On Saturday, I sent out my usual “tip of the week”.
This one received quite a response. Here is what I mean:
“Thank you for this! Just read it to our son. Tear in my eyes.”
“I may have put an edited version of this as my Facebook status (with credit to you, if course). People may be sharing it… Hope you don’t mind. It was excellent.”
“Gracias Dwane! Muy inspirador.”
“Thank you for this. I am 41, and was talking myself OUT of learning the piano because I am “too old.” I am going to go for it now, thanks to your pep talk!”
“Dang, this one was my favourite. Thanks for teaching me Latin a few years ago, Dwane. It was a great blessing.”
“This is my favorite one so far, Mr. Thomas. It echoes the same thoughts and feelings I’ve had myself…. That burning deep inside that says I haven’t really fulfilled my purpose. It won’t go away. Thank you. I actually shared it in its entirety on Facebook. :)”
“Absolutely LOVE this message…thank you so much for sharing your heart!”
“Wonderful life advice! Thank you for reinforcing what we are trying to teach our children!”
If you haven’t read it yet, and you would like to, here is what I said: https://dwanethomas.com/we-get-one-shot-at-this/
I am anticipating some trouble. At one point, I publicly said this:
“Skip college… unless you are going into engineering or the medical field. (For crying out loud, do NOT go to college to learn Latin!) Remember that skill you learned in high school? Use it to start earning a living.”
Let’s pretend I walked into downtown anywhere and yelled, “I am Moses! I am Moses! I am Moses re-incarnate!” Most people would just walk by and mutter, “That guy is nuts.”
If I walked into downtown anywhere and started yelling something else. “Don’t send your kids to college!” I would be stoned to death.
Before you pick up rocks, let me explain.
I am not anti-college. Well, not completely. I am slowly moving there.
I am anti-debt. Debt is a vice-grip. Debt is the mouth of a bulldog. Debt is a prison sentence. Debt is the Hotel California. You can check in anytime you like, but you can never leave. (Well, you can’t leave for a long time anyway.)
And, THAT is what we hand to the 18 and 19-year-olds in our country. What are we thinking?
I grew up in Europe. I left when I was 18, in 1990. Immediately, I began figuring a way back. I wanted to go back because Europe was home to me.
Instead, I went to college, bought a car, married, got a job, and bought a house. Debt. For 26 years, I worked to pay off the debt. For 26 years, I waited to go back to Europe.
In October of 2015, my wife and I paid off our final debt. In March of 2016, I moved my family to Europe. We stayed four months. In March of this year, we are moving back again. This time for five months.
Debt stopped me. Debt murdered my dream of taking my family to the land of my youth.
Financial freedom set me… well… free. Eliminating debt liberated my family.
So, again… am I anti-college? No. I am anti-debt. If you can go to college debt free, then go.
If you can’t go debt free, then find an alternative.
Here are 50 alternatives: https://stansberryradionetwork.leadpages.net/50-alternatives-to-college/
Some of you may need to go to college. I understand. After all, I am not going to let my cousin pull a bad tooth. I am not going to do it even if he has watched a lot of medical drama shows. My dentist went to dental school. He probably went into debt to do so. But, you know what? I appreciate that. I am glad he went to college.
But, college is not for everyone. And, we all know that. And yet, colleges and universities around the country insist that we all need to go to college. To do so, they suggest we take on a few student loans. No big deal. It’s what we have to do.
It is a big deal. We are enslaving our young. I suspect we are enslaving them on purpose, but I can’t prove my suspicions.
So, if you need to go to college, and you don’t get to go for free… what should you do? Try this:
One more thing. You do not have to go when you are 18. Work for a while. Travel for a while. Go do what you have always dreamed of doing for a while.
You can go to college later. My mom went back to college when she was in her 40’s. She graduated with a finance degree and spent 30 years working for a finance company. She retires next year.
My uncle spent his entire career in insurance. As soon as he retired, he went back to college. He became a lawyer. He practiced for about 10 years and retired again.
I am 43 years old. I graduated from college in 1996 with a degree that I have never used. Not once. I have not made one dollar from my investment.
But, at 43 years old, I am now thinking of returning to college. I planted my flag in Greek and Latin. I could probably use a degree in the field I have chosen.
Some college somewhere will be happy to take me. Here is something you may know about colleges. They do not discriminate. They will take your money at any age.
As I said, I am thinking about going back. I am not entirely sure. I like to get returns on my investments. Colleges do not guarantee a return on investment. In fact, they only promise that they might help you get a degree. Maybe.
https://youtu.be/T24DPU-hkJM
