Lessons From A College Dropout pedro-campos.com/lessons-college-dropout/ March 9, 2018
I must admit that growing up I was that shy little guy that never figured out what he wanted out of life, never really understood the purpose of being on this planet, the why behind some decisions that were made, in fact, not really proud of some of those. Anyway, I hope that my key lessons as a college dropout serve you well, at least consider them for a moment, even if you`re on a different path in life. #1 Following the conventional sucks Have you ever heard that saying, the conventional wisdom is almost always wrong‌ well, I felt that, being the guy who was always trying to fit in just to end up missing out. Sometimes, I would even find myself pleasing the wrong people at the wrong time or taking the example of those who, let`s say‌ weren`t that much of an example. That behavior changed throughout the years with the evolution of my character, the experience in the military shaped up some areas that, eventually I carried out to the traditional educational system. It`s fair to say that we are all unique in our own way, we just need to discover how we can separate ourselves from the pack. One of the takeaways I got from college was that life is not about being the most popular but about being the one who walks, talks and acts differently. People were seeing my character as unique and don`t get me wrong, even though I hadn`t created any real
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success up to that point, criticism was starting to appear on the horizon. It`s tough to stand out in an average world, where having goals and acting differently towards them is seen as if there`s something wrong with that person. “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins #2 How small I was playing Looking back and comprehending the people with whom I was hanging out and shaking hands every day in classes just makes me understand, today, how important is our circle of influence and how it plays such a crucial role in our development as a person. You`re probably now thinking about that quote: “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” I was surrounded by a bunch of average thinking people, who just wanted to get a good job after finishing college… guess what my goals were! That`s right, a good job, a stable and secure life, the boring 9 to 5 and 2-week vacation every year. If I didn`t start to study successful people and come across with the opportunity of assuming control of my own life, I would probably still be in a course I hated in that “factory of robots.” It feels amazing when you gain perspective on how much bigger life is than just that piece of paper that says you graduated or that good job, life is to be lived to the fullest of your capabilities and having the ability to let go of the selfishness to impact much more people, as an entrepreneur in this instance. I`m not a motivational guru, a world-renowned speaker or the next blockbuster app inventor, but I feel so fortunate to develop a skill that gives me the ability to be the bridge between someone else`s pains and their dreams. I truly believe that I wouldn`t be able to do it by finishing my accounting and economics degree and ending up in a cubicle spending the entire day looking at numbers. If there`s something I want you to get out of this article is that this world only rewards those who care about the value they bring to people`s lives, those who act differently, those who understand how to get out of their own way and have a positive impact on others.
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