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Hello, I'm lost right now. I'd love advice.

TheProcess

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Hey all. I’m not sure if if I should be posting this in my introduction but I need advice right now. I’m 19. I just finished my first year of university studying business. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life right now. A few years ago, I read books like The Millionaire Fastlane , and starting following people like Gary Vaynerchuk. I decided I wanted to become an entrepreneur and perhaps go into something like politics in the latter part of my life. I was originally planning on finishing my 4 years at the prestigious university I go to in Canada. However, the more I listen to entrepreneurs online, the more I heard that it simply isn’t worth it.
I’m lost at this point. I no longer know what to believe. I’m currently 13 thousand dollars in debt after first year, and it will only get more expensive. Perhaps the best way to learn is by actually doing things and working on projects and businesses rather than in a classroom. I’m not satisfied with what I have learned in my first year. Maybe it’s best to just work a shitty job and make some money and work on business ideas at the same time rather than go to school. I know I want to live a great extraordinary life, I want to be recognized as a great figure.
I recently told my parents about these thoughts I’m having about dropping out. They didn’t take it well. My dad has been pretty depressed since I told him a week ago. He thinks I’m getting brainwashed online and that I have no idea how the real world works. He doesn’t know if I’m even made for business and entrepreneurship. I don’t know either, all I know is that I want to be great. However, my actions have not supported this. I have been very lazy, and even though I did well (in terms of marks) in my first year of university, I have yet to make money on my own, and I have yet to start working on any business.
I spend time watching sports and tv shows and being pissed off about my life. I pretty much don’t have any real skills. I do dish washing as a part time job. However, I sense that I have something “special” inside of me. I truly believe in myself and I know I need to improve my work ethic. I feel like there’s a switch that needs to go off, but I’m too annoyingly comfortable right now. I just have no idea what I should do right now. I look at someone like Kevin Hart and that’s someone I want to be in a way. He has a great personal brand and he’s working on a ton of different businesses. He’s just an example. But I want to be an influential figure like that.
I want to truly help people and grow myself at the same time. I’m just lost right now. Should I return to university for a second year? Should I drop out? If I drop out what should I do? I know these questions can’t just be answered like that. I would just love any advice. Maybe someone had been through something similar. Thank you.
 
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Sadik

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How many hours are there in a day? 24.
How many hours do you have to be in University? I am guessing 8. How many hours do you need for sleep and other things. I can do with 10. I am assuming you can count. That leaves 6 hours. So you work part time . Even then assuming an average of 3 spare hours everyday, you have 21 hours a week spare.

Instead of dreaming of grandeur or blaming others use those 21 hours to learn a skill. There's a course for pretty much everything at Udemy. Or go out and literally ask the first business in your area if they would be willing to have you work in the sales department for a few hours everyday for free as a school project. Ask 10 people and one will say yes.

Spend next three months learning and applying. After three months review yourself. If you can start a business without action faking after three to six months quit University. If you can't better be in a job with debt then be broke and bankrupt.
 

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Hey all. I’m not sure if if I should be posting this in my introduction but I need advice right now. I’m 19. I just finished my first year of university studying business. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life right now. A few years ago, I read books like The Millionaire Fastlane , and starting following people like Gary Vaynerchuk. I decided I wanted to become an entrepreneur and perhaps go into something like politics in the latter part of my life. I was originally planning on finishing my 4 years at the prestigious university I go to in Canada. However, the more I listen to entrepreneurs online, the more I heard that it simply isn’t worth it.
I’m lost at this point. I no longer know what to believe. I’m currently 13 thousand dollars in debt after first year, and it will only get more expensive. Perhaps the best way to learn is by actually doing things and working on projects and businesses rather than in a classroom. I’m not satisfied with what I have learned in my first year. Maybe it’s best to just work a shitty job and make some money and work on business ideas at the same time rather than go to school. I know I want to live a great extraordinary life, I want to be recognized as a great figure.
I recently told my parents about these thoughts I’m having about dropping out. They didn’t take it well. My dad has been pretty depressed since I told him a week ago. He thinks I’m getting brainwashed online and that I have no idea how the real world works. He doesn’t know if I’m even made for business and entrepreneurship. I don’t know either, all I know is that I want to be great. However, my actions have not supported this. I have been very lazy, and even though I did well (in terms of marks) in my first year of university, I have yet to make money on my own, and I have yet to start working on any business.
I spend time watching sports and tv shows and being pissed off about my life. I pretty much don’t have any real skills. I do dish washing as a part time job. However, I sense that I have something “special” inside of me. I truly believe in myself and I know I need to improve my work ethic. I feel like there’s a switch that needs to go off, but I’m too annoyingly comfortable right now. I just have no idea what I should do right now. I look at someone like Kevin Hart and that’s someone I want to be in a way. He has a great personal brand and he’s working on a ton of different businesses. He’s just an example. But I want to be an influential figure like that.
I want to truly help people and grow myself at the same time. I’m just lost right now. Should I return to university for a second year? Should I drop out? If I drop out what should I do? I know these questions can’t just be answered like that. I would just love any advice. Maybe someone had been through something similar. Thank you.

I think firstly you have to get clear on what you're looking to do with your life. Obviously you aren't sure.

Difficult as it may be, you gotta think longer term. What will happen if you chose to go down road A, B, or C?

Each decision you make will unlock new decisions that you have to be made.

As far as anybody "not being sure if you're cut out for (whatever)" is non-sense. Nobody knows yourself the way you do and you need to develop security in who you are. I know it's hard to see, but just because a family member doesn't approve of what you want to do doesn't mean you have to second guess yourself.

And from the looks of it, you might be over complicating the whole thing.

First things first: FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT

After that, FIGURE OUT WHY YOU WANT IT

And when you know those two things -- the path you should choose should become a lot clearer.

Lastly, believe in yourself. We have unlimited capabilities. If you really want it, you can do it. If you don't then you won't.

Hope that helps, and good luck.
 

jcsmith

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I think firstly you have to get clear on what you're looking to do with your life. Obviously you aren't sure.

Difficult as it may be, you gotta think longer term. What will happen if you chose to go down road A, B, or C?

Each decision you make will unlock new decisions that you have to be made.

As far as anybody "not being sure if you're cut out for (whatever)" is non-sense. Nobody knows yourself the way you do and you need to develop security in who you are. I know it's hard to see, but just because a family member doesn't approve of what you want to do doesn't mean you have to second guess yourself.

And from the looks of it, you might be over complicating the whole thing.

First things first: FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT

After that, FIGURE OUT WHY YOU WANT IT

And when you know those two things -- the path you should choose should become a lot clearer.

Lastly, believe in yourself. We have unlimited capabilities. If you really want it, you can do it. If you don't then you won't.

Hope that helps, and good luck.

I totally agree with you. You can't just go forward without knowing what path you're going to be. It's like walking but no exact destination. It will just consume all your energy and achieving nothing.

Figure out what you really want. Start with something what makes you happy. Define your own happiness. Then start doing something about it.

It may not be an easy journey but be positive and keep doing your best. Always bring a smile and dream bigger.
 
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ZF Lee

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Or go out and literally ask the first business in your area if they would be willing to have you work in the sales department for a few hours everyday for free as a school project.
Don't forget the clubs as well. Clubs closely related with the business, financial or engineering departments.

I went to help out at a few events, but there was so much work that I decided to stay out the next year in university, as I wanted to do Upwork and other things. If I didn't want to do Fastlane, I'd happily build my cv and experience there.

There's a course for pretty much everything at Udemy.
Honestly, I tried a few Udemy courses for stuff like writing and sales...and they were too general or brief.
Videos lessons don't always cover everything.

I'm more in the favour of books and actual experienced gurus (backed by lots of ubiased reviews, the kind that goes beyond 'he was good') recommended by interested subreddits. I subscribe to the email list of gurus or info products, and once in a while they have a sale for early release products that sometimes cost lower than a hundred USD, which is nice.

They have more case studies and longer discussions, so they trump many Udemy videos.

I recently told my parents about these thoughts I’m having about dropping out. They didn’t take it well. My dad has been pretty depressed since I told him a week ago. He thinks I’m getting brainwashed online and that I have no idea how the real world works. He doesn’t know if I’m even made for business and entrepreneurship. I don’t know either, all I know is that I want to be great. However, my actions have not supported this. I have been very lazy, and even though I did well (in terms of marks) in my first year of university, I have yet to make money on my own, and I have yet to start working on any business.
Your dad may be right...

Typically, folks go out to start a business after working a few years in the SCRIPT. Or some job or business or anything in the marketplace for experience and some pay.

Not to say that younger folks cannot make it early in life, but spending some time to get to know what's going on in the marketplace minimizes the risk of going all in without knowing anything.

And your dad's fear on brainwashing is legit.

Try reading up books on sales and copywriting, and that is a tool that can either lead people to fantastic life-changing solutions, or into fraud and deception. You'd find out more about it and BRO-marketing on TMF and UNSCRIPTED .

I just finished my first year of university studying business.

Speaking of your worries of earning money...

I had my first year in business school as well.

I'm not sure what units you took, but I took intro units for management, accounting, business analytics and economics.

Although they were very basic, the units actually have the seeds to many marketable skills.

For example, I had to do presentation slides for a data analytics project (testing variables for the multidimensional poverty index). It's tough to do slides for a numbers-heavy project. You have to come up with a story that explains the numbers, and relates them to the audience's curiosities.

So, I decided to do it differently.

Actually spent more time management to careful do the slides.

Got Oren Klaff's Pitch Anything as a reference. He has some little tips on slides, although he's more into the speaking part.

Tried making the oral pitch myself, and then do the slides accordingly. You tend to speak less than you write, as presentations should be kept short and tidy.

Not only did my group got a good grade, but my other classmates afterwards kept saying how they liked the presentation, and how they weren't falling asleep, even at 8 am that day!

Now, how can doing slides make for a marketable skill?

As a freelance service, I tend to see gigs asking for help with editing of pitch decks, training slides and meeting slides. Depending on the task's challenge, I'm thinking you could charge a max fixed $100 at max ( according to my Upwork screen now), or negotiate an hourly rate.
 

Primeperiwinkle

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You won’t be sure of yourself in any reasonable way until you go try to do something specific and then fail.

There are hundreds of trades requiring less than one year of training that are desperate for workers. But you don’t care about those because you don’t know any business owners who NEED a welder, electrician, farrier, administrative wiz, or truck driver.

Find a person whom you care enough about that their problem pisses you off, a problem you could actually solve. I don’t care if it’s the next door neighbor’s rain gutters being blocked. It doesn’t matter how small the problem is.

Your career path lies at the intersection between “this pisses me off” and “I can do something about this.”

After you solve a problem by putting in effort, real effort that costs you time, energy, and mental aggravation, go find another problem to solve.

THAT is the process. If you pursue the process fast enough you’ll discover whether or not attending university will make you more capable to solve those specific problems, problems you were created to solve, or not.

To sum up:

Your brain needs to be laser-focused on helping a specific person with a specific problem. Nothing else will satisfy. School might be the best way for you to become better at solving those problems.
 

Johnny boy

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Do you think getting a degree without knowing what you specifically want to do and collecting debt in the process is the BEST thing to do? Or even in the top 50% of best things to do?

To me that’s like buying a 30k stump grinder before knowing if you want to start a stump grinding business. Just kidding, it’s worse. You can sell the stump grinder. If you can’t afford the payments at least you can forget about it with a bankruptcy. A degree? Those don’t sell for very much. Good luck not paying your student loans. Those are permanent.

A degree is good for working under someone and selling your precious time for money. The worst trade you can possibly make. Customers don’t ask to see degrees.

I’d drop out. What’s the worst that could happen? You fail and become homeless? I’d rather do that then ask “what if”?

“What if?” will erode away at your soul until there’s nothing left.
 
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TheProcess

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I think firstly you have to get clear on what you're looking to do with your life. Obviously you aren't sure.

Difficult as it may be, you gotta think longer term. What will happen if you chose to go down road A, B, or C?

Each decision you make will unlock new decisions that you have to be made.

As far as anybody "not being sure if you're cut out for (whatever)" is non-sense. Nobody knows yourself the way you do and you need to develop security in who you are. I know it's hard to see, but just because a family member doesn't approve of what you want to do doesn't mean you have to second guess yourself.

And from the looks of it, you might be over complicating the whole thing.

First things first: FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT

After that, FIGURE OUT WHY YOU WANT IT

And when you know those two things -- the path you should choose should become a lot clearer.

Lastly, believe in yourself. We have unlimited capabilities. If you really want it, you can do it. If you don't then you won't.

Hope that helps, and good luck.
Thank you man. I really like this message.
 

TheProcess

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I totally agree with you. You can't just go forward without knowing what path you're going to be. It's like walking but no exact destination. It will just consume all your energy and achieving nothing.

Figure out what you really want. Start with something what makes you happy. Define your own happiness. Then start doing something about it.

It may not be an easy journey but be positive and keep doing your best. Always bring a smile and dream bigger.
Thank you man. This helped.
 

TheProcess

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You won’t be sure of yourself in any reasonable way until you go try to do something specific and then fail.

There are hundreds of trades requiring less than one year of training that are desperate for workers. But you don’t care about those because you don’t know any business owners who NEED a welder, electrician, farrier, administrative wiz, or truck driver.

Find a person whom you care enough about that their problem pisses you off, a problem you could actually solve. I don’t care if it’s the next door neighbor’s rain gutters being blocked. It doesn’t matter how small the problem is.

Your career path lies at the intersection between “this pisses me off” and “I can do something about this.”

After you solve a problem by putting in effort, real effort that costs you time, energy, and mental aggravation, go find another problem to solve.

THAT is the process. If you pursue the process fast enough you’ll discover whether or not attending university will make you more capable to solve those specific problems, problems you were created to solve, or not.

To sum up:

Your brain needs to be laser-focused on helping a specific person with a specific problem. Nothing else will satisfy. School might be the best way for you to become better at solving those problems.
Thank you. This helped.
 
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TheProcess

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Do you think getting a degree without knowing what you specifically want to do and collecting debt in the process is the BEST thing to do? Or even in the top 50% of best things to do?

To me that’s like buying a 30k stump grinder before knowing if you want to start a stump grinding business. Just kidding, it’s worse. You can sell the stump grinder. If you can’t afford the payments at least you can forget about it with a bankruptcy. A degree? Those don’t sell for very much. Good luck not paying your student loans. Those are permanent.

A degree is good for working under someone and selling your precious time for money. The worst trade you can possibly make. Customers don’t ask to see degrees.

I’d drop out. What’s the worst that could happen? You fail and become homeless? I’d rather do that then ask “what if”?

“What if?” will erode away at your soul until there’s nothing left.
You see, this is exactly what I was thinking. But almost everyone seems to be against this idea. My parents , even an entrepreneur I recently met up with. He told me that I should drop out only when my business starts making money to the point where I need to drop out to work on it. He said until then, get an education and work on side projects.
 

Johnny boy

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You see, this is exactly what I was thinking. But almost everyone seems to be against this idea. My parents , even an entrepreneur I recently met up with. He told me that I should drop out only when my business starts making money to the point where I need to drop out to work on it. He said until then, get an education and work on side projects.

Nobody wants to be the guy who gives the risky advice because what if you're a normal person? Then I'd be telling you to do something that would screw your future up. But I'm assuming you're not a normal person.

The world will not tell you what to create explicitly. Only "gurus" tell you there's a specific thing you must do to be successful. It doesn't work like that, chasing trends like amazon selling and whatever you see ads for on youtube pre-roll videos. But if you open your own two eyes you'll see opportunity everywhere to be a great businessman and change the world. In fact there's so much opportunity most people don't see it because they are looking for something that stands out, when in fact it's everywhere so it blends in.

If you take the next step and drop out. I can almost promise your life will take a dark turn. You will realize everything is harder than you imagined, twice as complicated as you imagined, more expensive than you imagined, less profitable than you imagined, etc..and I would wager for the next full year you will need insane amounts of nothing but faith and sweat to keep going. Everyone feels phases of hopelessness pushing in on them. The difference between winners and losers is what happens when that hopelessness pushes in. Will you have enough faith to say it's possible even if nothing is going right? Hard times are not signs of being a failure. It's a test. Your response to hard times is the deciding factor if you've got it or not. Some people are soft. Some people have ice in their veins.

But fear and despair in hindsight is nothing more than a good story and a laugh. You'll fondly look back on the moments you thought you couldn't make it but kept going and feel a tremendous amount of pride. Not because you're a winner, but because you had faith when everything and everyone said you were a loser. I look back on many moments and thank myself for not listening to the opinions and advice of people around me. I think that's the true reward of being in business. Not money. Just looking in the mirror and knowing without a doubt you've got a real pair of balls. Just my opinion, but I've got a feeling most people sitting in a nursing home staring at a wall are thinking about how they wish they had more courage in many different ways.

I would stop asking people for their thoughts on your choices. I would just tell them after I've done it. It will take time, but you'll realize that nobody can give you better advice than yourself. I'll ask people for help, information, assistance. But guidance is never outsourced.

Life is long and you should expect to fail quite a bit but if you can trick yourself into thinking "this time it'll work" 10 times over, then you'll eventually be right.

I dropped out. Best thing I ever did. It matters less than you think. I don't even think the debt is the worst part. If you knew how valuable opportunity cost and your time is, the money is nothing in comparison.
 

TheProcess

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Nobody wants to be the guy who gives the risky advice because what if you're a normal person? Then I'd be telling you to do something that would screw your future up. But I'm assuming you're not a normal person.

The world will not tell you what to create explicitly. Only "gurus" tell you there's a specific thing you must do to be successful. It doesn't work like that, chasing trends like amazon selling and whatever you see ads for on youtube pre-roll videos. But if you open your own two eyes you'll see opportunity everywhere to be a great businessman and change the world. In fact there's so much opportunity most people don't see it because they are looking for something that stands out, when in fact it's everywhere so it blends in.

If you take the next step and drop out. I can almost promise your life will take a dark turn. You will realize everything is harder than you imagined, twice as complicated as you imagined, more expensive than you imagined, less profitable than you imagined, etc..and I would wager for the next full year you will need insane amounts of nothing but faith and sweat to keep going. Everyone feels phases of hopelessness pushing in on them. The difference between winners and losers is what happens when that hopelessness pushes in. Will you have enough faith to say it's possible even if nothing is going right? Hard times are not signs of being a failure. It's a test. Your response to hard times is the deciding factor if you've got it or not. Some people are soft. Some people have ice in their veins.

But fear and despair in hindsight is nothing more than a good story and a laugh. You'll fondly look back on the moments you thought you couldn't make it but kept going and feel a tremendous amount of pride. Not because you're a winner, but because you had faith when everything and everyone said you were a loser. I look back on many moments and thank myself for not listening to the opinions and advice of people around me. I think that's the true reward of being in business. Not money. Just looking in the mirror and knowing without a doubt you've got a real pair of balls. Just my opinion, but I've got a feeling most people sitting in a nursing home staring at a wall are thinking about how they wish they had more courage in many different ways.

I would stop asking people for their thoughts on your choices. I would just tell them after I've done it. It will take time, but you'll realize that nobody can give you better advice than yourself. I'll ask people for help, information, assistance. But guidance is never outsourced.

Life is long and you should expect to fail quite a bit but if you can trick yourself into thinking "this time it'll work" 10 times over, then you'll eventually be right.

I dropped out. Best thing I ever did. It matters less than you think. I don't even think the debt is the worst part. If you knew how valuable opportunity cost and your time is, the money is nothing in comparison.

Thank you for taking the time to write this. The best message in the entire thread in my opinion. To respond, let me first say that I don't think I'm a normal person. The point about opportunity blending in is a great one.

Dropping out is scary man. My parents were depressed for a week when I told them I'm considering it. My dad couldn't even sleep at night. He told me if I drop out, they will no longer support me. He also took a piece of paper to show how it will be impossible to deal with all the expenses of living alone. Basically I'll have to rent out a basement or something, pay rent monthly, take care of my food and all other costs.

Then I will need to basically work for minimum wage all day everyday just to survive.
Maybe this is what I need though. I hate this comfort that I feel like right. I'm too damn comfortable. I have an easy life and I have no urgency. The "switch" or whatever he calls it that MJ talks about hasn't happened for me yet. I truly believe I'm not "normal" but my actions don't align with that. I have no proof to have faith in myself.

Furthermore, I'm dealing with some mental health stuff and I'm afraid that "darkness" that you speak of will be too much for me. I'm so F*cking lazy and I hate it. I'm living such a freaking mediocre life, super similar to my friends around me that it really bothers me (in moments when I'm not distracted by TV or some shit). Theres a quote from MJ's new book about how if you want to know what you truly want you have to listen to your soul in moments of peace and quiet (like at night before going to bed). It's in those moments that I'm uncomfortable.

I love your points about how debt is not the worst part and about how I need to stop asking for opinions too much. I agree, I only truly know the full context.

Pros of dropping out:
- Will give me the urgency that I need I think.
- Time away from studies to put in action on what truly matters.
- No more debt to worry about.
Cons of dropping out:
- The network at school is pretty good.
- Living on my own will be very hard and time consuming.
- The darkness that you speak of.
 
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Fersko

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Really feel you in this one, almost the same age (20) and it's been this year I've got these feelings of not knowing what's coming at me. Also my first year of college. Last two years I was convinced that I would at least try to start a business as an independent once in my live. Unfortunately as I grow older the response abilities and risks are getting way more scarier and realistic. So, now I also sometimes really don't know where the F*ck I am heading at with my life. Which is kind of the same as asking yourself the question "what's the point of life?". A question where obviously isn't answer for.

It's really an exhausting exercise for your mind to think about this stuff, and I've noticed that when I do this less I feel more happy, confident and motivated. Don't let the thought of becoming an entrepreneur be a pressure for yourself, instead let it be goal or option that's always open. Yes, your first times you might have to push yourself out of your comfort-zone to undertake. If as you say that you have it in you is true, then almost certainly you'll want to undertake again later.

It also seems you don't really enjoy your study, try to appreciate it more. Go to lectures organised by your faculty it really raises interest for yourself. I have accepted my study and I'm just going to try to make the best of it, with discerning myself with extra skill-sets I've learned and am learning myself. For me this alone is also a way of entrepreneurship. A typical rat of the rat race wouldn't do this ;) .

Basically, when you can get happiness out of the little things, life is beautiful!
 

Kruiser

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It sounds to me like "should I/shouldn't I drop out" is the wrong question. "What do I want? " is the right one, as an earlier poster already mentioned.

But it sounds to me like you need to focus on learning to work hard.

Kind of doesn't matter if it is school or your own business. If you drop out to say eff it to the man to be an entreprenuer, but don't know how to work hard . . . things aren't likely to turn out well.

If you are just effing around with your life generally, your parents are understandably and rightfully concerned.

If you are kicking a$$ with your side projects and want to drop out of school to focus on them, that's one thing. If your are farting around at school and making zero progress (or effort) on other projects, that's a totally different thing. Don't confuse the two.

I know this is the forum, so everyone is a badass for dropping out. Some people make it. But they have their stuff together and work hard. If you drop out and don't work hard, you'll just be in your parents basement. And no one wins in that situation.
 

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My suggestion is to think of yourself in 5 years. That probably seems like heaps far away, but it's not. Believe me.
Have a conversation with that Future You. Where are you? How did you get there?

One question I routinely ask myself : "What advantages do I have?" - This is EASY to see in hindsight (or in someone's else's life) but often overlooked in the moment. The world is NOT an even-playing field, use what you can. Sounds like you have many great opportunities.

(A personal example of this is when I worked in a call centre. I was miserable because I wasn't using my brain 8-hrs a day. I changed my mindset and saw this as an advantage. Started studying online, before work. I got promoted, started making decent money and kept studying, using my uni learnings at work and vice versa. When I left the call centre job I had multiple qualifications and $$. I've also kept studying as it's proven to be very helpful on my entrepreneurial journey.)

You've done great things at a young age already (learned about entrepreneurship, read books, joined this forum, questioned the status quo etc) - this shows self-awareness and growth. Keep on this journey, but don't allow entrepreneurship to become a 'shiny bright object' and stop you from working for 'the man'. Otherwise you may miss out on gaining knowledge and experience that will help you in your entrepreneurial pursuits. And, many businesses begin from a pain-point.

I'd also suggest to exercise your discipline muscle. Self-management is KEY in entrepreneurship (and life).
Back yourself and remember you're awesome.
 
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TheProcess

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Really feel you in this one, almost the same age (20) and it's been this year I've got these feelings of not knowing what's coming at me. Also my first year of college. Last two years I was convinced that I would at least try to start a business as an independent once in my live. Unfortunately as I grow older the response abilities and risks are getting way more scarier and realistic. So, now I also sometimes really don't know where the F*ck I am heading at with my life. Which is kind of the same as asking yourself the question "what's the point of life?". A question where obviously isn't answer for.

It's really an exhausting exercise for your mind to think about this stuff, and I've noticed that when I do this less I feel more happy, confident and motivated. Don't let the thought of becoming an entrepreneur be a pressure for yourself, instead let it be goal or option that's always open. Yes, your first times you might have to push yourself out of your comfort-zone to undertake. If as you say that you have it in you is true, then almost certainly you'll want to undertake again later.

It also seems you don't really enjoy your study, try to appreciate it more. Go to lectures organised by your faculty it really raises interest for yourself. I have accepted my study and I'm just going to try to make the best of it, with discerning myself with extra skill-sets I've learned and am learning myself. For me this alone is also a way of entrepreneurship. A typical rat of the rat race wouldn't do this ;) .

Basically, when you can get happiness out of the little things, life is beautiful!
Hey thanks for the reply man. We seem to be in the same boat in some ways. I'm trying to become friends with more like minded people. Any chance you live in Canada?
 

TheProcess

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It sounds to me like "should I/shouldn't I drop out" is the wrong question. "What do I want? " is the right one, as an earlier poster already mentioned.

But it sounds to me like you need to focus on learning to work hard.

Kind of doesn't matter if it is school or your own business. If you drop out to say eff it to the man to be an entreprenuer, but don't know how to work hard . . . things aren't likely to turn out well.

If you are just effing around with your life generally, your parents are understandably and rightfully concerned.

If you are kicking a$$ with your side projects and want to drop out of school to focus on them, that's one thing. If your are farting around at school and making zero progress (or effort) on other projects, that's a totally different thing. Don't confuse the two.

I know this is the forum, so everyone is a badass for dropping out. Some people make it. But they have their stuff together and work hard. If you drop out and don't work hard, you'll just be in your parents basement. And no one wins in that situation.
Yea you're right man. I'm just F*cking around and making zero progress. I just feel super unhappy at times. I have a shitty social life and other issues I'm dealing with. Hard to make progress when you just aren't having fun or enjoying life. I know there's the whole thing about discipline and screw having fun, but I'm 19 and I haven't lived life yet. This goes in conflict with my desire to become successful. I haven't had the enjoyable childhood that many people I know have. But I don't want to feel sorry for myself. You know what they say, "they man with no shoes complained until he saw the man with no feet". At the end of the day I'm still in a great situation compared to some. Perhaps, as you said, maybe I should just stay in school for a year and work on working hard and make progress on side projects and then come back to the question of dropping out. Thanks.
 

TheProcess

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My suggestion is to think of yourself in 5 years. That probably seems like heaps far away, but it's not. Believe me.
Have a conversation with that Future You. Where are you? How did you get there?

One question I routinely ask myself : "What advantages do I have?" - This is EASY to see in hindsight (or in someone's else's life) but often overlooked in the moment. The world is NOT an even-playing field, use what you can. Sounds like you have many great opportunities.

(A personal example of this is when I worked in a call centre. I was miserable because I wasn't using my brain 8-hrs a day. I changed my mindset and saw this as an advantage. Started studying online, before work. I got promoted, started making decent money and kept studying, using my uni learnings at work and vice versa. When I left the call centre job I had multiple qualifications and $$. I've also kept studying as it's proven to be very helpful on my entrepreneurial journey.)

You've done great things at a young age already (learned about entrepreneurship, read books, joined this forum, questioned the status quo etc) - this shows self-awareness and growth. Keep on this journey, but don't allow entrepreneurship to become a 'shiny bright object' and stop you from working for 'the man'. Otherwise you may miss out on gaining knowledge and experience that will help you in your entrepreneurial pursuits. And, many businesses begin from a pain-point.

I'd also suggest to exercise your discipline muscle. Self-management is KEY in entrepreneurship (and life).
Back yourself and remember you're awesome.
Thank you for the reply man. I really appreciate it and I like the message.
 
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Andreas Thiel

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I assume some of your doubts revolve around the feeling that you should take the point of view of your father more seriously, which is hard for you emotionally.

I suggest adding "So Good They Can't Ignore You" to your reading list.
It does make a great case for the more classical /academic career path and shows the dangers of just becoming a lazy wantrepreneur.
Basically, the idea that most of the value can be created close to the adjacent possible is something worth adding to your mental model which goes well with the Millionaire Fastlane Commandment of Entry.
Armed with the vocabulary and concepts from that book you might also be able to disarm some of your father's concerns.

From personal experience I also think it is important to stress that postponing networking until you make enough passive income to be financially free is a bad plan. Most people who succeed in becoming financially free have the network in place already. Not sure how well you are positioned there.
 

Roli

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However, the more I listen to entrepreneurs online, the more I heard that it simply isn’t worth it.

A lot of entrepreneurs online love to parrot the old "uni is a waste of time" and "So-and-so billionaire dropped out of college", however what they fail to point out is that most of the world's billionaires did go to college and the ones that dropped out had a whizz bang business idea, which they had put into action before they left.


Maybe it’s best to just work a shitty job and make some money and work on business ideas

So you're just going to start getting ideas because you work a shitty job? Can't you get ideas now, ones that perhaps you can use some free resources to get off the ground.

Also where do you think it's more likely that you'll meet like minded people; working at Mac'ds or in some kind of business club at college?

I spend time watching sports and tv shows and being pissed off about my life. I pretty much don’t have any real skills.

Sheesh louish, no wonder your dad is depressed. You spend time watching TV and somehow university is your problem?

You don't have any real skills so you're going to leave a place designed to get you better at something, to work a shitty job, to ponder ideas you don't have, whilst watching a bunch of crap TV?

This is your wake up call, get a F*cking grip dude.

Use this opportunity to find out what you want to do, set your entrepreneur mindset whilst in college, stop watching so much TV/spending time on Instagram and get to it.

Challenge yourself to make $1 online, then $10, $100 and so on, then when university is getting in the way of your great business, rather like it was for Gates & Allen, or Jobs & Wozniak, then you can leave with some kind of idea as to what the hell you're going to do instead.
 

TheProcess

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A lot of entrepreneurs online love to parrot the old "uni is a waste of time" and "So-and-so billionaire dropped out of college", however what they fail to point out is that most of the world's billionaires did go to college and the ones that dropped out had a whizz bang business idea, which they had put into action before they left.




So you're just going to start getting ideas because you work a shitty job? Can't you get ideas now, ones that perhaps you can use some free resources to get off the ground.

Also where do you think it's more likely that you'll meet like minded people; working at Mac'ds or in some kind of business club at college?



Sheesh louish, no wonder your dad is depressed. You spend time watching TV and somehow university is your problem?

You don't have any real skills so you're going to leave a place designed to get you better at something, to work a shitty job, to ponder ideas you don't have, whilst watching a bunch of crap TV?

This is your wake up call, get a F*cking grip dude.

Use this opportunity to find out what you want to do, set your entrepreneur mindset whilst in college, stop watching so much TV/spending time on Instagram and get to it.

Challenge yourself to make $1 online, then $10, $100 and so on, then when university is getting in the way of your great business, rather like it was for Gates & Allen, or Jobs & Wozniak, then you can leave with some kind of idea as to what the hell you're going to do instead.
Thanks man, I needed that, you're right.
 
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TheProcess

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I assume some of your doubts revolve around the feeling that you should take the point of view of your father more seriously, which is hard for you emotionally.

I suggest adding "So Good They Can't Ignore You" to your reading list.
It does make a great case for the more classical /academic career path and shows the dangers of just becoming a lazy wantrepreneur.
Basically, the idea that most of the value can be created close to the adjacent possible is something worth adding to your mental model which goes well with the Millionaire Fastlane Commandment of Entry.
Armed with the vocabulary and concepts from that book you might also be able to disarm some of your father's concerns.

From personal experience I also think it is important to stress that postponing networking until you make enough passive income to be financially free is a bad plan. Most people who succeed in becoming financially free have the network in place already. Not sure how well you are positioned there.
Thanks for the reply. I don't have a network in place. Could you explain what you mean by "most of the value can be created close to the adjacent possible"? So from what I understand, you believe I should stay in school, am I right?
 

Andreas Thiel

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Thanks for the reply. I don't have a network in place. Could you explain what you mean by "most of the value can be created close to the adjacent possible"? So from what I understand, you believe I should stay in school, am I right?
Not necessarily. I just think you might want to read the book to understand the other side / the traditional approach better. Going for the Fastlane Business without anything to build on out of laziness is risky, but maybe you have something that you can build on.

The adjacent possible is a concept made popular by the book "Where Good Ideas Come From", if I remember correctly.
The idea is that things that are currently not quite possible, but will become possible in the very near future has historically been a great place to be. You need to get to the cutting edge to become a player, though. That is one way to satisfy the Commandment of Entry ... and you can apply that to a Fastlane Business.
 

Fersko

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Hey thanks for the reply man. We seem to be in the same boat in some ways. I'm trying to become friends with more like minded people. Any chance you live in Canada?
It will have to go through the web then, as I live in Belgium ;)
 
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