If you want to be Rich & Happy then Don't go to School

In developed countries we all receive a basic education that teaches us to read, write and do mathematics. Then we're thrown out into the world, either to sit in a salaried job, to join the ever-growing ranks of the unemployed, or to start businesses that are likely to fail. We are basically cut loose without any skills in securing a job, and with no idea of how to be in business for ourselves.

If this says anything, it says our formal education system has let us down. It doesn't give us important life skills. School for me meant following the traditional rules, only giving people what they expected, and getting ahead by doing the same things as everyone else. I wouldn't call that a recipe for success.

At no stage are we taught how to get a job, or how to earn, keep and use money correctly. Rarely are these things talked about at our schools and universities. Even some of the most highly regarded business courses skirt around the issue. They teach students 'soft' skills, hoping that when they get out into the real world they'll be able to figure it out for themselves.

The truth about Education and Success

Studies of individuals who have above-average wealth show no real correlation between levels of formal education and the ability to make money. Formal education may affect how much you make in a salaried job, but it doesn't affect your chances of real financial independence.

If you look a little closer, however, there is a very strong correlation between one type of education and wealth. Those who have acquired wealth are all well educated in the art of making money. This 'education' wasn't acquired at a conventional school or university. These people gained it at the SCHOOL OF WEALTH.

Attend only the 'SCHOOL OF WEALTH'

Manoj an average student at school, who did a certificate in training and got a job as a trainer in a major firm. After about five years he was on about Rs. 6,00,000 a year and was doing OK. After about eight years he was on Rs.12,00,000 a year, and was paying off a house. Then he started his own training business and retired in three years—at age 35.

Manoj was pretty mediocre in all the usual measures of school success. No-one would have picked him as someone who would retire at 35. But he had something that made the difference. He knew, and did, many of the right things for developing wealth.

Wealth education is difficult to get. The problem is that no formal school of wealth exists. Wealth education is usually acquired by trial and error, by risk-taking, by losses and wins. This can be very time-consuming and very costly. Both financially and emotionally. Every owner of a failed business can vouch for that. The only way to avoid these costly mistakes is to find a successful person who will pass this education on to you.

However, having it passed on to you is very rare. The people who have this knowledge are too few, and too busy, to be able to stop and help others learn. The people who desperately need wealth education cannot afford to pay the tight teachers what they are worth. And unfortunately, these skills can't be picked up overnight. They usually require intimate knowledge and can take years to learn.

To make it worse, in our world of instant gratification, most people don't see an investment in their education as something worthwhile, especially when the pay-off could take more than ten years. It all becomes too hard. It is much easier to sell your time in short bursts of a week or so, and collect a pay cheque.

If you want to be rich study SUCCESS and nothing else

Manoj started his working life by falling into the trap of only seeing the short term. But he soon learnt that investing in his education was priceless. He made it his business to learn from people who were already doing well. This behavior is called 'modelling'. You identify people who do things well, work out how they do it, and then copy them. It sounds simple, but it takes time. Manoj picked out people whose lives and businesses he admired, worked out the strategies they used, and applied them to his life. You've seen the results—from salary slave to financial independence in three years.

The easiest thing you can do is read a successful person's autobiography. But if you are more resourceful, you'll get to meet and learn from these people directly. It's a secret that's been around since civilization began. From Chinese martial arts to Renaissance painting, students have always learnt by emulating the masters.

This is your only short cut to success. Model the successes of people you admire and learn from their mistakes. These people are the ones who have done it all, and can give you invaluable advice on how to earn, keep and use money. It's a price worth paying, no matter how outlandish the cost may seem at the time.

CA Chandan Mundhra,

India.