Friday, October 31, 2008

Degrees, Education, and Financial Education

I decided to write my thoughts, when I saw a status message from one of my friends that made me reflect. It said, "Are you an educated person?". I decided to answer it for myself here on this post.

Honest to say, I'm not a graduate of college. This is because I stopped my studies when I was in my 4th year, with two more years to go to meet all the requirements. I valued education. But there were more pressing matters that needed attention. I guess it was one of the times that I have to stop, take a step back, and rethink on my ideals and my goals.

I wanted to graduate, but that was not my ultimate goal.

Can you honestly consider me as an academically well-educated man? I myself have second thoughts about that. I don't have so great grades in school. True, I come from one of the best colleges in the country, and one of the best high schools in the country. Yet I wasn't too diligent a student. Still, I consider myself as an educated person.

I guess it's a matter of looking at things. Education, for me, is not necessarily the formal academic stuff you learn in school. While at school, I would spend my time thinking about ways to earn money. Ways to multiply my time through other people. At other times, I would spend my time writing essays, composing songs, bringing words to life. I would spend my time thinking of fun things to do with Flash animations. Of creating a Flash game. I would spend time imagining the worlds that I would write about. All these I did in the classroom, while the teacher was talking in front.

Well, you can guess how my grades usually went.

I would study my school subjects when it was really needed. But on most of my free time, I would read books that really interested me. I would read epic novels, fiction, non-fiction, but among them would be financial books such as those written by Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad), motivational books such as those by Dale Carnegie, management books such as the one written by Stephen Robbins and those "One-Minute" books that really dig straight to the point, social interaction and communication books (Leil Lowndes), and all sorts of books on related topics that I could get my hands on.

I was a Computer Science student, and yet my interest was totally elsewhere. Or rather, my interests are everywhere and anywhere! I had that hunger for knowledge. But I didn't have the patience to sit in classrooms and just depend on the teacher to learn. So I would study on my own, grow on my own. I wouldn't get any trophies, or medals, or certificates. And yet, I knew I was following my own path.

Right now, I see myself as a man not so academically educated, but someone who is doing his best to be financially educated. Financial education, or the education of money, is a totally different thing and it isn't taught in school. I agree with Robert Kiyosaki when he said that it's one of the reasons that people who are poor remain poor, and people who are rich only get richer. It's because financial education is never taught in most formal education systems. Despite their best intentions, poor people teach their kids what they know of financial education, so their kids will tend to have the mindset that will limit them to be poor. Rich people teach what they know of financial education, so the their children will become rich.

People are trapped in the rat race. Go to sleep, get up, go to work. Go to sleep, get up, go to work. But to what avail? What will happen when those people will get sick, get old, and will be unable to work anymore? I've experienced this one, where I had to skip work for two weeks because I came with an illness that got me staying home for two weeks. My income dropped to zero. My budget plans were totally ruined. I was sick, and worse, I was thinking of work. and the deadlines I had to meet And it's not good to be worrying about work when you should be relaxing so you can recover.

This was what made me decide. I suddenly understood how difficult the situation for my parents were. They both have heart problems, and yet they are the pillars of support for my family. If they get sick, they still have to worry how we can survive. This is not only true for our family, but for countless others as well.

That is why I strive hard to get out from the rat race and become financially educated. I take all opportunities that come to earn money, as long as it does not involve cheating and hurting other people. I try my best to multiply my options, because that, according to Kiyosaki, is what determines how rich or poor you are. It's not money, it's not whether or not you have your degrees, it's not how young or old you are, nor is it whether you're male or female that will make you rich. It's in how many ways you can think of to earn money. It's how many times you can multiply your time through your ideas. It's your mindset and the way you think.

Despite all this, I am not against academic education. I am pro with adding good financial education to supplement the formal education that is currently being used. Simple lessons such as "Buy assets, not liabilities", "Multiply your time through other people", and even discussing the Laws of Attraction taken in the financial and business sense can really help to positively shape a person to become financially stable. Aside from technical skills, personal skills are also very important.

The thing is, people can really affect change in their lives. But to how great an extent, that is all determined by ones mindset. As Rhonda Byrne said in his book, the Secret, which summarized the teachings of many great men, the mind is very powerful. Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can't, you are right.

It's the power of belief in yourself and in what you can do. Even Jesus said to his disciples, that if only you believe in yourself, you can move mountains. For me, he was showing the power. Our own power. The power that was already within us. His words reflected how powerful our thoughts can be.

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