University Degree not Destiny- Get inspired

UNIVERSITY DEGREE NOT DESTINY- GET INSPIRED

Globally, a university degree is important to lead a good life- no doubt. One thing that is important to note is that having a University degree is quite different from talent or gift a person possesses. Not forgetting that “the gift of a man makes room for him and brings him before great men”.

Recognizing this does not negate the importance of higher educational qualification. The intellectual knowledge gained
in school can help transform one’s thinking capacity in the use of talents or gifts and also get qualified for formal employment as its often said- “a graduate will always have a different touch”.

The challenge most people face is surmounting the cost of higher education. Each year, the tuition fees of schools go higher in a bit to reducing the population of higher school achievements to the rich and the middle class but the fact is that those without university degrees aren’t necessarily less driven or intelligent than those with degrees.

Infact, I have seen many students drop out of school simply because they felt they have the talent or gift which they prefer to pursue as a career and is capable of fetching them e much needed income rather than continue schooling. An example is a medical student who dropped out of medical school because he plays the saxophone, keyboard and drums and he feels very comfortable pursuing more training and development of his talent rather than being in Medical school.

Moreso, if you watch some of our super stars in the entertainment and innovative industry all over the world, you will find out that they are people who did not have the opportunity completing their University or college yet they rose to the top.

Example includes Alicia Keys, a singer, songwriter and political activist, the late Steve Jobs who dropped out of Reed College. Since the days of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, many business leaders get their starts without the benefit of degrees, including Larry Ellison of Oracle, Bill Gates and Paul Allen of Microsoft. Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz of facebook, Michael Dell of Dell Computers, Brian Dunn of Best Buy, Anna Wintour of Vogue, Barry Diller of IAC, John Mackey of Whole Foods, David Geffen, Ralph Lauren and Ted Turner.

David Plouffe, Senior advisor to President Barrack Obama and Architect of his innovative and unprecedented campaign, dropped out of the university of Delaware to work in politics (returning to complete his degree in 2010). Former US President George W. Bush’s top adviser, Karl Rove and John McCain’s 2008 campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, also lacked degrees.

Oprah Winfrey left Tennessee State University in 1976 to begin her career in Media (completing her degree in 1986). Top talkers without degrees include Larry King, Ellen De Generes , Jimmy Kimmel, Joy Behar and conservative  talkers Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and Sean Hannity. Also, many reporters and Columnists never completed college including Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post and former New York Times Columnist and Wordsmith Williams Safire.

In Africa, Leaders without University degree includes President Ismail Omar Gulleh of Djbouti with secondary school certificate as his highest obtained, former President Joao Bernardo Nino Vieira of Guinea Bissau trained as an electrician, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda with a secondary school certificate. Also, former President El-Hadj Omar Bongo of Gabon with secondary school certificate and a host of others.

Nigerians are not left out too. They include Mercy Johnson, one of the highest paid actress in Nollywood, Cosmos Maduka who dropped out of Secondary School and became an apprentice at age seven but presently the sole distributor of BMW and Ford cars in Nigeria. Vincent Obianobo, the owner of ‘the young shall grow Motors’, Funsho Alakija, the richest black woman in the world, Olorogun Michael Ibru, the founder of Ibru Foundation, a large conglomerate in Nigeria, Michael Collins Ajere (Don Jazzy), the C.E.O of Mavin Records.

Others include Orji Uzor Kalu, Chairman of SLOK Holdings, Daily Sun and New Telegraph Newspapers in Nigeria who was excluded from school for participating in a students’ protest, Razaq Akanni Okoya, the founder of Eleganza group which has a marketing span across West Africa and so on.

The Whole idea behind this list is not to refute the great importance of education but that people should never judge talent, character or competence primarily by higher education credentials. Above all, discover your inner potentials and use them wisely, afterall, destiny has a way of rewarding hardwork, smart work and diligence. Therefore, no matter your level of education, what matters is for you to identify your inherent skill(s), keep developing and using them smartly and I bet that you are on your way to the top.