The Education of Millionaires: Everything You Won't Learn in College About How to Be Successful

· Sold by Penguin
4.4
38 reviews
Ebook
288
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

The myth: If you get into a good college, study hard, and graduate with excellent grades, you will be pretty much set for a successful career.
The reality: The biggest thing you won't learn in college is how to succeed professionally.

Some of the smartest, most successful people in the country didn't finish college. None of them learned their most critical skills at an institution of higher education. And like them, most of what you'll need to learn to be successful you'll have to learn on your own, outside of school.

Michael Ellsberg set out to fill in the gaps by interviewing a wide range of millionaires and billionaires who don't have college degrees, including fashion magnate Russell Simmons, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and founding president Sean Parker, WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg, and Pink Floyd songwriter and lead guitarist David Gilmour. Among the fascinating things he learned:

  • How fashion designer Marc Ecko started earning $1000 a week in high school with his own clothing business, and later grew it into an empire.
  • How billionaire Phillip Ruffin went from lowly department store employee with no college degree, to owner of Treasure Island on the Vegas Strip.
  • How John Paul DeJoria went from homelessness to billionaire as founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems Hair Care Products.

    This book is your guide to developing practical success skills in the real world. Even if you've already gone through college, the most important skills weren't in the curriculum-how to find great mentors, build a world-class network, learn real-world marketing and sales, make your work meaningful (and your meaning work), build the brand of you, master the art of bootstrapping, and more.

    Learning the skills in this book well is a necessary addition to any education. This book shows you the way, whether you're a high school dropout or a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Ratings and reviews

4.4
38 reviews
A Google user
January 17, 2012
Ellsberg forces us to think outside the college box. His words have a fluid feng shui when describing the experiences of the un-schooled, self-educated millionaires. Congratulations, Michael, for showing us alternatives in livelihoods and options for life. I emailed one of your millionaire role models, Marijo Franklin, because she and I share a similar history/herstory of being unemployed, single moms with chutzpah. To my big surprise, she responded immediately from Mexico, where she is enjoying her retirement, suggesting a meetup upon her return to California in the warmer months. I have Michael's chapter on sales to thank for my gutsy outreach. I tried it and worked. What needs to happen now for closure is the credible follow through. This book should be required reading for all students of any field, especially entrepeneurs. Irene Hashimoto, San Jose, CA
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A Google user
January 15, 2012
This book was great. I had felt that public education was a joke even through high school. I had timed during high school all the time that was spent on something not pertaining to me or while I was waiting for other students to finish their work so we could move foward. It was 3 hours out of a seven hour day. Loved every minute of the book and reinspired me to continue to pursue my own business.
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Michael Broadhurst
December 23, 2015
Has great life skill lessons whether you will be in business or not. It really lays out skills that people need to live better and more fruitful lives.
5 people found this review helpful
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About the author

Michael Ellsberg spent the last year and a half learning from some of the most successful people on the planet who don't have college degrees. He blogs about entrepreneurialism, career development, and education at Forbes.com.

For more information, please visit ellsberg.com.

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