, my ultimate goal was to become a Professor someday. To me, at that time, that represented ultimate success. I quickly realized that that was not the case.

Phase 3 (Age 30 and Above). In Phase 3, you may have started a family - perhaps a few kids along the way. Perhaps, you have found a career path based on your education or even sometimes, not based on your education. At Age 40 and above, you may start to realize that your career choice was wrong or that the education you received promised so much but delivered so little.

Although I have a MPhil in Chemistry, along the way, I quickly realized that having education alone is not the key to success. I know it is cliché, but you must think "outside the box" of "education" to be successful.

Today, I no longer practise as a chemist. With a team of good people around me, I have been blessed to be successful in a number of businesses.

I HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN A NUMBER OF BUSINESSES.

By Mansoor Naqvi