Are you at the age where people are constantly asking you what college are you going to, what are you going to study, what do you want to do for the rest of your life or at least next, and you have absolutely no idea how to answer them? I get it. I am 50 years old and still don’t know how to answer some of those questions. But it can feel like that pressure and stress is putting the weight of the world on your shoulders when part of you really just wants to still be a kid. A lot of times it’s easier to follow the path that is expected of you by other people rather than figure it out for yourself or have to argue if you have a different idea than them. This feeling can be exacerbated for those who don’t feel like school is really for them due to the format, expectations, lack of connection with peers or staff, learning disabilities or pure disinterest in the subjects required. But there is hope!!
Unless you have your heart set on pursuing a career in a field such as teaching that absolutely requires a college degree, you have options and they are far more reaching than trade school if that is not your thing either (great if it is though because we are in need). But there is a whole new trend of self education and due to the easy access to relatively inexpensive or sometimes even free information available through the internet, podcasts, video sources, apps, books and good old fashioned conversations with people doing what you are interested in, just about anything you would like to learn is at your finger tips and the best news is you don’t even have to wait until you graduate from high school to get started. Of course self education does not have to replace a college education and you can do the two simultaneously but for those of you not sold on it, would like to wait and get a degree later or simply don’t have the money yet to fund tuition costs, it gives you another very viable avenue to pursue.
Yesterday an amazing woman who happens to be a great friend, incredible mother and successful entrepreneur shared with me how her high school son who is a big video gamer like most kids his age is learning via an app how to code, create and market his own video game and production company with his buddy and having a blast doing it. She is teaching both of her sons, the other in middle school, how to build a shopify website for a drop shipping business to market and sell products they find interesting and fun while giving a portion of the profits to a local animal shelter they adopted a dog from. Meanwhile, one of her friends stopped by and was telling us about her high school son who discovered a passion for photoshop and just got his first paid job after teaching himself how to use the software. She is in the process of creating an online writing workshop geared for small business owners to learn effective marketing strategies as well. And even the great Tony Robbins along with Dean Graziosi, a very successful real estate investor and author developed the Knowledge Broker Blueprint/KBB program teaching people how to sell their knowledge which is predicted by Forbes to be a billion dollars a day industry by 2025.
You may not feel like you have a passion yet and that’s ok, just take something that you are interested in, enjoy doing or are naturally good at, do some research to find out how to learn more and see where it leads you. For example, if you have a knack for math whether you struggle in other subjects or not, your overall GPA doesn’t matter, try reaching out to classmates who get frustrated with it and set up a fun tutoring service to help them pass their class. You get to feel valuable while fine tuning your math and relationship skills. As I have learned through the Clifton Strengths Finder that it is more effective to spend time and energy on your strengths rather than trying to build upon your struggles which is quite often the opposite of what we are taught. If you think this will never work for you or your child because you/they are not self motivated to do work, I think you will be surprised as to how time flies when studying something for the love of it versus being told to. And if a little extra boost of focus is needed you can always grab your Motivate, InTune or Thinker essential oil blends to help out.
So release some pressure of feeling like you have to follow the typical path society has in place, cozy up in your favorite spot, get creative, start the adventure of self education and open your world up to a path you may not have known even existed. If you need some guidance Activator is my #2 strength so I am more than happy to help you get started!!!
“Formal education will make you a living, self education will make you a fortune.” ~ Jim Rohn
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