No College Bashing...

It would be good to start this blog acknowledging that I have no intention of bashing college. Going to college and receiving a higher education can be fulfilling in your life -- for personal reasons. You can go to college to learn a skill or trade that caters to your interests rather than to your livelihood. You can go to college and earn a degree because it is a personal goal rather than a necessity to garner higher wages. There are many reasons to attend college. All I am trying to convey is that the necessity for a college degree in order to climb the corporate ladder and earn a six figure salary is non-existent.

In fact, as of this writing I am waiting to hear back from a college where I recently submitted an application for admission. Why am I going to college if I am promoting that it is unnecessary? I am going to college to obtain a degree in a field which holds my interest. Pursuing this degree is not related at all to my career, it is sheerly for personal pleasure. Besides, I aspire to hold a Ph.D one day...I would love to see more African American women hold this designation, so I've chosen to pursue it for self-benefit and not for monetary gain.

Let's face it -- some kids are not college material. Not because they won't be successful; however, some people just are not cut out for structured lifetime learning. After 12 years of school where you had no choice in the matter, you finally reach a point where it's your choice (or at least it should be) whether to attend additional years of school. At this juncture, some eighteen year olds are done. They just do not want to see another classroom...they'd rather experience the world. I have a 23 year old in this very boat. There's no way in the world that I, having at least a little common sense, would ever waste tens of thousands of dollars sending him to college. He would do well academically if he focused; however, he would never be focused because he is too "artsy" -- busy writing poetry, song lyrics and drawing. That's his thing -- the arts, being creative. School simply surpresses these creative energies by forcing that square peg into the round hole of structured class settings.

It is to this group that I am speaking. The group of non-conformists. Those who know that they are not cut from the college cloth. Those who are ready to take the world by its horns and move forward. Those whose higher education will come in a non-traditional manner...through life experiences and not textbooks. You can make six figures at your job without holding a college degree. No one is saying it is easy. No one is saying there is some "get rich quick" formula waiting to be revealed to the masses. No one is saying it is going to come without hard work. Even with a college degree it would take hard work to move up the ranks. Not having one doesn't make this task any harder.

This blog is intended to get you prepared to receive the information in the forthcoming book. It is designed to get you thinking outside of the box. It is this forward thinking that gets you to the goal. Stay tuned...