Friday 14 April 2017

University or Not

Personally I have had countless conversations with friends and family regarding whether an individual should attend a university or if it is better not to. This topic is not something that can be answered by a 'yes' or a 'no', it needs a lot of personal thinking and decision making.

Recently I came up with an idea regarding a hotel. My cousin and I decided to carry on with a business plan and asked lecturers, professors, company owners and regular citizens for their opinion. Most people were impressed and very enthusiastic about the plan and willing to assist in any way that they can. We are both university students. I am studying at Hotelschool the Hague which is one of the best Hospitality schools on the planet and my cousin is studying at the University of Reading, a leading business school in the United kingdom. The question is, "do we need academic knowledge in order for our plan to become a reality?".

The first question that someone needs to answer, is whether he/she knows what he/she wants to achieve in life or not. If the answer is 'no', then academic life will serve no better than sitting on their couch watching movies all day long. However, if the answer is positive then there is a second clarification needed. "What do I need to do in order to achieve that goal". Usually the most important part is knowledge and then comes time, money and people. Then you are in a good position to decide what path you want to follow.

There are many paths in acquiring knowledge and skills. Most people believe that going to a university provides a stable life and a future career. Unfortunately this is not true. You need to find a university that provides the right knowledge for your future career but also the right tools in order to pursue it. There are thousands of universities and colleges, however only a few or maybe none of them can provide a "stable future". Therefore something else is needed after all and that is "motivation". Many people think that they are motivated because they have a dream, but actually they are not because 'a dream is a dream' unless you work hard for it in order for it to become a reality one day. Only a handful of people achieve their actual dreams, whether they are academically knowledgeable or practically and theoretically skillful.

Therefore, in the end a person that has spent approximately 20-150 thousand on education for 2-6 years may have the same result as a person who has been working during that time. Thus the person who has spent all this time on education is broke whereas the worker has been saving a stable amount every year.

Finally, everyone has heard about people that have not attended a university but turned out to be billionaires. In my opinion this is possible if you have the right tools. These are motivation, determination, an unparalleled will to succeed but also the knowledge needed in order to succeed. What I always believed is that "if someone attends lectures just for a degree then they should not be there".

Many people asked me, "are you going to wait until the end of your studies in order to pursue your dream?". My answer is, "I am going to pursue success as early as possible, university only provides the knowledge and skills needed in order for me to finish my business plan and then find investments. If I find the investment needed before the end of my studies I am going for it with everything I got." Therefore I hope that this article will help you decide what you want to do in the future and take some serious time before you do.

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